The 'Functional Coating of Battery Powders' project of the European Research Association for Thin Films (EFDS) was declared Innovation Project of the Year 2025 at the first 'Innovation in Action' congress of the Industrial Collective Research (IGF) of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) on March 27 in Berlin.
Innovation project 2025 for the functional coating of battery powders (Image: Fraunhofer IKTS)The award was presented by the BMWK for the first time this year. According to Michael Kellner, Parliamentary State Secretary and Federal Government Commissioner for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, the new competition is intended to give innovations from all sectors greater visibility. This year's winning project is representative of the approximately 400 other research projects funded by the BMWK in order to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular with easy access to practice-oriented research without having to invest financial resources.
The selection from a total of 23 submitted IGF projects was made by expert committees from science and industry. Of the three finalists, the EFDS project ultimately came out on top. According to the IFG, the functional coating of battery powders offers novel approaches for optimizing the performance and service life of batteries at a time when sustainable energy solutions are becoming increasingly important. In addition to improved conductivity and reactivity, thermal stability is also increased, making increased safety a key aspect of this innovative coating.
In addition to the winning project, the other two finalists were also recognized: a project from the Research Association for Shipbuilding and Marine Technology on electrodynamic antifouling coating of optical surfaces of ships and marine technology and a project from RWTH Aachen University on increasing productivity and flat film quality by preventing the formation of deposits on chill rollers.
