Research Field Post-Lithium Batteries

Merging concepts of organic and inorganic active materials is key to a good performance of such post-Li batteries, and organic electrode materials play an increasingly important role to enable a reversible insertion of multivalent or anionic charge carriers. CELEST partner HIU played a pioneering role in chloride-ion and fluoride-ion batteries, as well as in electrolytes for magnesium and calcium batteries. Organic electrode materials are key expertise at Ulm University, being key enablers of multivalent cell concepts.

Shortly after its establishment, the platform CELEST was successful in the highly competitive German “Excellence Strategy” competition. CELEST is the home of Germany’s only Cluster of Excellence in battery research. The Cluster of Excellence POLiS (Post Lithium Storage) with its partners Ulm University, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Justus Liebig University Giessen, is one of the platform‘s main activities in the post-lithium area. Batteries play a key role in the transformation of energy and transport. However, the extraction of raw materials for current lithium-ion batteries, such as cobalt, graphite and lithium, poses political, ecological and economic risks. Within the Cluster of Excellence POLiS, future batteries that are more powerful, reliable, sustainable and environmentally friendly than lithium-ion batteries are being researched. The focus is on sustainable alternatives based on sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, aluminium and chloride ions.