Oct 26 2006
Degussa AG of Dusseldorf, Germany, is increasing its engagement in cutting-edge research by setting up a professorship for Applied Materials Sciences for Energy Storage and Conversion at Münster University in collaboration with Chemetall GmbH, Frankfurt, and Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg. The intention behind the professorship, which is unparalleled in Europe, is to establish an internationally competitive research program on energy storage in large-volume lithium-ion batteries. In the process, the university and industry will be collaborating closely to drive marketable innovations. The professorship will be equipped with total funds of 2.25 million euros for a five-year period.
Current battery technology does not offer adequate means of storing energy in large batteries, particularly in the area of automotive applications. However, in the field of drive technology in particular, the trends for the next decades are clearly pointing towards the use of electrical energy storage systems as a way of reducing fuel consumption. The task in this respect is to improve the energy and power density of batteries and their safety and durability – all important prerequisites for significantly lowering the costs of battery systems.
As the global market leader in specialty chemicals, Degussa possesses considerable know-how in the field of lithium-ion batteries. Its ceramic membrane separator SEPARION® plays a substantial role in making lithium-ion batteries both safer and also more powerful for large-scale applications. Such batteries can thus be deployed in hybrid vehicles requiring up to 25 percent less fuel than vehicles with conventional drive systems.
The new professorship will be set up at the Institute for Physical Chemistry at Münster University's Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutics. Offering expertise in solid-state chemistry and the material sciences as well as several collaborative research centers and research training groups, the Department provides an excellent scientific environment for the professorship. It was also due to its Collaborative Research Center 458 (Ionic Motion in Materials with Disordered Structures) and the International NRW Graduate School of Chemistry, which attracts graduate students with excellent academic records from all over the world, that the choice fell on Münster. In turn the attractive new research field and increased cooperation with industry provide the Department a promising opportunity to enhance its national and international standing.
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