Press / Newsroom

As part of the “LAENDLE” project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, in collaboration with an industry partner, has developed a new dry-coating process for electrodes in sodium-ion batteries. This process does not require solvents or PFAS chemicals (so-called “forever chemicals”) and reduces production costs and resource consumption. This presents an opportunity for domestic companies to enter a new industry.

In Germany alone, about one million high-performance batteries from e-bikes and scooters end up in the trash prematurely every year, even though they often still retain a large portion of their capacity. At the same time, stationary energy storage systems are expensive and resource-intensive to manufacture. The Freiburg-based startup EDENenergy solves both prob-lems: It develops modular industrial storage systems from second-life batteries that are high-performance, cost-effective, and sustainable. Former researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have developed a system featuring interchangeable battery modules and flexible power electronics that efficiently and safely combine heterogeneous batteries into stationary storage systems.

Silicon-rich lithium-ion batteries promise high energy densities for applications in electric mobility, aerospace, and stationary energy storage. However, their industrial application has so far been limited primarily by their limited cycle life. In the project “StrOboBatt,” researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE succeeded in operating in-house-manufactured 25-Ah pouch cells with silicon-rich anodes for more than 1,000 full cycles. The full cells subsequently retained over 83 percent of their original capacity, with a gravimetric energy density of 280 Wh/kg in a non-optimized research cell format. This marks an important step toward the application of silicon-rich anodes in high-energy batteries.

What would happen to the price of electricity if significantly more battery storage systems were traded on the market? The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is releasing a price simulator today on its Energy-Charts.info platform that answers this question using real market data. The tool uses the actual buy and sell bids from the daily electricity exchange auction and adds a freely selectable number of battery storage units. For each quarter-hour, users can see how the exchange electricity price would have changed, how the batteries charge and discharge, and what their charge levels are. The freely accessible simulator is updated daily with the latest electricity trading results.

Researchers at Fraunhofer ISE have developed a prototype of a manufacturer-neutral app for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and plumbing contractors that enables the virtual planning of heating systems. Unlike software tools already available, the “Heat Pump PlanAR” app combines various steps of the planning and installation process into a single application. The software prototype is the result of the “WESPE” collaborative project led by the Zentralverband Sanitär Heizung Klima (Central Asso-ciation for Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning) ZVSHK and was designed in close collaboration with trades businesses. The application is now set to be further developed in collaboration with interested software companies and brought to market.