Motoring without Exhaust

The goal is an ambitious one: To replace fossil fuels for automotive engines by alternative energy sources over the long term. Vehicles with electric drives are still relatively rare, but the situation should soon improve: The political will for change in this area is already clearly evident in many countries. Evonik has made considerable progress on the long road to the automotive drive of the future, and has entered into an alliance with Daimler.

Innovation goes into production

This represents an innovation in mass production. In conjunction with Daimler, Evonik is gearing up for industrial production of high-tech batteries for passenger cars and utility vehicles that will do away with traditional combustion engines. To this end, automotive experts of both companies are developing a lithium-ion based battery technology. Recharge- able batteries of this type have so far been widely used only in smaller appliances like laptops and cell phones. For more powerful applications, such as automotive drives, the technology has until now suffered from a serious drawback: The batteries were not sufficiently safe. In the event of failure they were liable to overheat and therefore could not be used for automotive drives. Evonik has successfully overcome this obstacle by developing new battery components for cars.

Essentials for electric mobility

At the core of the technology is a novel ultrathin membrane, which ensures that the electrical components in the battery are safely and reliably separated. The membrane consists of a material also used to make coffee cups and flower vases: ceramic. Evonik has developed a separator for lithium- ion batteries that possesses a special ceramic coating.

This component clears the way for the electric vehicle of the future—because it is this separator, along with other components, that allows the batteries to achieve hitherto unknown power. And yet each high-tech battery cell is no larger than a wall tile. Large-scale fleet tests of electric cars are already under way in European cities. The vehicles offer clear advantages for people and the environment: noise pollution is negligible, and CO2 emissions from vehicular traffic amount to exactly zero point zero.