ExZellTUM III – Center of Excellence for Battery Cells at the Technical University of Munich
The research quartet known under the acronym ExZellTUM III at TUM is continuing its activities in the field of battery research. It is now part of the new competence cluster ExcellBattMat for innovative battery materials, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The ExZellTUM III consortium, consisting of the Chair of Technical Electrochemistry (TEC), the Chair for Electrical Energy Storage Technology (EES), the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) and the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management (iwb), forms the fourth “ExcellentBattery-Center” (EBZ) next to Münster-Aachen-Jülich, Dresden and Ulm-Stuttgart. The task in German battery research is the development, characterization and testing of new material concepts for high performance battery systems and the cooperation of experts to ensure Germany’s future global leadership position.
Executive Summary:
The research focus at the EBZ Munich is on material and electrochemical characterization as well as the modelling of next-generation electrode materials. On the cathode side, low cobalt and nickel-rich as well as overlithiated active materials are examined and combined with a silicon-graphite anode. Due to the high energy density of silicon, the energy density of the cells should increase compared to the exclusively graphite-based systems. In addition, silicon-containing material systems (>70 wt.%) are used to improve the quick-charging capability and the life span. The iwb plays the leading role in scaling the production of large-format cells with innovative material systems on a pilot scale. This provides essential data of industrially used cells for the material development. In addition, additive manufacturing is used to create electrode structures and optimize individual electrode components. The iwb is also engaged in the digitalization of cell material systems and the standardization of measurement methods.
Project Details:
Innovative cell design through additive manufacturing
The goal in this area is to enable the inkjet printing of electrode suspensions. The structures produced with the additive process allow electrode geometries with optimized ion-flow paths. It is near impossible to produce these structures with traditional manufacturing processes.
Electrolyte influence on wetting and cell properties
The focus here is identifying the material-specific electrolyte influence on the cell characteristics and wetting behavior. To study this, electrodes with innovative materials are manufactured and assembled into a functional cell. The produced test cells serve as valuable feedback for the application-specific ideal electrolyte quantity.
Digitalization platform for innovative cell materials
The objective of the digitalization platform is creating a database for innovative material systems. Across all cluster partners, data is generated using standardized test methods and stored in the material platform. The data form the entire ExcellBattMat cluster provides a comprehensive database for subsequent evaluations and simulations.
