Batteries

Smart. Effective. Integrated.

Energy is increasingly delivered on demand. That’s why we have to store it when we don’t need it, release it during peak consumption, and balance its generation across the grid.

CSEM'S battery cell testing

CSEM is creating smart storage technologies to tackle the main challenges of battery technologies: charging time, lifespan and range.  Our focus on electrochemical batteries for short-term energy storage also includes the development of cells sensors and algorithms for optimal management up to MWh capacities.

Our work

We are developing innovative sensors using sensorized cell and odd random phase electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (ORP-EIS) technology. Coupled with other sensing functions, such as pressure, ultrasound, and strain, we can detect faults and negative influences on battery life and performance at an early stage and therefore increase the performance of the li-ion batteries both for automotive and stationary applications.

 

Battery models

  • Optimizing electrochemical energy storage batteries by performing extensive characterization with long-term cycling of up to several months
  • Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to improve electrochemical phenomena diagnostics
  • Focusing on electrical modeling at the intersection between equivalent circuit models and electrochemical models
  • Assessing the second-life potential of used cells and modules by using fast measurement cycles to accurately determine the remaining capacity

Battery management systems (BMS)

  • Improving SoX (state-of-charge, state-of-health, state-of-resistance) estimators by using models based on EIS characterization, where non-invasive EIS sensing is directly integrated into cell-level BMS. This cell management system (CMS) takes EIS measurements in real-time, updating the battery model continuously while capturing the ongoing degradation effects inside each cell.
  • Studying EIS-based dendrite growth detection to trigger self-healing processes via the activation of liquid crystalline electrolytes or piezoelectric separators

Materials for high-capacity batteries

  • Li-metal anode – developing thin, uniform, and highly pure layers of Li-metal to significantly enhance battery cycle life
  • High-capacity electrodes – exploring battery configurations utilizing Si-anodes or anode-free designs, along with safe coating technologies, and in-situ ultra-thin film coatings directly applied to the Li-metal anode
  • Polymer electrolytes for solid-state batteries – engineering material properties to create polymer electrolytes with a wide electrochemical stability window, ensuring leak-free and non-flammable characteristics
  • Advanced manufacturing – investigating processes to meet the urgent demand for improved energy density and cost reduction, such as solvent-free dry techniques for electrode manufacturing, and polymerization technologies
Battery cell / stack monitoring system

Want to get involved?

We can help you maximize your energy output via smart storage solutions across the value chain, from manufacturing to recycling. We understand the technology and have deep industry experience, which supports Swiss innovation and competitiveness in the rapidly evolving energy sector.

Contact us now!

Get in touch to find out how you can get more out of your renewable energy today.

Meet our happy customers

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Sylvain Dolla

CEO

Autonomy via solar energy and independence via a Swiss digital platform were the guiding principles for our new watch, and CSEM—with its decades of experience accelerating innovation and industrialization in photovoltaics and low-power systems—proved an ideal multidisciplinary partner for this exciting project.

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Antoine Benacloche

Head of Engineering

CSEM is always a very good partner and this project is particularly important for us—and for all industrial settings—because it aims to change thinking as well as help produce more energy from renewable sources and use less energy overall.