The increasing importance of sustainable energy storage systems is illustrated by the joint Cluster of Excellence of KIT and the University of Ulm, which is funded within the framework of the Excellence Initiative of the German Federal and State Governments since January 2019 for an initial period of seven years. From a total of 88 cluster applications submitted, the German Excellence Commission selected the application "Energy Storage Beyond Lithium – New Concepts for a Sustainable Future" together with another 56 applications.

The central goal of the cluster is to develop a fundamental understanding of electrochemical energy storage in novel systems, to combine fundamental material properties with critical performance parameters and to lay the foundations for the practical use of post-lithium technologies. The Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wuerttemberg (ZSW) and Justus Liebig University Giessen are acting as partners in this effort.

Picture: Laila Tkotz / KIT