BACCARA Power Day 2023
The second BACCARA Power Day organized by the International Graduate School BACCARA took place on September 7th, 2023, at the picturesque Schloss of the University of Münster. The event left everyone with a profound sense of excitement and anticipation for the future of energy storage, along with a wealth of knowledge and a deep sense of optimism. We are delighted to announce that the event was a resounding success, with over 120 participants from more than 10 countries.
The program commenced with a warm welcome addressed by our managing directors Alexandra Kohlhöfer, M.A. and Dr. Julia Quante, followed by opening remarks from our scientific directors, Prof. Dr. Martin Winter and Prof. Dr. Frank Glorius.
The conference was thoughtfully divided into five distinct sessions, with speakers from both industry and academia, each focusing on a different aspect of battery technology: recycling, industry, modeling and simulations, solid-state batteries, and materials. Various experts in their respective fields served as keynote speakers, sharing their unique expertise and cutting-edge research.
We were privileged to have five insightful lectures at the conference. Prof. Dr. Sabrina Zellmer, Professor of Battery and Fuel Cell Process Technology at the TU Braunschweig, spoke on “Recycling Strategies for Lithium-Ion Batteries and Solid-State Batteries”, highlighting various recycling steps, techniques, and the challenges faced in the recycling process. Dr. Büse Bulut Köpüklu, on behalf of E-Lyte Innovations GmbH, provided an inspiring account of their successful transition from academic research to international prominence. Dr. Anja Bielefeld, Junior Group Leader at Justus-Liebig-University in Gießen, discussed the fundamental potentials of modeling and simulations in battery research and its connection to experiments. Dr. Moumita Rana, Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Münster, provided insights into the influence of charge carrier transport and microstructure on solid-state battery performance, presenting her recent research involving Si-particles of different sizes and two solid electrolytes. Dr. Johannes Kasnatscheew, Manager of Division Materials at MEET, delivered a talk on “Lithium-Ion Battery: Potential fully Exhausted?”, highlighting the importance of balancing parameters and properties in Li-ion batteries based on application requirements, as improvements in one property may lead to a decline in another.
In addition to the informative talks, we also hosted a poster pitch session, in which six participants had the opportunity to present their poster in five minutes. Julia Dressler (BACCARA/University of Münster, supervisor Prof. Dr. Uwe Karst) won the 'Best Poster Pitch' award. Another highlight of the conference was the poster session, with doctoral students from various universities presenting their research work for a total of 43 different poster presentations. Congratulations to the winners:
1st place: Ankita Das (BACCARA/University of Münster, supervisor: Prof. Dr. Frank Glorius, category “Materials”).
2nd place: Valentin Göldner (BACCARA/University of Münster, supervisor Prof. Dr. Uwe Karst, category “Analytics and Environment”).
3rd place: Bibek Samanta (BACCARA/University of Münster, supervisor: Prof. Dr. Michael Ryan Hansen and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Zeier, category “Materials”).
Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to all the participants, with a special acknowledgment to the doctoral students at BACCARA and the organizing committee. Their tireless efforts, commitment, and support played a crucial role in the success of the conference.
Chinwendu N. Anabaraonye
(BACCARA PhD Student)