CIDETEC on 1st of July 2025, hosted a key technical workshop within the framework of the European Horizon project PHOENIX, bringing together leading research and innovation partners from across Europe: CSEM (Switzerland), Fraunhofer ISC (Germany), DLR – German Aerospace Center, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB, Belgium) and CIDETEC Energy Storage (Spain).

Held at CIDETEC Energy Storage’s facilities in San Sebastián, the workshop served as a crucial step forward in the project’s technical development. The primary focus was the testing of advanced sensors and trigger systems — developed throughout the PHOENIX project — with the second iteration of the Battery Management System (BMS).

Thanks to the collaborative effort and expertise of all partners, this evluation was successfully achieved, confirming the compatibility and performance of the developed technologies. The workshop enabled live testing and refinement of the sensor and trigger systems in combination with the BMS, demonstrating effective real-time responsiveness.

Importantly, the communication between the sensor and trigger systems — which are planned to be integrated directly into the battery cell in future stages—and the BMS was established successfully. The BMS was able to simultaneously measure and process the different signals provided by each sensor, allowing for synchronized and reliable data acquisition. This seamless communication layer is a key enabler for advanced monitoring and safety strategies in next-generation batteries.

The next major challenge for the PHOENIX project will be the physical integration of these sensing components into the battery cells, in order to directly monitor critical parameters during cell operation and testing. This step will be essential to validate the full in-cell sensor concept and move closer to the project’s ambitious safety and intelligence goals.

The collaboration between partners during the workshop was especially positive, with open knowledge-sharing and strong teamwork helping to resolve technical challenges efficiently. Events like this not only advance the technical objectives of the project but also strengthen relationships and trust among consortium members, fostering a more cohesive and productive partnership moving forward.