Development partnership for silicon anodes at Uni Kiel
Kiel University and RENA Technologies are jointly developing silicon as storage material for batteries. The partners are working on anodes made from 100% silicon that could replace graphite. Stability was achieved through targeted structuring.
Kiel University and equipment manufacturers RENA Technologies present a new approach to silicon in battery development at the Hannover Messe. Whilst silicon has been impossible to use due to its mechanic instability, the researchers have found a way to stabilise it.
Their resulting 100% silicon anodes use targeted structuring of its surface at the micrometer level, so that the team can fully exploit the storage potential of silicon. Says materials scientist Dr Sandra Hansen: “Theoretically, silicon is the best material for anodes in batteries. It can store up to 10 times more energy than graphite anodes in conventional lithium-ion batteries.”
Therefore, the team is working on way to commercialise their development together with Rena, that also produces solar technology and is thus interested in energy storage solutions. Their joint research project “Development and characterisation of large, porous Si film anodes for lithium-sulphur-silicon energy storage” (PorSSi) kicked off last year and has gained a total of one million Euros in funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The end result is to be a high-performance silicon battery, along with a concept for its cost-effective industrial production.
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