Current battery technologies rely on rare, harmful or toxic metal-based compounds, which have to be mined and then imported from across the world. The Batteries for the Future project in Germany’s Thüringen region is overcoming this problem by developing electrochemical storage systems based on environmentally friendly organic polymeric materials that are readily available in Europe.
- 14 September 2018
Europe needs to overcome its dependency on current battery technologies which use rare and harmful metal compounds. Polymer-based batteries offer a sustainable and effective alternative which can be manufactured using materials that are abundant in Europe rather than mined overseas.
The project’s overarching goal is to help overcome fluctuations in renewable energy power generation – such as wind and solar – by developing truly sustainable battery technologies that can “step-in” to meet demand. Because current batteries are made with critical materials such as lead, cobalt and lithium – they cannot really be considered as sustainable.
Breakthrough work
The Centre for Energy and Environmental Chemistry (CEEC Jena) based in Jena, Germany is conducting research into this new generation of batteries. The project team has successfully created a redox flow battery by using polymer materials as a replacement for highly corrosive vanadium electrolytes.
To make a traditional redox flow battery, vanadium salts have to be dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid, whereas CEEC’s breakthrough sees polymers dissolved in a neutral aqueous salt solution. In addition, using polymers to make batteries would do away with the need to import vanadium, which is mined in China, Russia and South Africa.
CEEC Jena has also developed thin, printable foil batteries using polymeric materials. In a further step, the research team is investigating ways of making these batteries solar-rechargeable. As well as being safer, more sustainable and kinder to the environment, polymeric materials can be made using cost-efficient techniques, which require less energy compared with the construction of traditional batteries. Moreover, because polymer-based batteries do not use toxic or rare metals, they can be more safely disposed of and recycled.
Building on success
Thanks to progress made by CEEC Jena, several other research projects have been established with companies in the Thuringia region of Germany. In addition, the research into polymer batteries resulted in a successful spin-off called JenaBatteries. The company is working on the commercialisation of -organic redox flow battery systems. Founding the spin-off company created 10 permanent jobs.
Beneficiaries
"JenaBatteries‘ strong IP portfolio and unique selling proposition is based upon the pioneering research performed at the Centre for Energy and Environmental Chemistry Jena (CEEC Jena) at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. JenaBatteries has successfully evolved from a university start-up to a company with 15 employees – building metal-free batteries for large scale energy storage. CEEC Jena as a constant source of innovative ideas paves the way for a strong battery industry in Thuringia
Dr. Norbert Martin, Electrolyte Development, JenaBatteries GmbH
“The innovative battery technologies developed at the CEEC Jena are inspiring our members in the different sectors of renewable energies, energy storage as well as energy efficiency and helps to drive the energy transition both within and from Thuringia. Within the last years the pioneering work at the CEEC Jena has already led to the creation of several jobs in the region.”
Jana Liebe, Managing Director of the Thuringian Renewable Energies Network (ThEEN e.V.)
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Batteries for the Future” is EUR 1 012 121, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 809 697 through the “Thuringia” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Low-carbon economy”.