Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

The Billion Dollar Supercapacitor

Supercapacitors are only a business of around $0.5 billion. However, Geely Holdings has a new commitment to Maxwell Technologies, a Tesla company, for what may be at least $0.5 billion over the years for peak shaving supercapacitors for its hybrid cars made under Volvo and other brands.

Thin-Film Solar Cells Generate as Much Energy as Traditional Ones

Scientists have become the first to achieve an energy efficiency of 25 percent with a thin-film solar cell. This means that this wafer-thin solar cell generates as much energy as a traditional silicon solar cell.

InnovationLab GmbH

InnovationLab GmbH was established in 2008. At first, it received funding from the government (from Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung). However, since 2013 it claims to be standing on its own feet and to be cash-flow positive.

Fastest High-precision 3D Printer

3D printers working in the millimeter range and larger are increasingly used in industrial production processes. Many applications, however, require precise printing on the micrometer scale at a far higher speed.

Smart Knee Bandage for Relief of Arthrosis Patients

A smart knee bandage supports arthrosis patients in determining the right amount of daily exercise. All relevant data on the strains of the joints are collected and transferred to the patient's mobile phone.

Calcium batteries: New electrolytes, enhanced properties

Calcium-based batteries promise to reach a high energy density at low manufacturing costs. This lab-scale technology has the potential for replacing lithium-ion technology in future energy storage systems.

Tandem Solar Modules: One-two combination packs a more powerful punch

The efficiency ceiling of commercially available solar modules leaves little room for improvement. Tandem solar modules with two light-harvesting active layers have far greater potential. The future could well belong to this promising technology.

Carbon-neutral fuels from air and green power

Several challenges associated with the energy transition can be managed by coupling the sectors of electric power and mobility. Green power could be stored in the long term, fuels of high energy density could be used in a carbon-neutral way.

Artificial intelligence improves power transmission

To integrate the usually volatile renewable sources into energy supply, capacities of the power grid have to be increased. The need for new lines can be reduced by better utilization of existing lines as a function of weather conditions. To this end, researchers work on self-learning sensor networks to model the cooling effect of weather based on real data within the "PrognoNetz" project.