Key Findings
Fraunhofer ISE has successfully cycled 25 Ah pouch cells featuring silicon-rich anodes for more than 1,000 cycles, maintaining over 83% of their original capacity. These results were achieved at a cell-level gravimetric energy density of 280 Wh/kg. According to Lukas Dold, team leader for battery materials technology and scaling, reaching 1,000 cycles with at least 80% retention is a critical performance target for the industrial adoption of silicon-rich anodes.
Technical Details
The 40-layer cells were produced on a semi-automatic line at the institute’s Center for Electrical Energy Storage in Freiburg, Germany. The technical specifications include:
- Chemistry: A nickel-rich nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cathode paired with a silicon-carbon/graphite anode.
- Anode Composition: Silicon-carbon composite constitutes 51% of the anode active material.
- Capacity: Anodes reached a specific capacity exceeding 1,000 mAh/g and an areal capacity over 5 mAh/cm².
- Pressure Variables: Testing at 1C showed that cells held at 1,000 kPa achieved the 83% retention figure, while those at 300 kPa exhibited a significantly greater decline in usable capacity.
While the current 280 Wh/kg figure was recorded using the non-optimized PrecISE research cell format, Fraunhofer ISE expects an industrially optimized pouch format to reach approximately 330 Wh/kg.
Background and Context
This research is part of the StrOboBatt project, led by PCC Thorion alongside Fraunhofer ISE and Glatt Ingenieurtechnik, with partners including LG Chem Europe, E-Lyte Innovations, and UniverCell Holding. The project, which launched in 2024 with €2.6 million in federal funding, targets applications in electric mobility, aerospace, and stationary storage for wind and solar power.
Significance and Outlook
Because silicon’s theoretical specific capacity is 10 times that of graphite, silicon-carbon composites could reduce global dependence on graphite and shift raw-material value creation toward the European Union. Other industry movements include Sicona, which received up to AUD 45 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for a commercial-scale plant to produce materials that could increase energy density by up to 20% and accelerate charging by up to 40% compared to graphite anodes.
Source: https://www.ess-news.com/2026/10/21/fraunhofer-silicon-rich-cells-retain-over-83-after-1000-cycles/
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