Profile
Working Group 3.55 is concerned with hydrogen technologies and lithium-ion batteries in the context of explosion protection. With regard to hydrogen, it accompanies the expected upscaling of infrastructure and utilization from the safety point of view and investigates special phenomena such as the ignition of hydrogen/air mixtures by hot free jets. Lithium-ion batteries are a fundamental component of electromobility and are also expected to be used increasingly as stationary energy storage devices in the future. They are highly efficient, but pose a considerable hazard in the event of a fault. The Working Group's activities aim to support the safe use of hydrogen and lithium-ion storage in large-scale applications.
The Working Group 3.55 collaborates via the 
Energy Research Centre of Lower Saxony, with the TU Braunschweig and Leibniz University Hannover.
Research/Development
Renewable Energy Carriers
Experimental investigation of ignition processes via optical techniques
Due to its high ignitability and flame velocity, hydrogen bears a considerable hazardous potential. Working group 3.55 investigates the ignition of hydrogen/air mixtures experimentally with the aim of describing the individual processes in detail.
Ignition processes
- Electrical discharges
- Hot free jets
Experimental techniques
- Schlieren imaging: used to visualize changes in the refractive index (temperature and pressure)
- Background-oriented schlieren (BOS): the change in refractive index causes distortions in a structured background pattern. The displacements can be analyzed to determine the local gas density.
- Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF): selective excitation of gas molecules in a UV laser light sheet. The fluorescence is imaged and yields 2D concentration maps.
- OH-LIF: reaction zones
- NO-LIF or tracer-LIF (e.g. acetone): mixing
- Rayleigh scattering: scattering of laser light by gas molecules as a function of gas density and thus temperature.
Innovation laboratory "Sustainable Hydrogen Combustion Concepts"
In a joint project funded by the state of Lower Saxony, research is being conducted on low-emission and efficient hydrogen engines. For larger commercial vehicles, clean hydrogen use can be made possible without the shock-sensitive and expensive fuel cells. WG 3.55 is investigating the ignition of lean hydrogen/air mixtures by hot free jets (so-called pre-chamber ignition) using experimental methods.
Electrochemical storage
Electrical-thermal assessment of electrochemical storage systems
Efficient and safe batteries are crucial for e-mobility and the integration of renewable energies into the power grid. Working group 3.55 investigates the widely used lithium-ion batteries with the aim of identifying unsafe operating stated, detecting them in time during use, and characterizing and mitigating the consequences of battery runaway.
Research topics
- Characterization of Li-ion battery modules for second-life applications
- Influence of temperature distribution on the lifetime of automotive battery cells in a whole-vehicle context
- BaSS - BatterySafetyStandardisation
- Lithium-Ion-accumulators in flameproof enclosures
Experimental techniques
- Calorimetry for determining the amount of heat released
- Current and voltage measurement
- Measurement of internal resistance
- Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
- Climate cabinets
- Cell and module testers for cyclization
- Pressure-resistant vessels for destructive testing