Innovative Measurement Methods for Safe Batteries

Battery Technology Innovative Measurement Methods for Safe Batteries

2025-09-09 Source: Federal Institute for Materials Research | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing is participating in a European major project to develop new measurement methods for sustainable battery materials. The goal is to accelerate the development of environmentally friendly energy storage systems.

Synthetic carbons inside a sodium-ion battery.(Image: BAM) — Synthetic carbons inside a sodium-ion battery.
(Image: BAM)

The European battery industry faces significant challenges: increasing demand for electric energy storage clashes with limited resources and environmental impacts from production and disposal. New battery technologies such as sodium-ion systems or low-cobalt lithium-ion cells are considered promising alternatives but are still difficult to characterize due to their complex and less-researched material systems.

Hybrid Measurement Methods for the Battery of the Future

The project "Hybrid Metrology for Sustainable and Low-Carbon Footprint Battery Materials" (HyMetBat) aims at novel hybrid metrology: Multiple independent measurement techniques—such as X-ray spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, calorimetry, and impedance spectroscopy—are to be combined to analyze battery materials under realistic operating conditions ("in-situ").

The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) is developing a method to precisely correlate the structural and electrochemical properties of these materials, working closely with the Helmholtz Center Berlin (HZB), La Sapienza University in Rome, as well as the University of Kent and the National Physics Laboratory in the UK. "We are particularly interested in analyzing specific anode materials whose storage capacity varies significantly for reasons that are still unknown. We aim to quantify the performance limits of these materials under safe operating conditions. We will also utilize these findings in the recently established Berlin Battery Lab (BBL), founded in collaboration with HZB and Humboldt University in Berlin," explains Tim-Patrick Fellinger, Head of BAM's Electrochemical Energy Materials Department.

Measurement Methods Are to Be Incorporated into International Standards

The measurement methods developed in the project are intended not only to advance research but also to be incorporated into international standards and directly transferred to industrial practice. This includes case studies with automotive manufacturers, battery producers, and recycling companies. BAM is working closely with partners such as the MEET Battery Research Center in Münster.

HyMetBat is a project within the European research program "European Partnership on Metrology" under "Horizon Europe" and is funded by the EU with approximately 3.8 million US dollars. It brings together around 30 partner institutions from twelve countries and is coordinated by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).

The right mix is crucial. The BAM team is developing special solid electrolytes based on sodium superionic conductors. (Image:Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing)

The image shows a layered structure of transition metals (blue) and sulfur (yellow). The space between the layers can be occupied by sodium ions (purple) and organic solvent molecules (red, brown). (Image:Y. Sun et al., Nature Materials 2025)

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Date: 08.12.2025

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