Increased safety for electric cars

New project to advance battery technology – MEET is a project partner

The new project, SafeBatt, in which the MEET battery research centre of Münster University (WWU) is participating, focuses on the safety and reliability of lithium-ion batteries. A consortium of 15 partners from the field of science, the German automotive industry and the auto-industry supply sector is working to improve lithium technology for electric and hybrid vehicles. The project is scheduled to last three years and is being financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to the tune of altogether some 19 million euros – Münster University alone receives around 4 million euros. As well as the working group of Prof. Martin Winter from the MEET battery research centre, WWU professors Andreas Heuer from the Department of Physical Chemistry and Tanja Schwerdtle from the Department of Food Chemistry are also taking part in the project.

Upholding strict quality and safety standards is crucial for the German automotive industry – and that means in the electromobility sector as well. One main focus of the project is to discover how the cell chemistry of lithium-ion batteries – particularly with regard to the electrolyte – can be further improved to further enhance the (intrinsic) safety of the cells. New types of semiconductor sensors made from materials that have not previously been used are also being researched in order to monitor parameters of the battery cell that are relevant to safety. These include, for example, the ion concentration and temperature processes within the battery. The research consortium also aims to develop the “Digital Battery Passport”.  This is intended to continuously measure, assess and store data on safety-relevant factors – even in extreme conditions such as winter temperatures below -10°C or summer temperatures above 30°C. Here, SafeBatt wants to contribute towards optimising and standardising test procedures for approving batteries for the market, as current tests do not cover all imaginable extreme situations.

MEET's contribution is focused on formulating electrolytes with optimal safety qualities and on aging and safety tests for complete cells. It is being coordinated by the project managers Dr. Falko Schappacher and Dr. Sascha Nowak.

The German government has already named SafeBatt as one of nine beacon projects of the National Electric Mobility Platform (NPE). Alongside Münster University, the research consortium comprises BMW AG, Daimler AG, Volkswagen AG, Deutsche ACCUmotive GmbH & Co.KG, Evonik Litarion GmbH, Li-Tec Battery GmbH, BASF AG, ElringKlinger AG, Infineon Technologies AG, SGS Germany GmbH, Wacker Chemie AG, the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the Technische Universität Braunschweig with the Institute for Particle Technology, iPAT, and the Technische Universität München with the Faculty for Electrical Energy Storage Technology.