Projects

The Cooperative Research Project FLEX-G started on June 1, 2017 under the federal construction technology initiative named ENERGIEWENDEBAUEN funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi, funding reference 03ET1470A). The main goal of the research project is to investigate technologies for the manufacturing of translucent and transparent membrane roof and façade elements with integrated optoelectronic components. The focus lies on a switchable total energy transmittance (often referred to as the solar factor or solar heat gain, and “g-value” in Europe) and on flexible solar cell integration to significantly contribute to both energy saving and power generation in buildings.

The project SEEDs aims at the establishment of a unique research and demonstration platform for local energy systems using all kinds of energy sources like electricity, thermal heat or cold and hydrogen. The focus lies on renewable energies.

Ten partners from industry and research organizations now join forces in the EU funded project ECO COM'BAT („Ecological Composites for High-Efficient Li-Ion Batteries“), coordinated by the Fraunhofer Project Group Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies, part of the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC, to develop the next generation of lithium-ion batteries – the high-voltage battery.

Lithium-ion batteries are key elements in electromobility and a successful energy turnaround. The widespread use of these energy storage devices will come along with large quantities of spent batteries which itself constitute a valuable source of raw materials. However, their production from base elements is costly and complex. In the project NEW-BAT, scientists and engineers from research institutions and industry join forces to develop a new system to completely recover and process all battery materials (especially lithium metal oxides) for direct re-use in new batteries.

Thirteen international partners are collaborating on the EU-funded project EELICON – launched in January 2014 – to realize an innovative switchable light transmittance technology. The core aspects of this development are mechanically flexible and light-weight electrochromic (EC) devices based on a conductive polymer nanocomposite with a unique property profile far beyond the current state-of-the art. Existing windows can be retrofitted with the electrically dimmable plastic film. The underlying coating technology is registered under the trade mark ISCoating®.

»Electro-mobile« bicycles are gaining in significance and popularity, especially with people living in or near cities. While only approximately 24,000 electrical cars are registered in Germany, figures of the ADFC bicycle club show that already some 1.6 million pedelecs (pedal electric cycle) roamed the streets of Germany in 2014. The market for low-effort electrical bicycles is booming. But neither long-term experience nor reliable data are available regarding the usage patterns of electric bicycles and batteries at realistic conditions of use. This is a shortcoming that bothers not only the users, but also the bicycle manufacturers and suppliers of battery packs. These unknown factors are the focus of an investigation of the Fraunhofer ISC in cooperation with partners from industry and science in the scope of the project titled »PEDElEc – Pendler-eBike Dauertest mit elektrischen und elektrochemischen Untersuchungen« (Commuter e-bike long-term test including electrical and electrochemical tests). Twelve staff members of the Fraunhofer ISC have been cycling to work each day since October 2013 for the purposes of this project.

While the new generation of batteries that are emerging, ABattReLife consortium was going to gather automotive industry players, together with strong academic institutions in order to assess the technological barriers for a better battery life cycle as well as the most appropriate technologies to ensure a re-use of the batteries at the end of the optimal life cycle. During a period of three years the 10 partners of EU project ABattReLife studied in five project steps what causes aging of electric vehicle batteries and what could stop the aging process or at least slow it down. Also they were looking for secondary uses or a final recycling of aged batteries.