Batteries for electric vehicles or for storing renewable energy generation are extremely complex, multi-material systems that have to meet particularly high standards. Innovations in such systems are challenging because the effect of individual adjustments on the overall product cannot be estimated or can only be estimated insufficiently. Current simulation models simplify results or do not take local effects into account. Thus, supposed improvements can unintentionally lead to negative interactions, which in the worst case are only discovered during application. A virtual approach should now alleviate this problem. In the FFG COMET module BattLab, an efficient method is to be developed over the next four years to predict the influence of the thermomechanical behavior of individual components on the overall behavior, taking aging effects into account. This requires a multidisciplinary and holistic approach: scientists from the WPK and the PCCL, as well as numerous research and corporate partners from various industries and fields of expertise, are working closely together to make their contribution to the transition to a carbon-neutral society.
The researchers will work on three main topics in BattLab: firstly, innovative functional polymers will revolutionize the safety of battery systems. These will be used to detect critical temperature developments at an early stage so that countermeasures can be initiated in time. Secondly, in order to better understand the aging effects on batteries and their components, the researchers will identify and model how and why batteries degrade over time. And thirdly, a digital tool is being developed that helps to test materials and designs by combining global models with detailed local evaluations. This makes it possible to develop the best solutions for future battery systems.
Improved safety of batteries at every age
In Leoben, the focus is particularly on the characterization and modeling of the materials used in batteries. Batteries consist of micrometer-thin foil elements: two electrode foils, where metal foils are coated with the corresponding active materials that determine the electrochemical properties of the battery, and a separator foil, which is usually made of polymer and prevents internal short circuits in the battery. The way these materials behave at different temperatures and under different loads is being investigated. The aim is to understand how they react to mechanical influences and different temperatures. This is particularly important for understanding battery life and safety: How does the material change when it gets hot or cold? How long does a material last under the conditions inside a battery? Does it change its properties over time, and if so, how? The data obtained will then also be important for the development of the new analysis tool.
The COMET module BattLab (project no.: 904924) is funded by the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Economy, the Province of Styria and the SFG as part of the COMET – Competence Centers for Excellent Technologies program. The COMET program is managed by the FFG.
Contact:
Dipl.-Ing. Matthias Pferschy
matthias.pferschy(at)unileoben.ac.at
+43 3842 402 – 2130
Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Johannes Macher
Johannes.macher(at)pccl.at
+43 3842 42 962 728
Project title: BattLab – High performance battery systems driven by polymer science and virtual material engineering
Funding: FFG COMET Module Call 2022
Duration: 01.01.2024-31.12.2027
Partners:Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH (module management), 4a engineering GmbH, AVL List GmbH, ISOVOLTA AG, hofer powertrain GmbH, Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, FUNDACIÓN CIDETEC, Montanuniversität Leoben (Lehrstühle für Werkstoffkunde und Prüfung der Kunststoffe, Mechanik und Thermoprozesstechnik)
In the FFG COMET module BattLab, an efficient method for predicting the influence of the thermomechanical behavior of individual components on the overall behavior as a function of aging effects is to be developed over the next four years.
