Browsing by Author "Weeber, Max"

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Open Access
Implementation of battery Digital Twin : approach, functionalities and benefits
(2021) Singh, Soumya; Weeber, Max; Birke, Kai Peter
The concept of Digital Twin (DT) is widely explored in literature for different application fields because it promises to reduce design time, enable design and operation optimization, improve after-sales services and reduce overall expenses. While the perceived benefits strongly encourage the use of DT, in the battery industry a consistent implementation approach and quantitative assessment of adapting a battery DT is missing. This paper is a part of an ongoing study that investigates the DT functionalities and quantifies the DT-attributes across the life cycles phases of a battery system. The critical question is whether battery DT is a practical and realistic solution to meeting the growing challenges of the battery industry, such as degradation evaluation, usage optimization, manufacturing inconsistencies or second-life application possibility. Within the scope of this paper, a consistent approach of DT implementation for battery cells is presented, and the main functions of the approach are tested on a Doyle-Fuller-Newman model. In essence, a battery DT can offer improved representation, performance estimation, and behavioral predictions based on real-world data along with the integration of battery life cycle attributes. Hence, this paper identifies the efforts for implementing a battery DT and provides the quantification attribute for future academic or industrial research.
Open Access
Optimization of disassembly strategies for electric vehicle batteries
(2021) Baazouzi, Sabri; Rist, Felix Paul; Weeber, Max; Birke, Kai Peter
Various studies show that electrification, integrated into a circular economy, is crucial to reach sustainable mobility solutions. In this context, the circular use of electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) is particularly relevant because of the resource intensity during manufacturing. After reaching the end-of-life phase, EVBs can be subjected to various circular economy strategies, all of which require the previous disassembly. Today, disassembly is carried out manually and represents a bottleneck process. At the same time, extremely high return volumes have been forecast for the next few years, and manual disassembly is associated with safety risks. That is why automated disassembly is identified as being a key enabler of highly efficient circularity. However, several challenges need to be addressed to ensure secure, economic, and ecological disassembly processes. One of these is ensuring that optimal disassembly strategies are determined, considering the uncertainties during disassembly. This paper introduces our design for an adaptive disassembly planner with an integrated disassembly strategy optimizer. Furthermore, we present our optimization method for obtaining optimal disassembly strategies as a combination of three decisions: (1) the optimal disassembly sequence, (2) the optimal disassembly depth, and (3) the optimal circular economy strategy at the component level. Finally, we apply the proposed method to derive optimal disassembly strategies for one selected battery system for two condition scenarios. The results show that the optimization of disassembly strategies must also be used as a tool in the design phase of battery systems to boost the disassembly automation and thus contribute to achieving profitable circular economy solutions for EVBs.
Open Access
A performance and cost overview of selected solid-state electrolytes : race between polymer electrolytes and inorganic sulfide electrolytes
(2021) Karabelli, Duygu; Birke, Kai Peter; Weeber, Max
Electrolytes are key components in electrochemical storage systems, which provide an ion-transport mechanism between the cathode and anode of a cell. As battery technologies are in continuous development, there has been growing demand for more efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly materials. Solid-state lithium ion batteries (SSLIBs) are considered as next-generation energy storage systems and solid electrolytes (SEs) are the key components for these systems. Compared to liquid electrolytes, SEs are thermally stable (safer), less toxic and provide a more compact (lighter) battery design. However, the main issue is the ionic conductivity, especially at low temperatures. So far, there are two popular types of SEs: (1) inorganic solid electrolytes (InSEs) and (2) polymer electrolytes (PEs). Among InSEs, sulfide-based SEs are providing very high ionic conductivities (up to 10−2 S/cm) and they can easily compete with liquid electrolytes (LEs). On the other hand, they are much more expensive than LEs. PEs can be produced at less cost than InSEs but their conductivities are still not sufficient for higher performances. This paper reviews the most efficient SEs and compares them in terms of their performances and costs. The challenges associated with the current state-of-the-art electrolytes and their cost-reduction potentials are described.
Open Access
Simulation-based assessment of energy use in factories
(Stuttgart : Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnik und Automatisierung IPA, 2022) Weeber, Max; Sauer, Alexander (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dipl.-Kfm.)
The increasing awareness of the limited resources of our planet is demanding that industrial companies improve the sustainability of their business strategies and urging decision-makers to adopt environmentally friendly manufacturing practices. In this respect, identifying ways to improve energy use in factories is subject to ongoing research. Recently, factory simulation models have been proposed to better understand the interdependencies of energy use in the different peripheries of a factory system. However, the complexity of the proposed factory simulation models and their inability to jointly evaluate multiple energy-related performance metrics have limited their application in practice. This work extends the scope of existing factory simulation models with a particular focus on on-site energy supply systems and extends conventional energy performance metrics to include non-energy benefits. It also improves upon the prevailing trial-and-error approaches currently used to evaluate improvement measures within these models. The findings show that an assessment procedure that combines a multi-peripheral factory model with a comprehensive evaluation process using design of simulation experiments can improve both the comprehensiveness and generalizability of the obtained simulation results. The results show that by applying the proposed methodology, combined energy-saving potentials of 38% can be achieved for the factory building and its technical building systems. At the same time, the non-energy benefits in terms of improved occupational safety can be increased by 40%. Starting from this baseline, further improvements are possible with regard to the energy supply system setup. Using the proposed evaluation process, it is possible to further improve various energy performance metrics of the factory, including energy costs (-10%), energy demand (-7%), and CO2 emissions (-11%). In addition, the share of renewables on the energy supplied was increased by 16% and energy flexibility by 31%. The results of this work should promote the understanding of the complex interdependencies of energy use in factories and advance the transition of the corresponding factory simulation models and related evaluation processes into planning practice.
Open Access
Sodium-based batteries : in search of the best compromise between sustainability and maximization of electric performance
(2020) Karabelli, Duygu; Singh, Soumya; Kiemel, Steffen; Koller, Jan; Konarov, Aishuak; Stubhan, Frank; Miehe, Robert; Weeber, Max; Bakenov, Zhumabay; Birke, Kai Peter
Till 2020 the predominant key success factors of battery development have been overwhelmingly energy density, power density, lifetime, safety, and costs per kWh. That is why there is a high expectation on energy storage systems such as lithium-air (Li-O2) and lithium-sulfur (Li-S) systems, especially for mobile applications. These systems have high theoretical specific energy densities compared to conventional Li-ion systems. If the challenges such as practical implementation, low energy efficiency, and cycle life are handled, these systems could provide an interesting energy source for EVs. However, various raw materials are increasingly under critical discussion. Though only 3 wt% of metallic lithium is present in a modern Li-ion cell, absolute high amounts of lithium demand will rise due to the fast-growing market for traction and stationary batteries. Moreover, many lithium sources are not available without compromising environmental aspects. Therefore, there is a growing focus on alternative technologies such as Na-ion and Zn-ion batteries. On a view of Na-ion batteries, especially the combination with carbons derived from food waste as negative electrodes may generate a promising overall cost structure, though energy densities are not as favorable as for Li-ion batteries. Within the scope of this work, the future potential of sodium-based batteries will be discussed in view of sustainability and abundance vs. maximization of electric performance. The major directions of cathode materials development are reviewed and the tendency towards designing high-performance systems is discussed. This paper provides an outlook on the potential of sodium-based batteries in the future battery market of mobile and stationary applications.
Open Access
Tackling xEV battery chemistry in view of raw material supply shortfalls
(2020) Karabelli, Duygu; Kiemel, Steffen; Singh, Soumya; Koller, Jan; Ehrenberger, Simone; Miehe, Robert; Weeber, Max; Birke, Kai Peter
The growing number of Electric Vehicles poses a serious challenge at the end-of-life for battery manufacturers and recyclers. Manufacturers need access to strategic or critical materials for the production of a battery system. Recycling of end-of-life electric vehicle batteries may ensure a constant supply of critical materials, thereby closing the material cycle in the context of a circular economy. However, the resource-use per cell and thus its chemistry is constantly changing, due to supply disruption or sharply rising costs of certain raw materials along with higher performance expectations from electric vehicle-batteries. It is vital to further explore the nickel-rich cathodes, as they promise to overcome the resource and cost problems. With this study, we aim to analyze the expected development of dominant cell chemistries of Lithium-Ion Batteries until 2030, followed by an analysis of the raw materials availability. This is accomplished with the help of research studies and additional experts’ survey which defines the scenarios to estimate the battery chemistry evolution and the effect it has on a circular economy. In our results, we will discuss the annual demand for global e-mobility by 2030 and the impact of Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt based cathode chemistries on a sustainable economy. Estimations beyond 2030 are subject to high uncertainty due to the potential market penetration of innovative technologies that are currently under research (e.g. solid-state Lithium-Ion and/or sodium-based batteries).