TransDIB
Development and transfer of cost-efficient, sustainable and safe dual-ion batteries for stationary energy storage solutions
Dual-ion batteries (DIB) do not contain any harmful metals and are made from materials that are available in Germany. This innovative technology promises lower costs, safety, independence and sustainability.
The dual-ion battery (DIB) is a relatively new development based on graphite cathodes. The use of graphite makes it possible to dispense with critical materials such as cobalt or nickel. The DIB approach impresses with its long service life, high energy density, low costs and unproblematic use of raw materials. Previous studies have focused on the material level and the production of laboratory cells. Pouch cells and other industry-relevant cell formats have so far remained largely unexamined. The same applies to scaling up to pilot scale.
Transfer to industry as a major goal
The TransDIB project (“Development and transfer of cost-efficient, sustainable and safe dual-ion batteries for stationary energy storage solutions”) now aims to transfer this battery cell technology to industry. To this end, the project partners want to produce prototypes on a lithium-ion battery (LIB) pilot plant. Building on this, industrial cell production for DIBs will then be planned so that graphite electrodes can ultimately be produced on a large scale using the roll-to-roll process. Partners from industry (VARTA Microbattery GmbH, SGL Carbon GmbH, E-LYTE Innovations GmbH, Sixonia Tech GmbH) and research (Technische Universität Dresden, Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster) are working hand in hand on the project.
Advantages of the DIB
In a DIB, the electrolyte acts as the active material, as both anions and cations are stored and released simultaneously in the anode and cathode. As the path of the ions is only half as long as in classic lithium-ion batteries, the charging and discharging process is correspondingly faster. However, the use of graphite also has other advantages. For example, the cathodes can be produced from aqueous formulations. This is not only sustainable, but also cheaper than conventional lithium-ion batteries. The batteries are also very safe, as no oxygen has to be used in the electrodes and the graphite electrodes remain stable even at high charging rates. Last but not least, DIB cells can be manufactured entirely from materials that are available in Germany. This promotes German technological leadership and leads to independence from critical raw material sources.
Promising applications
Stationary energy storage systems are primarily used for the temporary storage of green electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Compared to current storage technologies (e.g. pumped storage power plants), stationary batteries are characterized by a lower land consumption. This reduces investment costs. As they are also modular in design, these storage systems can be easily scaled and are therefore just as suitable for commercial applications as they are for household grid applications.
TransDIB project
The project “Development and transfer of cost-efficient, sustainable and safe dual-ion batteries for stationary energy storage solutions – TransDIB” runs from February 2023 to January 2026. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with €2.3 million within the guideline “Battery materials for future electromobile, stationary and other industry-relevant applications (Battery 2020 Transfer)”.
