Plasma chemical etching for c-Si photovoltaics
    Structuring of TCO layers for TF-Photovoltaics
    Infection control – Process and materials studies
    Application demonstrator for infection control
    Energy storage – Process and materials R&D
    Application demonstrator for energy storage
    Interface technologies for durable adhesion
    Application demonstrator for interface technologies
    Cross-cutting equipment development

Energy storage – Process and materials R&D

CNT forest on metal foil
© Fraunhofer IWS

CNT forest grown with Fe:Co catalyst
© Fraunhofer IWS

Test of produced supercap
© Fraunhofer IWS

Development of economic growth processes for aligned carbon nanotubes (CNT) on metal electrode surfaces

• barrier layer and CNT growth based on wet-chemical dip-coating and chemical vapour deposition at atmospheric pressure (AP-CVD)
• dense, homogeneous CNT films with strong vertical alignment and height up to 200 µm synthesised via thermal AP-CVD on nickel
• direct deposition via AP-CVD of vertically aligned CNTs on aluminium foil was demonstrated for the first time
  
  

Process scheme for CNT synthesis
© Fraunhofer IWS

Development of dedicated catalyst seed layers with controlled 3D nano-structure to stimulate growth of high aspect conducting CNT material

• catalyst deposition based on wet-chemical dip-coating
• Fe-based catalysts most promising; Co addition - increased CNT growth rate, Mo addition - increased density of CNT films

Development of electrochemical cell configurations with high dual layer capacity, energy density and power density

• cell testing with different electrolytes
• low series resistance observed for all CNT based electrodes, indicating:
• fast ion-transport in the inter-tube channels
• high electronic conductivity of the CNTs
• excellent electrical conductance of the CNTs to the bulk metallic electrode
• therefore, mostly at high charging rates and in high-power applications, CNT-electrodes are clearly superior against existing supercapacitor technologies.