Press releases

Optimizing batteries, whether for e-mobility or for large storage systems, is one of the most important tasks for industry and science. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM, the simulation of battery models has been part of day-to-day business for years. The Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Science and Health is now supporting a new project with just under one million euros to model the entire manufacturing process.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are indispensable key components for electro mobility and the success of the energy transition. They offer high energy density and high cycle stability. Eight partners from industry and science are developing technologies and components in the funded project "revoLect" (funding reference: 03ETE041) in order to be able to produce resource-saving and more efficient LIBs. The project is pursuing two key innovations: the replacement of the usual metal foils with a metallized fabric structure and the use of silicon as anode material.

The development of resource-efficient manufacturing processes for next-generation battery anodes was the aim of the joint project „nextBatt“ funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, funding reference: L1FHG42421). At the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, new material combinations and efficient production technologies have been realized for this purpose. The Institute will present recent results at SVC TechCon 2022, May 3 – 5 2022, in Long Beach/USA, at booth No. 436.

The handover of the funding decision by Minister President Daniel Günther in Itzehoe is the official kick-off for the establishment of the Research Center for Applied Battery Technology Schleswig-Holstein (FAB-SH). The research center will be located in a former logistics building in close proximity to Fraunhofer ISIT. On 3400 m² of laboratory and office space, starting in 2023, about 30 employees will work on the further development of battery storage systems for maritime, stationary or medical applications, among other things. Another research focus will be on the development of new production technologies for battery storage systems. Architects and planners are currently being commissioned for the building conversion.

The "Fiber Optic Sensor Systems" department of the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) at the Goslar site in Lower Saxony opened a new battery test center at the end of October. It is located in a former ore processing plant in the Harz Mountains near the institute. The researchers upcycled the industrial building, which had been vacant for years, into a state-of-the-art laboratory. They installed decommissioned solar panels on the roof of the building. The resulting solar power is stored in retired batteries that retain good performance, known as second-life batteries, and is used for the tests. The team thus created an energy-autonomous, resource-saving test center for battery trials.

Münster. The Fraunhofer Research Fab Battery Cells (FFB) has started its research activities in Münster. Employees of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Münster (WWU) have put a mixing and coating system into operation in the "FFB Workspace" to test electrode production. The aim is to further develop the fully continuous mixing process with regard to the electrode material, the processes and digitization. With the infrastructure in the clean room of the “AlexProWerk”, the Research Fab Battery Cells can carry out initial research contracts for the industry.

The project team at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and research partners in North Rhine-Westphalia are working hard to implement the concept, being promoted by the BMBF and the state, for an innovative and successful Research Fab Battery Cells at the Münster location. All in close collaboration with the battery competence centers throughout the country, addressing the landmark decision by the policymakers to get involved in the development of a Germany battery industry in a way that meets future needs. The aim is to help German businesses produce battery cells economically and ecologically.

Energy-storage technology is set to play a key role in the future development of major sectors of the economy such as the energy and automotive industries. Electric vehicles, for example, require powerful batteries in order to deliver an acceptable operating range, and electricity generated from renewable sources depends for its long-term viability on stationary energy-storage systems. In order to help Germany establish itself as a leading industrial player in this field of technology, an interdisciplinary Fraunhofer team has drawn up plans for a research facility for battery cell production. On this basis, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has appointed a founding commission and commissioned the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, as the organization responsible for the future facility, to supervise the process to select the facility’s location. As the BMBF announced today, this decision has now fallen in favor of Münster.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden have developed a new production process with the aim of efficient and environmentally friendly future battery production. They coat the electrodes of the energy storage cells with a dry film instead of liquid chemicals. This simplified process saves energy and eliminates toxic solvents. A Finnish company is currently successfully testing the new IWS technology in practice.

Fraunhofer IWS scientists headed by Dr. Holger Althues have developed an innovative process for the cost-efficient production of thin lithium anodes made of molten lithium. In the BMBF-funded “MaLiBa” project, the Dresden Institute is working with the companies hpulcas and SGS as well as with scientists led by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Janek of the Justus Liebig University in Giessen to solve further crucial issues relating to this concept. The most important innovation consists in realizing an anode compound. This contains a few micrometers thick nickel foil with lithium film stabilized by means of protective layers.