Dataset Supports Breakthrough Autonomous Robotic Battery Materials Research Platform; Peer-Reviewed Study Published in Batteries & Supercaps
August 2025 – Global — The LF Energy Battery Data Alliance (BDA) today announced the release of the largest open source dataset to date formatted in the Battery Data Format (BDF). Generated from an autonomous robotic battery materials research platform, this landmark dataset delivers a new benchmark for high-quality, machine-readable battery data and global research collaboration.
The dataset contains cycling data from 199 coin cell batteries—featuring both NMC//graphite and LFP//graphite chemistries—each tested for 1,000 cycles under fully automated, precisely controlled workflows. It is released alongside the peer-reviewed publication:
Toward an Autonomous Robotic Battery Materials Research Platform Powered by Automated Workflow and Ontologized Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable Data Management
Batteries & Supercaps, 2025
📖 https://doi.org/10.1002/batt.202500155
The experiments were performed using the Aurora robotic platform at Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, within the Laboratory for Materials for Energy Conversion. The dataset – curated and formatted in BDF – ensures full provenance tracking, interoperability with analysis tools, and compliance with FAIR data principles.
“This is a great example of how open standards and international collaboration can drive better science.” said Dr. Simon Clark, Executive Board member of the EU project Battery2030+. “By making high-quality battery data available in a standardized, machine-readable format, the Battery2030+ community is helping to promote best practices in research and enabling faster, more transparent innovation across the global battery industry.”
“We strongly believe that the true power of scientific data is realized when it is structured in alignment with community standards, enriched with semantic annotations, and supported by full provenance tracking,” said Prof. Dr. Corsin Battaglia, Head of Laboratory at Empa, Professor at ETH Zurich and EPFL, and member of the EU project Battery2030+. “By ensuring that data is interoperable and adheres to the FAIR data principles, we enable it to go far beyond serving a single project. Structured in this way, data becomes a shared resource that can drive collaboration, accelerate discovery, and ultimately transform entire scientific fields.”
“This dataset showcases how automation, ontology, and data standards can work together to create highly reusable, high-quality battery data,” said Gabe Hege, Chairperson for the Battery Data Alliance. “By combining robotics with FAIR-aligned data management, the researchers are laying the groundwork for faster, more reproducible battery research—accelerating innovation for energy storage worldwide.”
Research contributors include experts from:
- Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
- ETH Zürich
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
- SINTEF – Applied Research, Technology and Innovation (curator of the dataset)
📂 Access the dataset on Zenodo:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15481956
About the LF Energy Battery Data Alliance
The Battery Data Alliance is an open initiative under LF Energy dedicated to advancing standardized, FAIR-aligned data practices in battery research. It develops and maintains the Battery Data Format (BDF) and fosters a growing ecosystem of tools, datasets, and contributors accelerating discovery, modeling, and innovation in the global battery community.