Minerva Carbon receives 1.8 million euros for research into battery technology
The startup’s idea is to commercialize mesoporous high-performance carbon materials. A mesoporous high-performance carbon is a type of “high-tech sponge” made of carbon that offers both plenty of storage space for ions and fast conductivity. This allows batteries to charge faster, last longer and work more stably. The mesoporous high-performance carbons also offer significant advantages for use in PEM fuel cells.
Minerva Carbon was founded by Abdu Bilican, a former doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Coal Research, together with his co-founders. To date, there are hardly any scalable and controllable syntheses of these materials for large-scale industrial applications. During his doctorate at the MPI, Abdu Bilican succeeded in making the synthesis process much more efficient. Bilican found a way to produce large quantities of carbon in a much shorter time, which represents a significant advance for industrial use. “We now have a unique opportunity to commercialize mesoporous carbons with outstanding properties on a large scale for a wide range of applications,” says Bilican.
His initial tests showed that the use of the developed carbons significantly improves the fast-charging capability of batteries and the longevity of PEM fuel cells. A pilot plant is now to be built at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim an der Ruhr.
“Our aim is to combine cutting-edge research with modern production technology. This will allow us to manufacture application-optimized carbon materials efficiently and sustainably right here in North Rhine-Westphalia,” added co-founder Jonas Gram, previously an automation engineer at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation. With their start-up, the founders want to help strengthen Germany as a location for battery and fuel cell technology and become part of a European value chain.
With the help of the EXIST program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the founders will be able to bring their business idea to maturity at the MPI for Coal Research over the next two years. Business ventures in the field of chemistry are particularly risky and capital-intensive. “The EXIST program is like a booster for us. With this support behind us, we have the ideal starting position to lead Minerva Carbon into a successful future,” explained founder Abdu Bilican.
This article was first published by Florian Treiß for electrive’s German edition.
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