Projects

The electric vehicle market is booming and plays a crucial role in our global climate goals. However, with this growth comes an increase in the number of consumed batteries that contain valuable raw materials. Unfortunately, there are currently no truly efficient and energy-saving recycling technologies available . The "ProBatman" project aims to address this issue by optimizing recycling processes and developing new technologies to improve the quality and yield of battery recycling.

The aim of the KMU-innovativ project ELEKTRA is to develop a continuous manufacturing process for electrochromic films. To this end, the electrochemical batch process is being further developed into a roll-to-roll (R2R) process for aqueous solutions on film. An automated coating system is being designed that enables in-situ quality control by means of optical layer thickness measurement and segmented anode control. At the same time, the control of the EC films is to be developed. The process quality will be analyzed as part of the prototype implementation. The film elements will be tested in practice by applying them to a glass element as a demonstrator.

The European project SOLIDBAT, funded by the European Union through its Horizon Europe program, aims to develop high-energy solid-state batteries for automotive applications, focusing on sustainability, safety, and scalable production to support climate-neutral transportation.

Sustainable and high-performance solid-state electrolytes address a clear need in battery R&D. The FUNCY-SSB project will develop sustainable by design solid-state electrolytes with enhanced electrochemical performance.

The INERRANT project is committed to pushing the boundaries of current LIB technologies by focusing on the development of innovative material combinations, advanced electrolyte formulations, and eco-friendly recycling methods that prioritise safety and recyclability. This holistic approach targets the entire battery lifecycle, from design and manufacturing to end-of-life recycling.

The REWIND project has set an ambitious goal: to significantly improve battery recyclability in order to enhance resource efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions.

The objective of the ReUse project is to improve the circularity and sustainability of the entire low-value LFP battery waste stream - from production scrap to end-of-life LiB.

The NaKlaR project is developing solutions for the remaining challenges that will lead to sustainable sodium-ion-batteries with improved electrochemical performance.

The PHOENIX project aims to explore the self-healing, sensor, and trigger functions in batteries. By developing cells that can last longer and detect and prevent degradation, the goal is to enhance the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of batteries.

The HealthBatt research project aims to improve the performance and safety of battery storage systems through an innovative multi-sensor approach.

Switchable electrochromic films that darken but remain transparent are expected to achieve this in the future. The fact that this can also be retrofitted in existing buildings is to be demonstrated by the joint project "EnOB: FLEX-G 4.0 - Technologies for innovative switchable films as a retrofit solution for energy-saving windows and glass facades" (funding reference: 03EN1048), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action BMWK.

The vision of RESPECT project is to contribute to paving the way for increasing global competitiveness, strategic autonomy, and circularity of the European battery ecosystem by developing innovative green recycling and materials recovery processes, and thus supporting the growing Li-ion battery manufacturing in Europe.

The project RecyLIB aims to establish sustainable, low-energy and highly efficient manufacturing and recycling chains for lithium-ion batteries.

With increasing registration numbers of electric vehicles, sustainable production and recycling of traction batteries are gaining in importance - literally. Thanks to coordinated joint research efforts, battery cells should also be able to be produced in Germany and Europe in the future. Against this background, cell production processes must be as environmentally friendly and battery materials must be recovered and reused as efficiently as possible. Only in this way can battery-based electromobility become truly future-proof and sustainable.

The subject of the German-Canadian joint project FLAiM is the combination of flexible automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to accelerate the development of materials for optoelectronic technologies, such as electrochromic (EC) windows and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).

The separation of dissolved valuable substances and pollutants in low concentrations is essential for efficient water treatment and raw material supply. Thus, it is imperative to develop solutions for better separation of heavy metals or drug residues from industrial/clinical wastewater as well as Li concentration for batteries and water desalination for green hydrogen.

The joint project MADAM4Life aims to monitor different cell states such as State-of-Charge (SoC), and aging processes in LIBs during battery operation (operando) using different non-invasive and non-destructive mechanical measurement techniques.

Lithium-ion batteries require in addition to lithium metal a number of sophisticated functional materials for their performance. Some of them sound rather unspectacular: conductive additives. In fact, conductive additives like carbon black or carbon nanotubes are a decisive component for the performance and environmental benignity of lithium-ion batteries. The recently launched collaborative project HiQ-CARB aims to provide new carbons with a superior performance and a low carbon footprint for future green batteries in Europe. HiQ-CARB is receiving EU funding from EIT RawMaterials to scale up and validate this important battery material.

Battery production and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) methods are two key technologies for Germany and Europe as well. For the production of battery cells, an increase in productivity is necessary, among other things. This can be increased by reducing scrap, material and energy use. By digitizing production and using AI-based methods, this productivity can be significantly increased.

The EU project BIG-MAP (Battery Interface Genome – Materials Acceleration Platform), aims at accelerating the speed of battery development by changing the way of inventing, so that future sustainable and ultra-high-performance batteries can be developed 10 times faster than today. Using machine-learning algorithms coupled with physical models and data it will – for example – be possible to predict the durability of a new battery in a fraction of the time it has taken so far. This can be done through large-scale computer simulations, experiments and tests that are continuously evaluated without human intervention. The Fraunhofer R&D Center Electromobility at the Fraunhofer ISC contributes its knowledge concerning laboratory automation for material synthesis and development. „In the BIG MAP project we will develop a modular robot system starting with the synthesis of protective coating materials. Our ambition is to have this framework acting as a physical interface in the more and more digitized materials development of the future“, says Dr. Henning Lorrmann, Head of the Fraunhofer R&D Center Electromobility.