Metal-free and liquid-free organic lithium-ion batteries for sustainable and safe energy storage (MOLIBE)

  • Project team:

    Weil, Marcel (Project leader); Merve Erakca

  • Funding:

    Cooperation with France involving science and industry (“2+2” projects) in research and development for a sustainable energy supply in Europe

  • Start date:

    2019

  • End date:

    2024

  • Project partners:

    Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU); Daikin Chemical Europe GmbH; CEA Grenoble; CNRS-LEPMI; Bernard Dumas; CANOE R&D

  • Research group:

    Research for Sustainable Energy Technologies

Project description

Lithium-ion batteries are seen as the most promising technology for reversible energy storage to enable sustainable electrification of the mobility needs of today’s society. However, besides the urgent need for improved energy and power densities, there are two major challenges for wider dissemination of the technology: the high costs and serious safety concerns. While the comparatively high costs are mainly due to the expensive metals contained in the battery, such as cobalt, nickel, or copper, safety concerns arise primarily from the high flammability and low stability of the liquid electrolytes. The MOLIBE project (under the overall supervision of Dr. Dominic Bresser, HIU-KIT) will develop completely solid, metal-free rechargeable batteries. These batteries are based on organic active materials and polymer electrolyte systems. The French and German project partners cover the entire range of skills required for this – from the synthesis and characterization of the organic active materials, polymer electrolytes, and new current collectors, to the production and testing of the cells, to the analysis and evaluation of the sustainability of the entire value chain.

The main objectives of the MOLIBE project are:

  • Developing organic active materials, metal-free current collectors, and non-metallic charge carriers in order to avoid any metallic components.
  • Increasing safety by implementing polymer electrolyte systems with high ionic conductivity.
  • Developing a basic understanding of the various chemical and electrochemical reactions in the battery cell.
  • Supporting the development process through continuous and prospective life cycle analysis to ensure sustainability of the newly developed electrochemical energy storage system.

Publications


2021
Presentations
Erakca, M.; Baumann, M.; Bauer, W.; Biasi, L. de; Ruhland, J.; Bold, B.; Weil, M.
Energieflussanalyse der Produktion von Lithium-Ionen Batteriezellen im Labormaßstab mit Vergleich verschiedener Produktionsskalen
2021. STORENERGY Congress (2021), Online, November 17–18, 2021 
Erakca, M.; Weil, M.; Bresser, D.; Bautista, S. P.
Conducting Prospective LCAs – the Example of Metal and Liquid-free Organic Lithium-ion Battery
2021. 10th HIU Biennial Meeting (2021), Helmholtz-Institut Ulm, September 15–16, 2021 
Erakca, M.; Weil, M.; Bresser, D.; Bautista, S. P.
Challenges and Pitfalls of Conducting Prospective LCA for Emerging Technologies: The Example of Metal-Free Organic Batteries
2021. 15th Conference Society And Materials (EcoSD 2021), Online, May 10–11, 2021 
2020
Posters
Erakca, M.; Weil, M.; Bresser, D.; Bautista, S. P.
Life cycle assessment of metal and liquid-free organic lithium-ion batteries as sustainable and safe energy storage technologies
2020. International Battery Production Conference (IBPC 2020), Online, November 2–4, 2020 

Contact

Dr.-Ing. Marcel Weil
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS)
P.O. Box 3640
76021 Karlsruhe
Germany

Tel.: +49 721 608-26718
E-mail