Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT
Researchproject "Safe.SIB"
Storing energy safely, cost-effectively, and sustainably
The “Safe.SIB” project is helping to meet the growing demand for safe, sustainable, and cost-effective energy storage solutions. Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) offer ideal conditions for this: They use raw materials that are abundantly available, avoid critical materials such as cobalt, and demonstrate promising performance data. However, there is currently little knowledge or experience in Europe about how these energy storage systems can be produced. The project closes this gap by establishing a complete value chain for stationary SIB storage systems in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Pouch cells are powerful and flexible
The researchers are developing safe and long-lasting sodium-ion batteries using a new electrolyte. Their work focuses on so-called pouch cells. These flat, pouch-shaped battery cells do not have a rigid metal casing, but rather a flexible, aluminum-coated composite film. Thanks to this film, they can utilize the installation space efficiently and be integrated into various formats flexibly – ideal conditions for modular stationary storage systems.
Testing battery cells and installing them in the battery module
In the first step, Forschungszentrum Jülich is developing a safe electrolyte that is non-flammable. Subsequently, project partner Manugy will iteratively manufacture small pouch cells with a capacity of 5 Ah, while Fraunhofer FFB will produce large pouch cells with a capacity of 30 Ah. To this end, various production techniques will first be tested and then optimized. Researchers at Fraunhofer ICT are examining both cell sizes for their general safety, comparing them with lithium-based batteries, and assessing their environmental risks. Based on the large-format 30-Ah cells, scientists at Fraunhofer IPT will then design a battery module that partner Voltfang will integrate into a stationary storage system.
Guidelines for the construction of the energy storage system
Fraunhofer IPT and Voltfang GmbH are jointly developing a catalog of requirements for stationary energy storage systems. In it, they will compile all relevant standards and regulations as well as define the technical, safety-related, and regulatory requirements that the future storage system must meet.
Project Consortium
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich
- Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen
- Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Pfinztal
- Manugy GmbH, Cologne
- Voltfang GmbH, Aachen
Funding
The Safe.SIB research project is funded by the European Union and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the ERDF/JTF program ENERGIE.IN.NRW.
Funding code: 20801194
Project sponsor: PTJ Projektträger Jülich