Fraunhofer IPA and AIST Kansai, Japan started a three year research and development cooperation

After several years of knowledge exchange and a first successful joint development in the field of carbon nanotubes actuators, which resulted in demonstration of carbon nanotube based micro pipette presented at Nanotech Japan 2013, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA, Germany, and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Kansai (AIST Kansai), Japan, started a three year research and development cooperation in the field of functional materials and energy related applications.

The project was officially started at the public kick-off seminar held on 19th March 2013 in Osaka, Japan. The joint activities are funded by the ”Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung“ (BMBF) and ”New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization” (NEDO).

The project partner set it as a goal to jointly develop new nanocarbon based materials and to prove their applicability in energy related devices. In this sense a great interest is given to supercapacitor buffer systems that can be utilized as amendment to the main battery in electric and hybrid vehicles.
As a target such buffer system should be charged extremely fast, has long service life and the superior power density in comparison to battery systems. Additionally, in order to investigate the potential multifunctionality of materials and devices, performance related to actuation, sensing, and energy harvesting will be taken into consideration.

Both project partners will work closely together for the next three years and complement each other’s competencies. Fraunhofer IPA’s focus will be the construction of the complete system, integration of the materials and components as well as the project coordination, whereas AIST will focus on the development of materials and their characterization. At the end of the project, as the final outcome, a demonstrator will be presented to the public.

Contact:
M. Sc. Urszula Kosidlo | Telefon +49 711 970-3625 | urszula.kosidlo@ipa.fraunhofer.de | Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnik und Automatisierung IPA

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Ivica Kolaric | Telefon +49 711 970-3729 | ivica.kolaric@ipa.fraunhofer.de | Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnik und Automatisierung IPA