Report on Munich Battery Discussions 2019

Improvement of Li-ion Batteries through Electrolyte Development: from Liquid to Solid-State Electrolytes

[Translate to en:] Group picture of the 2019 Munich Battery Discussions attendees

On Monday March 18th the organizing committee around representatives from TUM and BMW, opened the 7th annual Munich Battery Discussions at the Institute for Advanced Studies. For the next two days, a diverse audience of around 120 scientists, including many members from TUM.Battery groups, was attentively following the 18 invited international speakers who are renowned experts in their fields.

The clear focus of this year’s symposium was set on different facets of solid-state electrolytes, a promising candidate for the next-generation batteries owing to their increased safety and performance potential. In their talks, the speakers introduced and assessed a multitude of viable solid-state electrolyte materials. In particular, sulfide and oxide based inorganic materials were critically assessed. Besides these solid materials, intermediate alternatives bridging the gap between liquid and solid state such as high concentrated salts and polymer-based materials were discussed. Another reason to further investigate solid-state electrolytes is their potential compatibility with Li-metal anodes. Li-metal depicts an ideal anode material due to its highest lithium activity. However, major challenges such as dendrite formation, anode volume expansion and continuous SEI build-up need to be overcome in order to realize a competitive cell set-up featuring Li-metal anodes. Speakers addressing this topic thus primarily focused on interfacial phenomena and how to deliberately engineer these interfaces.

The Munich Battery Discussions are a platform for experts in battery research to exchange and discuss openly about the bleeding edge in their research. This year’s event has clearly pointed towards a future battery generation featuring solid-state electrolytes yet it has also revealed the challenges for solid-state batteries to become commercially competitive to the state-of-the-art liquid electrolyte Li-Ion batteries. The dedication and enthusiasm of such an international scientific community along with continuous exchange of ideas will drive the future of battery research. For more detailed information on the program of the 2019 Munich Battery Discussions click HERE