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BIG LEAP Consortium Meets in Spain for the 4th General Assembly

02Feb

BIG LEAP Consortium Meets in Spain for the 4th General Assembly

News

The BIG LEAP consortium convened for its 4th General Assembly on 28–29 January 2026 in Hernani, Gipuzkoa (Spain). Hosted at Orona IDeO – Innovation City and organised by IKERLAN, the meeting brought together all consortium partners for two intensive days of technical exchange, coordination, and strategic alignment.

The General Assembly served as a key milestone to review progress across work packages, assess technical integration, and ensure alignment with the project’s performance indicators and objectives. With mandatory participation from all partners, the meeting reinforced BIG LEAP’s collaborative approach to advancing interoperable and reliable second-life battery energy storage systems in Europe.

 

Day 1: Technical Progress and Project Alignment

The first day of the BIG LEAP 4th General Assembly was dedicated to a comprehensive review of progress across all work packages, with a strong focus on interoperability, system integration, and alignment with the project’s strategic objectives.

The meeting opened with the call for quorum and a welcome session, followed by an overview of WP9 – Project Management, Coordination & Ethics, ensuring shared understanding of project status, governance, and next steps.

The technical sessions began with updates from WP1 – FL and SL-BESS requirements, interoperable BMS requirements & BIG LEAP strategic early actions, providing the framework for functional and interoperability requirements across first-life (FL) and second-life battery energy storage systems (SL-BESS). This was complemented by progress under WP2 – Enhanced BMS architecture, SL-BESS design, and online BMS interoperable strategies, focusing on architectural developments supporting scalable and interoperable solutions.

Further technical developments were presented under WP3 – Adaptive SoX and RUL estimators, enhanced battery models and cloud-based software layer development, including advances in cloud integration and algorithmic capabilities supporting battery performance monitoring and lifetime estimation.

The morning continued with updates from WP4 – Multi-operational BMS development, addressing both hardware and software development progress, as well as the integration of BMS layers and end-of-life diagnosis proof of work. These discussions highlighted key technical challenges and integration points across the BIG LEAP ecosystem.

After the lunch break, attention turned to WP5 – Technological Standardization, LCA & New Business Cases, where partners reviewed progress on standardisation activities, sustainability and life-cycle assessment frameworks, and the development of viable business models for second-life BESS applications.

The afternoon sessions focused on WP6 – Battery cabinet development and BMS integration and validation, covering progress on demo battery cabinets, interoperable battery power unit manufacturing, and validation activities on small-scale energy storage systems.

The day concluded with an update under WP8 – Communication, Dissemination, Exploitation, and Upscaling activities, highlighting recent outreach efforts, upcoming milestones, and strategies to maximise impact and uptake of BIG LEAP results.

 

Day 2: Demonstrations and On-Site Insights

The second day offered a more hands-on perspective, beginning with a visit to IKERLAN’s facilities. This on-site session provided valuable insight into the infrastructures supporting BIG LEAP’s research and innovation activities.

Consortium members then reviewed the status and open points of three technical demonstrations, showcasing progress made by different partners and highlighting remaining challenges toward integration and validation. These demonstrations played a crucial role in aligning technical developments with real-world deployment scenarios.

The General Assembly concluded by a collective discussion on conclusions and next steps. This ensured a shared understanding of priorities and follow-up actions for the coming months.

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