Battery Systems

The demand for innovative battery technologies is steadily increasing due to the energy and mobility transition.

The Battery Systems division at Fraunhofer IWU supports producers and users from battery design and the integration of innovative materials through to the scaling of efficient production processes and refurbishment strategies. In terms of development technology, we start above the cell chemistry level.

We offer development support in the design, simulation and production of battery pack prototypes and have particular expertise in the areas of lightweight construction and thermal management as well as joining and forming technology, handling technology and system integration in vehicle development.

Our research focuses on environmentally friendly production concepts that take into account the requirements of dismantling, including re-use and recycling. In lightweight construction, the focus is on crash-absorbing metal foams, aluminum alloys, fiber composites and their hybrids. Cooling lines integrated into the structure or phase change materials are examples of solutions for the active or passive temperature control of batteries.

We would be happy to work with you and to develop an individually optimized battery system for your application scenario!

Research Topics

  • New materials and design principles
  • Consideration of the entire battery system
  • Design (construction/simulation)
  • Development of production solutions for series production of battery systems
  • Testing and benchmarking

Service Offerings

  • Developing and functionalizing components
    • Mechatronics, adaptronics, powertrain and more
    • Batteries and fuel cells for series production
  • Making production technologies more efficient
    • Forming, joining, milling, machining, drilling and more
  • Making production systems more flexible
    • Toolmaking, (dis)assembly lines
    • Human-robot collaboration
    • Automation, artificial intelligence and more
  • Production management
    • Simulate and optimize energy and material flows
    • Increase resource efficiency, achieve climate neutrality
    • Networked, adaptive production lines and more

Reference Projects

 

COOLBat: CO2-reduced battery housings of the next generation

The battery system is the central component of an electric car. The CoolBat project is demonstrating how innovative design principles, materials and production processes can help to manufacture housings for these battery systems in a climate-friendly way and at the same time integrate better performance characteristics.

 

FutureFlexPro — Battery module construction

The objective of the “Battery module construction” sub-project of the BMBF FutureFlexPro project was to redesign a battery module, taking into account cell geometry and arrangement, thermal management, fire protection and module disassembly. The design of the battery module was based on materials and production technologies from the participating Fraunhofer Institutes.

Further Reference Projects

in the area of Battery Systems