Consortium

Bergische Universität Wuppertal

Chemical Safety and Defensive Fire Protection

Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institute

Detection of safety-critical battery states

FOGTEC Brandschutz GmbH

Firefighting and Detection, Coordinator

Institute’s description

Central research interests of the Chair of Chemical Safety and Defensive Fire Protection are fire and extinguishing chemistry, the chemistry of hazardous substances and reactions, and conceptual preventive fire protection. The Chair is concerned with the effects of hazardous chemical reactions, fire smoke and fire decomposition products of various materials, and the development of extinguishing agents and extinguishing methods. In this context, the chair is actively involved in the projects “Human Rescue from Electric Vehicles” of the ADAC Foundation and “Safety and Reliability of Reused Lithium-Ion Traction Batteries as Stationary Energy Storage in Private Households” of the DBU. The second research focus of the chair deals with conceptual fire protection, in which risk reduction is achieved by the creation of fire protection concepts through the interaction of preventive structural, plant engineering and organizational measures.

Institute’s description

One research focus of the Fiber Optic Sensor Systems department at Fraunhofer HHI is the application-oriented development of photonic sensors for determining the condition of a wide variety of components. Such sensors are characterized by extreme miniaturization, high network and communication capability, and extremely low energy consumption. To enable such sensors to contribute to the technological advancement of important future topics, HHI operates a battery and sensor test center at the Goslar site. Here, optical and electrical methods for characterizing the condition of lithium batteries from the system to the cell level are developed and tested (fast charging of electric vehicles, EFRE, ZIM-BMWi; MoBatt, BMWi). The special focus is on aging processes that cannot be detected with conventional sensor technology and can lead to a failure of the battery system or accidents (RiskBatt, BMWi). Artificial intelligence methods are increasingly being used for data analysis and evaluation (NeuroBatt, BMWi). In addition, fiber-optic sensors are being integrated into the anode material and electrolyte inside the cell in order to study degradation processes in real time (BeLiMIA, BMBF).

Company description

FOGTEC is a manufacturer of system solutions in the field of plant fire protection with a focus on water mist extinguishing technology and fire detection. The products are sold in more than 40 countries with an export share of over 70%. FOGTEC is represented in a large number of standardization committees such as DIN and CEN in Europe, the USA and Asia and has many years of experience with national and international research projects. From this, a special technical knowledge in the field of fire protection in general and in the field of water mist systems and detection in particular could be built up. In particular, FOGTEC has gained expertise in earlier research projects in the design of complex applications where the focus was on the interaction of different measures of plant fire protection. FOGTEC has exclusive access to a comprehensive data collection from previous research projects for the verification of these methods. In addition, FOGTEC has actively participated as a consortium partner in the SUVEREN research project, generating extensive knowledge on battery fires and their interaction with a wide range of detection and firefighting systems.

LOBBE

Emergency management

Company description

Lobbe is one of Germany’s largest and most innovative private-sector service providers in the fields of waste disposal, industrial services, pollutant clean-up, sewer services and emergency management. Competences from more than 60 years of experience in the different business areas find their influence in the broad as well as professional orientation of the average management. Accidents are characterized by sudden exposures of hazardous substances to the environment. Lobbe is a leading company in emergency management with the highest technical and organizational standards and has its own accredited laboratory, efficient disposal and recycling facilities and a respiratory protection workshop.
Furthermore, the Lobbe Group is involved in various associations and institutions (BDE, Unternehmer NRW, standardization committees, etc.) and has been assuming responsibility in the changing waste disposal industry for many decades.

Sub-Contractors

IFAB GmbH

Institute for Applied Fire Safety Research

Company description

IFAB (Institute for Applied Fire Safety Research) GmbH is one of the world’s leading fire testing and consulting and engineering services companies. IFAB combines theoretical studies with simulations of thousands of fire tests to date. Especially for underground transportation facilities such as road tunnels, IFAB has conducted more large-scale fire tests than any other company in the world. IFAB works closely with the automotive and railroad industries, where typical tasks include fire safety analysis, conceptual design and layout. Fire tests are usually performed only in case of new or special risks. In recent years, IFAB has specialized in the safety of lithium-ion batteries, especially in the automotive sector. IFAB is an ISO/EN17025 accredited fire test laboratory.