BatterieDigital_real – Pilot Project for the Fraunhofer Research Data Space

The digital transformation in research opens up numerous opportunities to develop innovative, data-based offerings and new, digital business models. For the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, this transformation is both a challenge and an opportunity, as digitalization requires not only the development of a suitable infrastructure but also a change in work culture towards standardized data management. A consistent digitalization of research and development activities will be indispensable in the future: on the one hand, in order to meet the requirements of national and international funding institutions in dealing with data, and on the other hand, in order to be able to compete internationally.

Projects generate different types of research and development data. These are collected, for example, in end-of-line quality assurance in battery cell production or in the battery test laboratory, where we generate extensive time series through long-term tests on battery cells and modules. We also carry out short-term measurements on complex test benches. The resulting research data is currently usually collected, evaluated and stored according to individual procedures.

Various institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are therefore working together in the »BatterieDigital_real« project on concepts for standardized and automated data storage. The aim is to develop a data space that allows data to be stored and linked in a standardized way across institutes in accordance with the FAIR principle, where FAIR stands for findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. The establishment of a digital research data infrastructure not only drives the strategic development of digital skills and increases the quality of current services. It also offers the opportunity to develop completely new digital business models across institutions. Good data management facilitates data analysis and allows large volumes of data to be evaluated using artificial intelligence.

The aim of »BatterieDigital_real« is to initiate the implementation of the research data space for battery research using concrete example use cases and to establish processes for the future expansion of the data space. The activity is integrated as a pilot project in the development of the Fraunhofer Research Data Space. Based on the preliminary work from previous projects, »BatterieDigital_real« will test sustainable business models for a defined group of use cases and develop the necessary workflow from data collection at selected institutes to their evaluation, linking and processing for these specific use cases. The selected use cases are similar in terms of their database, but address different user groups. The selected use cases are »Determining the residual value of batteries for sale« and »2nd-use qualification of batteries by recyclers«.