Pooling expertise for the battery of the future
Thinking further afield in battery research: the scientists working on the BIOSTORE project aim to use recyclable biological and organic-based materials and additives in the production of batteries. The idea behind this is to replace fossil materials and improve environmental compatibility. The project is an interdisciplinary one, with working groups involved coming from the Institutes of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Biology and the Biotechnology of Plants, the Department of Political Science, Business Management in the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, and the MEET Battery Research Centre. The Ministry of Education and Science in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is funding the work to the tune of almost 2.7 million euros.
The work being done by this group of researchers, who are also cooperating with the Fraunhofer Society and the Helmholtz Association, is based on collaboration, some of it going back many years, between the working group leaders involved – for example, through the Centre for Interdisciplinary Sustainability Research at the University of Münster. “The work we are jointly undertaking is exciting and promising,” says project leader Prof. Jochen Schmid. “But at the beginning it was a challenge: we all speak different specialist languages, and that can lead to misunderstandings. Therefore, our post-docs supervising the various projects regularly exchange ideas in person. That’s how it functions.” What is also very helpful, says Schmid, is that several people on the interfaces between the projects contribute interdisciplinary expertise and, in this way, function as ‘interpreters’.
In the following four guest commentaries, the BIOSTORE post-docs talk in greater detail about how the collaboration functions and which research questions are being focused on.
The MEET Battery Research Centre with a key function
A battery is a very complex thing. It is therefore necessary, and possible, to have different starting places when undertaking research into a bio-battery. The MEET Battery Research Centre has a key function in the process. We make use of the different competences which our project partners have – for example, when we evaluate the new components with a view to the economic and social consequences for companies and for society. In addition, on the materials research level, we work closely with the two groups from the Department of Biology in order to “biologise” the battery and, ideally, also improve its efficiency. For this purpose, we use among other things polysaccharides, which can be synthesised biotechnologically, or also small organic materials which can be extracted from plants. An example of one approach taken with the project is the regulation coming from the European Union regarding so-called “forever chemicals” (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances/PFAS); although this regulation doesn’t currently include battery components, it could be extended to do so in future. Substituting an organically based system for these chemicals would be beneficial from a sustainability point of view, and not only from a socio-ecological standpoint.
Dr. Nils Flothkötter, MEET Battery Research Centre
Plants and bacteria for a “green” battery
Bacterial and plant biomolecules have the potential to replace fossil and toxic battery components. Teams from the Departments of Microbiology and the Biotechnology of Plants are therefore looking to develop organically based components for more sustainable and ecologically friendly lithium-ion batteries
In regular discussions with MEET we develop, characterise and modify biological and organically based materials which are subsequently tested in batteries. What we are currently concentrating on in the field of microbiology is the productions and modification of bacterial exopolysaccharides – specific sugar polymers with outstanding physical-chemical properties. We are testing these biopolymers to see if they can be used in sustainable electrodes and separators.
Many plant products have the potential to make batteries “greener”. The focus in this respect is on natural rubber and a number of starch variants. Apart from biopolymers, we are also examining smaller molecules which, used for example as additives in the electrolyte solution, can increase the lifespan of a battery. We purify waste products from chlorophyll, among others, and analyse them.
Dr. Jannis Bröker and Dr. Marilia Horn, Institute of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, and Dr. Kai-Uwe Roelfs und Dr. Lisa Wrobel, Institute of Biology and the Biotechnology of Plants
Sustainability expertise from the fields of business and law
Our aim is to minimise any environmental damage which can arise as a result of the production and mining of critical battery materials. There is a range of different methods for any ecological and economic evaluation of battery technologies. So-called life-cycle analyses, for example, are an important instrument for recording carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as well as any other environmental impacts. While our colleagues work out the technical implementability in the lab, we can use these environmental balance analyses to assess how much of an influence bio-innovations can have on the ecology.
Legal research also makes possible a different view of the development of sustainable batteries. From this angle, we examine how legal and regulatory conditions influence the area of energy storage: to what extent do they support – or hinder – innovations? What’s especially interesting for us is the question of how the European Union tries to reconcile sustainability, competitiveness and security of supplies against a background of growing global market uncertainties. Ultimately, it has to be ensured that sustainability is promoted through the development of new technologies.
Dr. Moritz Gutsch and Dr. Giorgia Carratta, Institute of Business Management in the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy
Ecological and social challenges seen through the lens of political science
At the Institute of Political Science we are looking at how the battery value chain – from the mining of materials to their disposal – can be shaped more sustainably. For example, in countries of the Global South such as Bolivia and the Congo, environmental standards and health and safety standards at work are often heeded much too little. We identify the ecological and social problems and draw up recommendations for action on how the relevant legal and political conditions could be shaped to counter them. Although there are already studies in existence which focus on some of the aspects, there has not so far been any systematic political governance analysis which takes a closer look at all the players involved.
In addition, we examine what the public at large knows about batteries and their sustainability. Here, too, hardly any research has been undertaken so far. For this reason, we not only carried out a survey of the population in early 2025, with 9,000 interviewees in Germany, France and the USA, but also organised a discussion event entitled “BIOSTORE battery forum: helping to develop sustainable batteries” with 20 members of the public. We’re looking forward to seeing the results of the scientific evaluation of these empirical studies.
Dr. Karsten Mause, Institute of Political Science
This article is from the university newspaper wissen|leben No. 3, 7 May 2025.