Battery reseach: “Polymers as active materials require a much smaller CO2 footprint during production”

Professor Dr. S. Ulrich Schubert on the advantages and applications of polymer-based batteries and on trends in current battery research. Schubert is director at the Center for Energy and Environmental Chemistry (CEEC) Jena. The CEEC Jena is an interfaculty center of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

What successes and highlights accompany the research work, in particular yours?

Polymer-based batteries, i.e. batteries that use polymers as active materials for storing electrical energy, have been under intensive investigation in my research group since 2011. For the first time, we were now able to present a thin-film battery generated by inkjet printing. We were also able to file patents and publish papers concerning a number of new active materials. Evonik Industries AG is currently about to commercialize these new polymers as printable inks (under the brand name of “TAeTTOOz”).

What are the characteristics of polymer-based batteries?

Polymers as active materials require a much smaller CO2 footprint during production. Furthermore, they are generally less toxic and flammable. Moreover, these batteries can be pro-cessed using printing techniques (screen-printing, inkjet printing, roll-to-roll printing).

Where do you see the most important fields of use and application?

This applies above all to the area of printable thin-film batteries. From active RFIT tags through “patches” for transmitting health functions to intelligent clothing.Figures are also interesting: Market potential and research investments in Germany and worldwide.This field of research is currently experiencing a tremendous boom. In Germany, in April the German Research Foundation (DFG) established a priority program (€ 12.6 million, duration 6 years), and the EU a training network (ITN, € 4 million, duration 4 years) – I have the honor of coordinating both programs. The interest and investment of Evonik Industries AG likewise indicates the economic potential clearly. Moreover, there continues to be extremely strong interest and activities in China and Japan.