All-Solid State Batteries
The goal of development is new and improved types of batteries for stationary and mobile applications with robust long-term stability during stochastic charging and discharging processes.
The focus of research and development is currently on lithium solid state batteries. If one considers the current state of solid state battery research, which was previously geared towards batteries for microchip and low-power medical applications on a millimetre scale, along with the need for energy storage in the energy industry amounting to several gigawatt hours, it becomes apparent that a complete reorientation in battery research is needed in this area. Lithium solid state batteries already potentially have the required gravimetric power and energy density in order to provide the required storage capacity and meet the demands of the new application fields of electromobility and grid storage. At present, however, the active surfaces are limited to around 2 cm x 2 cm, since the current application areas have not required larger surfaces. While today it is still completely unclear how we can achieve energy densities greater than 200 Wh/kg with today's lithium-ion batteries, thin-film solid state batteries offer a greater potential for achieving the required energy densities by scaling up the electrode surface and improving the electrolyte material. Since the structure of these thin-film solid state batteries already exhibits similarities to that of super condensers, it is not surprising that the charging or power densities have similar values.
The current materials research work focuses on metallic anode and ceramic electrolyte and cathode materials, meaning oxide ceramics with defined electronic and ionic conductivity.
A wide range of imaging and physical methods are available for characterizing materials and components. The knowledge chain is completed by cooperation arrangements with other institutes through electrochemical measuring methods used on cells, modules, or hybrid systems under laboratory and application-oriented conditions, as well as under real operating conditions.