On 2 and 3 December 2025 in Graz, Austria, the Battery Innovation Days held its fifth edition with great success, with 600 participants onsite and 1000 online, 35 exhibitors, 22 sponsors and over 65 speakers.

Graz, 3 December 2025 - This edition of the Battery Innovation Days was the largest to date, with an agenda packed for two days full of battery innovation, research and development discussions. Key themes this year revolved around the entire European battery value chain, sustainable sourcing materials, battery innovation, Europe's defense capabilities, energy security and AI.

"This edition of the Battery Innovation Days showed that the sector is more determined than ever to succeed despite the bumps on the road. Everyone willing to develop a European battery value chain should endorse a Battery Deal for Europe to show the strength and the commitment of the sector" said Thomas Otuszewski, Programme Coordinator of the Battery Innovation Days.
Participants enjoyed ten conference sessions as well as three workshops, a site visit, and a Gala Dinner.

The conference sessions were highlighted by presentations of important figures in the world of battery research. Key figures of the European Union included Gijsbert Wierink, Project Officer at Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space, and Beatrice Coda, Head of Unit of the Clean Energy transition Unit in the directorate General for Research and Innovation, both at the European Commission.

The Battery Innovation Research Award also took place in this edition, awarding the prize to Till Ortmann, postdoctoral researcher working with Prof. Jürgen Janek at Justus Liebig University Giessen. His research focuses on sodium-based solid-state batteries, particularly on characterizing the interfaces of sodium metal electrodes in contact with inorganic solid electrolytes.

Specific to the Austrian region of Styria, Peter Hanke, Federal Minister at Austrian Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility, and Infrastructure, along with Willibald Ehrenhöfer, State Councillor for Economic Affairs, Labour, Finance, Science and Research at the Styrian Regional Minister for Economic Affairs, welcomed the opening of the Battery Innovation Days 2025 in the first session.
"The Battery Innovation Day has firmly established itself as a central convergence point for industry, research, and policymakers. It offers the battery community's strategic perspective to the European Commission". Fabrice Stassin, Secretary General of Batteries European Partnership Association (BEPA) noted "These priorities are further echoed in our initiative, A Battery Deal for Europe, in which we urge EU policymakers to keep batteries at the forefront of Europe's strategic agenda. Continued innovation is indispensable if we are to secure the future of the many sectors in which batteries play a vital enabling role".

The Gala Dinner took place on the night of 2 December where around 300 participants enjoyed a full course dinner in the beautiful building of the Old University of Graz. Accompanied by live music, the night was an excellent occasion for networking aside from the conference settings.
The site visit took place on the afternoon of 3 December - over a 100 people were able to visit AVL's new battery innovation center, e-mobility benchmarking facility and two test technological facility.

The workshops organized by Batteries European Partnership Association (BEPA), Bax and Battery 2030+ provided participants practical information and scenarios regarding business presentation for innovative ideas, sustainability and business demands as well as startups from Central and Eastern Europe.

BID 2025 was hosted by the Styrian Business Promotion Agency (SFG), the operational arm of Styria's regional government, driving economic development and fostering innovation. Co-organizers of the event were The European Batteries R&I Community, three initiatives collaborating in the battery sector. Battery 2030+, BEPA and the two IPCEI driving European research and innovation in the field of batteries.

This year's event was possible thanks to conference sponsors AVL and Andritz, and cluster sponsors Battery City Munster, Battery Cluster Portugal, Circular Battery Cluster, Collabat, Cluster Hub ‘'Materials4Batteries'', EU-Ingenious, Solid4b Cluster, The BMS Alliance and TwinBATT. Research sponsors supporting the event were Battery4Life, BATTwin, CSEM, K1-MET, PCCL, ReMade@Ari, Resch and Virtual Vehicle.

The next edition of the Battery Innovation Days will take place in Stockholm, Sweden on 11 and 12 November 2026.