The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Ulm University, the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the University of Giessen have successfully acquired the Cluster of Excellence “Energy Storage Beyond Lithium – New Storage Concepts for a Sustainable Future” within the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and the States. Part of the seven-year funding of up to 10 million euros per year will also benefit the HIU as a joint institute of KIT and the Ulm University. The cluster decision was announced in Bonn on 27 September 2018 by Anja Karliczek, Federal Minister of Education and Research and Chairwoman of the Joint Science Conference (GWK), and Professor Eva Quante-Brandt, Bremen’s Senator of Science and Deputy Chairwoman of the GWK.
At the heart of the approved Cluster of Excellence is research into high-performance, reliable and environmentally friendly storage systems for energy system transformation and electromobility. The researchers will develop a fundamental understanding of electrochemical energy storage in novel systems, combine basic material properties with critical performance parameters and thus lay the foundations for the commercial use of post-lithium technologies. Conventional lithium-ion batteries have almost reached their maximum storage capacity. In order to make progress in performance, the development of new, alternative storage materials and concepts must also be advanced. Another significant leap in the energy density of battery cells requires new electrochemical pairings. For this reason, electrochemists, materials scientists and modellers are looking for alternative charge carriers in the approved cluster – for example on the basis of sodium, magnesium, aluminium or zinc.
“In the run-up to the cluster decision, the Ulm and Karlsruhe sites decided to cooperate more closely in the field of electrochemical storage: The researchers have jointly founded CELEST, the Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage, one of the world’s largest research alliances for energy storage. Thanks to the Cluster of Excellence with around 100 additional employees, the consortium is growing even further,” explained Maximilian Fichtner, Director of the HIU and spokesman for the Cluster of Excellence.
The Excellence Strategy is intended to strengthen Germany as a research location and increase the international competitiveness of universities. Starting this year, the Federal Government and the Länder will provide 533 million euros per year for these goals. In the “Clusters of Excellence” funding line, 40 German universities submitted 88 applications, 57 of which the Excellence Commission has now selected for funding. In total, around 385 million euros are available annually for this funding line. Clusters of Exzellence can be funded with three to ten million euros annually, initially for seven years. Funding will begin on 1 January 2019 and a second funding period of seven years will be possible from 2026.