First dissertations in the field of battery systems defended in Barcelona
Am Technology Transfer Center for Electromobility (TTZ-EMO) at the Technical University of Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) For the first time, two employees were able to do a cooperative doctorate at the Spanish Polytechnic University of Catalonia earn a PhD in battery systems. The scientific staff Dr. Andreas Ziegler from Essleben and Dr. David Oeser from Unterspießheim wrote their dissertations in the years 2019 to 2022 and successfully defended them in Barcelona at the end of October 2022 with the top mark “excellent cum laude”. On January 10th, 2023 they received the written approval to use the doctoral title.
batteries – Photo © Gerhard Hofmann, agency future, for Solarify
The two new doctors, who obtained their master’s degree from the Würzburg-Schweinfurt University of Applied Sciences (FHWS) in 2017, spent several years researching various topics related to battery life. For this purpose, David Oeser examined the parameter variation of battery cells in depth. Through a complex series of tests, he was able to identify the causes of deviations between the individual cells of an aging lithium-ion battery and thus show manufacturers and end users new options for extending battery life in the future.
With the help of an active battery management system he had developed, Andreas Ziegler was able to show opportunities and limits in extending the service life and increasing the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries. Through extensive long-term tests lasting several years, he demonstrated both advantages and disadvantages of the complex balancing algorithms. Both works contribute to a better understanding of the use of modern battery systems and to making them safer, more efficient and longer-lasting.
The two scientists were supervised by Prof. Dr. Daniel-Montesinos-Mircale at the Universiat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona, who acted as doctoral supervisor and, alongside the TTZ-EMO institute director Prof. Dr. Ansgar Ackva accompanied the doctorate. Daniel Montesinos was particularly impressed that both doctoral students did not lose focus during the corona pandemic and continued to advance their work in a large number of online meetings. Institute Director Prof. Dr. Ackva praised the excellent work of his two employees, who have also agreed to stay at the TTZ-EMO and will thereby open up a multitude of further perspectives for the institute. This and other research work of the THWS will be strengthened by an additional professorship for battery systems from March 2023.
