Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology
Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology
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Electrochemical storage laboratory

Laboratory infrastructure

Our laboratory infrastructure provides extensive capabilities for measuring parameters used in our simulation models of electrochemical storage systems (BaSiS - Battery Simulation Studio).

In battery research we offer

  • characterization of physical and electrochemical properties under various conditions,
  • current and voltage measurements in the time domain, as well as impedance spectroscopy in the frequency domain,
  • analysis of aging properties depending on charge/discharge current, temperature, humidity, state-of-charge (SOC), etc. and
  • analysis of various battery types, including coin, cylindrical, pouch and prismatic batteries.

Furthermore, our portfolio includes research into supercapacitors and hydrogen technologies.

BaSiS - Battery Simulation Studio

The BaSiS - Battery Simulation Studio, developed at the Fraunhofer IEE, provides a simulation environment for lithium-ion, lead-acid batteries, beyond-lithium-ion technologies, supercapacitors and electrolyzers. This tool has been successfully used for years in both industrial and pre-industrial research by automotive and battery manufacturers, among others.

The real-time module of BaSiS enables emulation of batteries (virtual battery) in real test environments, allowing precise simulation of the terminal behavior of real batteries in hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test benches. This facilitates hardware testing that would otherwise be highly costly and time-consuming, making development faster and more cost-effective.

Key benefits: Monitor conditions, accelerate development accelerate development and optimize operation.

Laboratory equipment

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Battery Tester / Potentiostat

We use battery testers and potentiostats tfor various tests, such as pulse tests, capacity tests, cyclization tests in the time domain and impedance measurements in the frequency domain. These allow us to determine the parameters of the electrochemical processes within the batteries

  • charge/discharge current: ± 10 µA to ± 15 A per channel,
  • maximum current: ±120 A (parallel connection),
  • expandable up to ±800 A with booster,
  • maximum voltage range: ±50 V,
  • frequency range for impedance measurement: 10 µHz to 4 MHz.

Environmental and climate simulation

We have a variety of climate chambers for simulating environmental and climate conditions. These are used to measure the behavior of battery cells, other energy storage systems and hydrogen technologies under various operating conditions. We also analyze calendar aging behavior of battery cells at different storage temperatures:

  • temperature range: -75 °C to +180 °C,
  • humidity range: 10 % to 98 % relative humidity (r. h.).

Physical characterization

Using a digital microscope, we analyze the microstructure of the electrodes at various resolutions and study the morphology in three dimensions. This enables the analysis of active material particle size distribution, structure and potential damage:

  • magnification: up to 500x,
  • measurable resolution: < 1 µm.

Other critical parameters for simulation models, such as the specific surface area, porosity and pore diameter of electrodes and separators in batteries and the diffusion layers in fuel cells and electrolysers are characterized using mercury porosimetry and isothermal gas sorption:

  • particle diameter: 0.01 to 3000 μm,
  • pore diameter: 0.0036 to 1000 μm,
  • pore size: 0.7 to 500 nm (nitrogen),
  • specific surface area: up to 0.01m2/g (ISO 9277).

Additional laboratory equipment

For half-cell potential measurements, we disassemble battery cells in an inert atmosphere and prepare test specimens from finished electrodes. These test cells enable detailed analysis of battery materials:

  • 0.8m3 glovebox filled with argon,
  • PAT-Cell test cell,
  • precise punching tools (EL-Cut and ECC-Li-Punch).

Projects

SuKoBa

Supercapacitors for optimizing the service life of battery hybrid storage systems.

Project Page

HyLeiT

Cost-optimized system technology and grid integration of systems for the production of green hydrogen.

Project Page

LionAID

Diagnostic system for automotive workshops to maintain and diagnose traction batteries without the need for extensive driving tests.

Ladeinfrastruktur 2.0 and OmniE

Battery aging for different charging and usage scenarios in the e-mobility sector (electric passenger cars) and public transport (electric buses).

Zsim

High-precision emulation of battery impedances up to 10 kHz.

HyPowerRange

Design and control of a directly coupled high-power/high-energy lithium-ion hybrid storage system.

metaLit

Dendrite and SEI growth in batteries with metallic lithium electrodes.