The materials modeling division is involved in various collaborative research activities and joint projects. Here you find an overview of all currently running projects.

CRC FLAIR

Electroceramic materials exhibit a variety of properties and are increasingly used, for example, in energy conversion, energy storage, and electronics. For developing advanced electroceramic materials with novel and/or enhanced properties, which are compatible with major societal challenges as climate-neutrality, health-protection, and resource and energy efficiency, it is highly desirable to be able to predict how their properties depend on composition and on the way the material is made.

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Competence Cluster for Solid State Batteries (FestBatt) – BMBF

The aim of the cluster, which is funded with around 16 million euros, is to research the fundamentals of solid state batteries and to apply the knowledge gained directly to applications. Solid-state technology, which is considered the next generation of batteries, uses a solid rather than a liquid electrolyte. In electric mobility, for example, this enables significantly longer ranges of over 500 km and faster charging in the minute range to be achieved while at the same time increasing safety.

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Manufacturing methods for solid state sodium batteries

The expansion of renewable energies is increasing the need for stationary storage systems that can absorb and compensate for daily and seasonal fluctuations. Due to their very good raw material availability and environmental compatibility, sodium-based battery systems make an important contribution to resource conservation and simplified battery recycling. Against this background, Fraunhofer IKTS, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, Darmstadt University of Technology and Fraunhofer ILT are working in the new BMBF project "HeNa" on sodium solid-state batteries that are more powerful and at the same time well scalable and recyclable.

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EU-Project SIMBA – The next generation of energy storage

The SIMBA project aims at developing a highly cost-effective, safe, all-solid-state-battery with sodium as mobile ionic charge carrier for next generation stationary energy storage applications. Although in many ways Sodium-Ion batteries are like Lithium-ion batteries, there are still several persistent scientific and technical challenges to be addressed in understanding electrochemical processes and degradation mechanisms, electrode, solid-state electrolyte and cell manufacturing. The SIMBA project aims to solve these challenges and pave the way to market introduction.

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Research Training Group (“Graduiertenkolleg”) – Composite Materials

On 01.04.2020, a joint research training group on high-temperature composites started with TU Darmstadt, the Karsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and DECHEMA. The Research Training Group (GRK) is funded by the German Research Society (DFG) and is scheduled to run for four and a half years.

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Research project EFFCIS – BMWi

EFFCIS (Efficiency Optimisation of CIS-based thin-film solar cells and modules) is a project financed by BMWi. In this research network, experts from research institutes, universities and industry work together to increase the efficiency and long-term stability of chalkopyrite-based thin-film solar cells by means of modified buffer materials and modified absorber and window layers. In order to achieve this, experiments with increased band gaps, improved doping profiles and interfaces with low defect densities are being carried out. Methods such as in-situ laser light scattering, in-situ X-ray diffraction and fluorescence and in-situ Raman spectroscopy are used. This allows the growth of the CIGS solar cell to be monitored in real time.

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HoMMage

The Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio (CRC/TRR) 270 involves researchers from TU Darmstadt, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Max Planck Institute for Iron Research and Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C) at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

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