Press Releases 2020

Falling costs for solar panels and wind turbines equals lower CO2 emissions in the energy sector - if this equation is correct, it would a big step towards achieving the Paris climate goals. Many key renewable energy technologies have indeed become much cheaper in the last few years. However, a study of national energy and climate policies in Argentina, Indonesia and Mexico shows that falling costs for renewables do not automatically result in more climate protection.

Green hydrogen and its synthesis products are regarded as an important element of the energy transition and combating climate change in the hydrogen strategies of both Germany and the EU. Imports play a major role in this context, but these depend on multiple factors, some of which are still unclear at present. Fraunhofer ISI examines all the issues related to importing green hydrogen in a new policy brief, and summarizes the tasks and problems that still have to be solved.

Road freight transport in Germany is largely based on diesel engines. This is a problem for achieving climate goals. Electrical systems like catenary trucks that are powered by electricity via an overhead line similar to trains would be more efficient and more environmentally-friendly. The infrastructure behind this, a so-called eHighway, is already technically feasible; eHighway systems make already ecological sense today and economic sense in a few years. The question is: are they socially accepted? Fraunhofer ISI discusses the key points of this technology in a policy brief.

Faster charging, longer stability of performance not only for electric vehicles but also for smartphones and other battery powered products. What still sounds like science fiction today might be feasible in the future, not least thanks to innovations the recently started “Spartacus” research project wants to achieve. By utilizing advanced sensors and cell management systems, “Spartacus” aims to reduce charging times by up to 20 % without compromising the reliability and service life of batteries. The European Union is funding “Spartacus” as part of the Battery 2030+ research initiative.

Batteries will play a crucial role in the phase-out of fossil fuels, in particular in the transport sector. If the goal of reducing CO2 emissions in Germany by 55 percent by 2030 is to be achieved, future batteries must above all become more sustainable and also cheaper. That is a big challenge, because the development of new batteries takes a long time - longer than we can wait for the green transition. The EU project BIG-MAP (Battery Interface Genome - Materials Acceleration Platform), aims at accelerating the speed of battery development by changing the way of inventing, so that future sustainable and ultra-high-performance batteries can be developed 10 times faster than today.

Against the background of the global energy transition, the development of new technologies and characterization methods for thermochemical and electrochemical systems is becoming more significant. In context of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has expanded its R&D infrastructure and now operates one of the few facilities worldwide for High Temperature Near-Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (HT-NAP-XPS). With this, the institute sets yet another milestone for the development of electrolysis and fuel cell systems as well as for hydrogen-based Power to X concepts.

Can tomorrow’s energy supply be freed of CO2 Fraunhofer researchers want to answer that question with a consortium of partners in ZO.RRO, a joint project underway in the German state of Thuringia. They are developing a complex IT ecosystem to facilitate the systemic exit from fossil fuels – a package of IT solutions designed to slash greenhouse gas emissions. This research venture centers on system services, which account for up to 20 percent of CO2 emissins.

Although Chile and Germany are seperated by several thousand kilometers, the transformation of the energy system is confronted with partly similar challenges. Therefore, Chilean and German experts took the opportunity to discuss and share latest developments of the energy transition in their countries during the international workshop “Towards a Sustainable Future”. Highly topical issues from science and business as well as the political arena were presented, ideas exchanged and starting points for future cooperations explored. Originally planned as a personal meeting in Santiago de Chile in March 2020, the meeting was postponed due to COVID-19 and has now taken place in form of an online seminar.

The global battery demand will dramatically increase in the next 10 years and beyond. This will create new jobs that require specific battery knowledge and skills. But which future skills are exactly needed? To answer this question, Fraunhofer ISI in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Battery Alliance and the Fraunhofer Academy conducts a new online survey which addresses battery experts from industry and public organisations. The survey runs until November 30th.

Palomar Technologies, a global leader in total process solutions for advanced photonics and microelectronic device packaging, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB in Erlangen, Germany, announced their joint research initiative in the area of high-quality, void-free power module packaging for electric vehicles.