The CEEC Jena Innovation Centre offers research and development services as well as education and training in three areas - energy transition, energy storage and environmental technology. CEEC Jena's current focus is, in particular, in the field of energy storage.

Innovative energy storage technologies are an essential element for the success of the energy transition in Germany and the future value-adding as an industrial nation in a multitude of product areas. CEEC Jena specialises in developing next-generation and next-but-one-generation batteries in a holistic research approach that ranges from application-­oriented basic research to prototypes development. As opposed to competing research approaches, CEEC Jena abstains from using metals (for example, cobalt in lithium batteries or rare earths in nickel-metal hybrid batteries) by replacing them with environmentally friendly alternatives made of polymers (plastics) or ceramics.

The scientific, economic and social potential of innovative battery­ storage systems - from small printable polymer batteries to large stationary energy storage systems (for example, polymer redox flow batteries) - is confirmed by numerous studies by renowned experts. CEEC Jena has been able to establish itself in this segment successfully and has a clear development concept to exploit the opportunities of the energy transition for the location.

The "CEEC Jena future concept for sustainable energy storage" addresses essential fields of action. Due to the CEEC Jena's steady growth, expanding the infrastructure and the available research areas is of central significance. The development of new promising research topics, further progress in upscaling, and expanding the international reputation require additional spatial possibilities. Furthermore, the extension of equipment infrastructure is crucial and shall take place within this project's framework.

Redox flow batteries (RFB): Redox flow batteries (RFB) are electrochemically reversible wet cells, i.e. the active materials are dissolved in liquid solvents. The two so-called electrolytes (catholyte and anolyte) are stored in separate tanks and pumped into an electrochemical cell for charging and discharging, in which the redox reactions occurs. RFB's huge advantage is that storage capacity and power can be adjusted entirely independently from one another. Core challenges are to develop RFB that do not require rare and, therefore, expensive substances (e.g. vanadium compounds) and corrosive solvents (e.g. sulfuric acid). At the same time, cost-effective, scalable and long-term stable systems need to be developed.

At CEEC Jena, materials and concepts are being researched that improve RFBs significantly and make them usable as easy-to-handle, safe and at the same time economical energy storage devices. So polymeric active materials are being developed, which will enable the use of cost-effective dialysis membranes instead of expensive ion-selective membranes. This way, vanadium compounds and sulfuric acid can also be replaced by polymers or chloride aqueous solution, respectively.

(Printable) Foil batteries: Organic radical batteries (ORB) use organic polymers as the active electrode material. These are based on so-called stabile organic radicals - molecules with at least one unpaired electron - and replace critical heavy metal compounds such as the cobalt-containing cathode material in lithium-ion batteries. ORBs are thus low-risk and sustainable. Furthermore, they are characterised by high-power density, rapid charging processes (within a few minutes) and long lifetimes. In principle, these thin batteries can be produced using printing techniques.

At CEEC Jena, both new active materials, as well as optimised electrolytes for ORB, are developed.