Batteries are among the key elements for a successful energy transition – whether for the electrification of transportation, the stabilization of the power grid or the balancing of fluctuating green electricity. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg has been conducting research along the entire battery value chain for years. With its new “Center for Electrical Energy Storage”, which has now been inaugurated, the institute has state-of-the-art laboratories for cutting-edge international research. The focus of current research is on improving the sustainability, safety and performance of battery storage.

At the new competence center in the Haid industrial area of Freiburg, Fraunhofer ISE will conduct research on innovative battery materials and cells, develop optimized solutions for battery systems, advance their integration into various applications, and carry out comprehensive quality assurance testing on batteries in a laboratory area of more than 3,700 square meters. With its center, Fraunhofer ISE offers development and testing services from a single source for a broad range of customers, from material and battery manufacturers to mechanical engineers, integrators and operators for use in electric mobility or as stationary storage systems. The institute also cooperates with industrial partners on recycling and questions regarding the possibilities for further use of disused batteries (2nd life).

The center was financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism, which each contributed nine million euros. “We are grateful for this funding, which has enabled us to establish a research infrastructure with state-of-the-art characterization instruments, industry-oriented process equipment and unique facilities. It allows us to develop new materials, technologies, production processes and applications in close collaboration with our industrial customers or in close cooperation with the Fraunhofer research production of battery cells,” explains institute director Prof. Hans-Martin Henning.

As a “living lab”, the building itself also serves research: in the “Haid-Power” project, which was funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg with three million euros, the center received a modular hybrid battery storage system with 836 kilowatt-hours of capacity, which, together with an 850 kilowatt photovoltaic system on the flat roof, supports the building's energy supply. Battery-based solutions for commercial and industrial use and new operating strategies, such as intelligent load management, can be tested under real operating conditions. For example, a fast-charging station with buffer storage is being installed as part of the BMBF-funded “ecoLEPuS” project to test second-life batteries for use in high-performance applications.

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