University of Debrecen Establishes a Battery Research Institute

The University of Debrecen (eastern Hungary) will establish a battery research laboratory in its own industrial park in cooperation with the companies that will settle in the area, announced Rector Zoltán Szilvássy at the opening event of HUMDA‘s national roadshow entitled “Green Life.”

The newly established research institute of the University of Debrecen will be joined by several foreign experts in battery production and development, reports Magyar Nemzet. The domestic research will further green initiatives and improve the efficiency of domestic manufacturing technology, and will be based on data provided by a monitoring system measuring changes in the state of the environment.

Zoltán Szilvássy emphasized that

energy production and storage is already a key issue, and it is no coincidence that sustainability, an economy based on renewable energies and greening, are now the agenda of every country, government, and organization that is committed to something.

This also includes the large companies that are moving into the city and the university itself, where fairly well-equipped research teams are keeping an eye on what is happening to the air, soil, and water in connection with the rapidly increasing industrialization in Debrecen, and how successful the conservation of biodiversity is.

The rector noted that the incoming battery manufacturers have also made their interest in greening clear when they signed an agreement with the city and the university to address environmental issues, and to set up the university battery research institute.

The laboratory will provide an opportunity to help detect, based on indicators of technological processes, if something is not happening properly outside the factory premises, and to jointly make their production safer and more efficient by adapting the technology.

Like BMW in the car industry, the Chinese manufacturers‘ parent companies here represent high-quality technology in their own fields. They are bringing top-class technology to Hungary. According to several leading experts, it is quite a “treasure” to have a look into the development of battery technology, and in the long run it could be a significant competitive advantage for domestic engineers.

The University of Debrecen is also involved in battery research based on zinc-air technology. Earlier versions of these are already used in hearing aids and ophthalmic applications. The current research aims to make solid-state batteries more rechargeable and smaller than current ones.

Róbert Kun, Head of R&D&I (research and development and innovation) of the Hungarian Battery Association, called the battery industry a key component of the green energy transition. He stressed that electrochemical and energy storage developments are progressing rapidly. Although batteries reflecting the results of the second generation of developments following the revolutionary lithium-ion solution are only now coming to market, the fifth generation should be expected to enter the market within ten years.

However, indications from manufacturers and scientific publications show that the layered technology of battery production will not change in the future, so fears that the factories being built now will soon be unusable are unfounded.

Via Magyar Nemzet; Featured image via Facebook/Debreceni Egyetem