Energy Storage

• PEM fuel cells: Manufacturing of components and stacking, for example prototypical production and analysis of metallic bipolar plates as well as discrete and continuous production of MEA
• Different forming technologies for bipolar plates. Prototypical forming using different technologies and assessment of results
• Hydrogen pressure tanks: Prototypical production and analysis of fiber reinforced tanks for different pressure levels.
• Pressure storage: Production solutions for fiber-reinforced plastics pressure tanks including winding systems
• Production equipment: Consulting and comparison of different manufacturing technologies for forming tools. Prototypical production with varying technologies.
• Development of special purpose machines, e.g. Roll-to-Roll (R2R) plants
• Electrolyzers: Manufacturing of components and automated assembly
• Automated cleaning of components
• Technology benchmarks: Analysis and evaluation of production technologies for energy storage components and systems.
• Design of complete production lines including automation and handling solutions for large-scale production.
• Expertise on the subject of production digitalization aimed at achieving quality assurance.
• Value stream analysis for production processes

We collaborate with industry and other research facilities to consider requirements for the manufacture of energy storage units, their technological implementation and latest research results. To this end, we work particularly closely with our partners in the "Fraunhofer Research Factory Battery Cells FFB" and the RWTH Campus Center "Fuel Cell Industrialization FCI".

• 2021 – 2025: Hydrogen lead project H2-Giga: FRHY – Reference Factory for High-Rate Electrolyzer Production
  
• 2021-2023: MtaC – Customized ta-C coatings for the production technology of the future
  
• Since 2020: H2-D – A hydrogen economy for Germany
• Since 2020: smartVessel - Integration of fiber-based sensors during hydrogen tank manufacturing for intelligent condition monitoring, lifetime prediction and assessment
  
• Since 2020: CoBiP – Continuous roll-to-roll production of metallic bipolar plates for fuel cells
  
• Since 2019: Fraunhofer Research Fab Battery Cells FFB
  
• Since 2019: InduREX – Industrialization of a fuel cell range extender through integrative, iterative design of product design and production process
• Since 2018: FlyGO – Fuel cell based mobility for green vehicles and aircraft

Type-4 composite pressure vessels exhibit exceptional energy storage capacity at low weight and are therefore the preferred selection for storing hydrogen and other gases in mobility applications. If thermoplastic fiber-reinforced tapes are used to reinforce the vessel, the manufacturing process can be environmentally friendly with no emissions or residues and the vessel is more easily recyclable afterwards. The Fraunhofer IPT is developing production machines and processes for manufacturing thermoplastic composite pressure vessels. The video shows the production of such a type-4 pressure vessel using the laser-assisted tape winding process.

The video shows the standardized process development for the production of lightweight components made of fiber-reinforced plastics at the Fraunhofer IPT. The chosen example is the production of a pressure vessel. In the first step, geometric and process-relevant boundary conditions are defined together with the client. This is followed by the generation of path data for the layer-by-layer composition of the composite laminate. After verification of the machine code, the component can be manufactured on a production system by the Fraunhofer IPT. During this process, process data is systematically collected for subsequent targeted evaluation.

Fuel cells are composed of a large number of individual cells for generating electrical energy from hydrogen and oxygen. The bipolar plates inside these cells must be produced in high volumes to meet the exponentially growing demand for the coming years. Fraunhofer IPT is working on technologies that enable upscaling for economical high-volume production.