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.
On October 1, the management of the Institute changed. Prof. Stefano Passerini takes over the position of Director and the former Director Prof. Maximilian Fichtner becomes his deputy. According to the statutes, a rotation is scheduled every three years. Three years ago, Prof. Fichtner replaced the founding director Prof. Horst Hahn.
“In the few years since its inception, HIU has reached an outstanding level in Germany, as demonstrated by the top ranking within the Helmholtz Association and the leading role that it plays in the recently granted Post-Lib project funded within the national Excellence Initiative, as well as world-wide, as testified by the great number of high-quality scientific publications, the participation in several international bi- and multilateral research project and the establishment of Memorandum of Understanding with top-level laboratories such as the Argonne National Laboratory in the USA”, said Stefano Passerini. The establishment of two Young Investigator Research Groups further shows the vitality of the Institute towards the future development. As a result of such vivid development, the Institute has already reached his full occupancy in terms of available laboratory and office space, in spite of its rather recent inauguration in late 2014. Thus, I hope that the HIU founding partners (KIT, UniUlm, DLR and ZSW) will soon enable the Institute to further expand in the near future, he explained.
Stefano Passerini has been a professor at the HIU since January 2014 and heads the largest research group at the institute. He has been working on the development of materials and systems for electrochemical energy storage for 30 years. His research focuses on the basic understanding and development of materials for lithium batteries, such as ionic liquids, polymer electrolytes and electrode materials. Passerini is the co-author of over 500 publications and for the third year in a row one of the most cited researchers in his field. In addition, several newly developed materials have already been patented.
“I would like to thank you for the great collaboration that has been so fruitful in recent years and let me express my sincere wishes that we keep on going on this road of success,” said Fichtner during the handover. During his term, he approved the Cluster of Excellence “Energy Storage Beyond Lithium – New Storage Concepts for a Sustainable Future”, in which he is spokesman and in which HIU participates via the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). At the same time, he played a key role in founding CELEST, the Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage, one of the world’s largest research alliances for energy storage, which he also heads as director.
Five professors who lead a research group at the HIU presented their research, thesis topics and career paths at the HIU during the “Long Night of Chemistry”. The event was organised for the third time by the Chemistry Student Council of the Ulm University. Around 90 bachelor students from the fifth semester of chemistry, economic chemistry and chemical engineering were informed about their possible future paths.
The HIU sees it as one of its core tasks to offer young academics ideal framework conditions. The Institute’s promising and international environment provides interested students and doctoral candidates a variety of opportunities to gain qualifications with student research projects, bachelor’s and master’s theses and doctorates. In addition to the often theoretical studies at universities, the HIU offers students with a scientific-technical orientation the opportunity to acquire practical experience.
Prof. William S. Price from Western Sydney University gave a lecture at the HIU Seminar on „Performing Accurate NMR Diffusion Measurements of Electrolytes“. He is known internationally for his work on magnetic resonance techniques for measuring molecular dynamics. His research interests include Biological and Medical Physics, Magnetic Resonance, and Physical Chemistry: Especially molecular dynamics in biological (e.g., tumours, plants) and chemical systems using NMR imaging (i.e., MRI), relaxation and NMR measurements of translational diffusion, and MRI contrast agents. His research has direct applications to a wide range of practical problems including cancer treatment, pharmaceutical screening and electrolyte systems. Price has published one book, 26 book chapters and 156 journal publications. Besides he is President of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Magnetic Resonance.
Rechargeable magnesium batteries are one of the most promising candidates for the next generation of batteries. Despite recent advances in development, the slow transport of double-charged magnesium ions in storage materials poses one of the greatest challenges in the realization of rechargeable magnesium batteries.
An important breakthrough has now been achieved to overcome the sluggish kinetics in the magnesium battery caused by the strong interaction between the double-charged magnesium ions and the intercalation host. In layered molybdenum disulfide structures, for example, the intercalation kinetics could be significantly increased by using solvated magnesium ions ([Mg(DME)x]2+). The HIU study demonstrates that the high charge density of magnesium ion may be mitigated through dimethoxyethane solvation. This facilitates magnesium ion diffusion.
It is possible that this concept can also be extended to other host structures. This would significantly advance the development of magnesium batteries.
For the third time in a row, Clarivate Analytics has honored Stefano Passerini as a “Highly Cited Researcher” in the Web of Science. His research is once again among the first one percent of the most cited work in his field of research and thus has a special influence on battery research.
Stefano Passerini has been a professor at the HIU since January 2014 and is director of the institute since 2018. He has been working on the development of materials and systems for electrochemical energy storage for 30 years. His research focuses on the basic understanding and development of materials for lithium batteries, such as ionic liquids, polymer electrolytes and electrode materials. Passerini is the co-author of over 500 publications and for the third year in a row one of the most cited researchers in his field. In addition, several newly developed materials have already been patented.
From 23 to 25 January 2019, the Kompetenznetzwerk Lithium-Ionen-Batterien (KLiB) organized the Batterieforum Deutschland with the support of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). For the seventh time already, the interdisciplinary and cross-sector scientific-technical congress brought together scientists from university and non-university research institutions, industry and politicians to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of batteries through dialogue.
On the first day, invited speakers from industry, science and politics looked at the topic of batteries in Germany from different perspectives. On the following two days, current scientific and technical focal points were discussed. Prof. Maximilian Fichtner, Vice Director of the HIU, moderated the topic block “Raw materials – availability and market scenarios”. Dr. Timo Danner from the Electrochemical Multiphysics Modelling Group presented his results on the production and simulation of high-capacity, structured electrodes and Dr. Marcel Weil, Group Leader of Resources, Recycling, Environment & Sustainability, outlined scenarios for resource requirements for energy storage until 2050.
The 25 research group leaders and other responsible persons of the new cluster of excellence, which bears the name POLiS (Post Lithium Storage), met at HIU to set the course for a fast and successful start of the research work. Prof. Joachim Ankerhold, Vice President of the Ulm University, emphasised in his welcoming address how well the two locations Ulm and Karlsruhe complement each other in their specialisations in battery research and highlighted the HIU as the first successful example. Prof. Maximilian Fichtner, who was elected spokesperson of the cluster of excellence, reminded the audience that of a total of five applications from battery research, only the POLiS application survived the first round of applications. Due to the large number of research groups and new projects, the cluster employees will move into a new research building on the campus of the Ulm University in March.
The cluster’s research concentrates on so-called post lithium batteries, i.e. batteries that run completely without lithium. One reason for this is that the maximum storage capacity of conventional lithium-ion batteries is nearly reached. Also, the extraction of the constituents – such as cobalt, graphite, and lithium – carries political, environmental and economic risks. A scarcity of resources and the uncertain political situations of some countries with large repositories could lead to supply disruptions. Also in many cases, the extraction of e.g. cobalt is associated with high environmental impact. In order to achieve progress in performance and make batteries more sustainable, the development of new, alternative storage materials and concepts must be driven forward. The cluster’s electrochemists, materials scientists and modellers are studying sodium, magnesium and aluminium as alternative charge carriers. The aim is to cover the entire development chain of a battery, from basic material research to technology transfer.
At the end of September last year, the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Anja Karliczek, approved the joint application for a cluster of excellence of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the University of Ulm, together with the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the University of Gießen.
For the first time, a research group successfully uses eggshells as an electrode for energy storage
Biowaste in the form of chicken egg shells proves to be very effective for energy storage. In the journal Dalton Transactions, of the Royal Society of Chemistry, scientists present the sustainable storage material that could make a low-cost lithium ion capacitor possible.
Chicken eggs are used worldwide in large quantities in the food, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing industries, and for household purposes. However, after the egg is used, the shells are discarded and disposed of as bio-waste in landfills. The shell consists of a composite of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and a protein-rich fibre membrane. “Surprisingly, there are always new examples in which natural substances have good to very good prerequisites for producing materials for electrochemical storage,” explains Professor Maximilian Fichtner from the Helmholtz Institute Ulm, a KIT-supported institution.
Together with his Australian colleagues, Fichtner discovered the promising electrochemical properties of chicken egg shells, which are able to store lithium well due to their high CaCO3 rate. The fine eggshell powders are used as an electrode against a metallic lithium anode in a non-aqueous electrolyte. Thereon, the cell maintained an excellent capacitance retention of 92% over 1000 cycles. Both the calcified shell and the shell membranes, including the inner and outer membranes, were used from the egg shells. The researchers washed, oven dried and crushed the shells to a powder and obtained a conductive material.
Egg shell waste has been used in a number of applications, including bioceramics, cosmetics and the dye industry. At the same time, the protein-rich, fibrous egg shell membrane has functioned as a separator in supercapacitors. Biowaste has now been used as an electrode for the first time worldwide. Further research and a detailed understanding of the electrochemical and physical behaviour of the material is needed in order to improve its performance and to enable its widespread use.
Bio-waste chicken eggshells to store energy.
Minakshi, M.; Visbal, H.; Mitchell, D. R. G.; Fichtner, M.
2018. Dalton transactions, 2018 (47), 16828–16834. doi:10.1039/c8dt03252a
Seven Canadian scientists from the field of energy storage visited the HIU on their European tour. Prof. Stefano Passerini, Director of the HIU, introduced the HIU research activities before giving a tour through the chemistry and physics laboratories. Prof. Joachim Ankerhold, Vice President of the Ulm University and member of the HIU board of directors, welcomed the researchers at the Ulm University with an overview of the science park on the Eselsberg. Prof. Axel Groß also presented the new POLiS cluster of excellence. Further stations of the delegation trip were the KIT and the ZSW – also partner institutions of the HIU.
The Canadian scientists belong to the NEST Network (Energy Storage Technology Network), which brings together researchers in Canada to develop next-generation energy storage technologies. The researchers, who belong to Ryerson University, École Polytechnique de Montréal, University of Waterloo, University of Ottawa and Simon Fraser University, visited several European institutions to explore collaborations within research projects.
