This page provides an overview of publications, conference contributions, posters, and selected scientific and technological outcomes resulting from or related to the HiBRAIN project. The list will be continuously updated as further information from the project partners becomes available.
Publications
- M. Neumann, S. E. Wetterauer, M. Osenberg, A. Hilger, P. Gräfensteiner, A. Wagner, N. Bohn, J. R. Binder, I. Manke, T. Carraro, V. Schmidt,
“A data-driven modeling approach to quantify morphology effects on transport properties in nanostructured NMC particles,”
International Journal of Solids and Structures, 280 (2023), 112394.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2023.112394 - J. Naumann, N. Bohn, O. Birkholz, M. Neumann, M. Müller, J. R. Binder, M. Kamlah,
“Morphology-Dependent Influences on the Performance of Battery Cells with a Hierarchically Structured Positive Electrode,”
Batteries & Supercaps, 6 (2023), e202300264.
https://doi.org/10.1002/batt.202300264 - W. Bauer, M. Müller, L. Schneider, M. Häringer, N. Bohn, J. R. Binder, J. Klemens, P. Scharfer, W. Schabel, H. Ehrenberg,
“Using Hierarchically Structured, Nanoporous Particles as Building Blocks for NCM111 Electrodes,”
Nanomaterials, 14 (2024), 134.
https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14020134 - M. Fath, P. Heidebrecht, C. Drechsler, M. Kamlah,
“Impact of particle size distribution on the rest phase behavior of LIB cathodes – Model based analysis,”
Journal of Power Sources, 569 (2024), 234100.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2024.234100 - P. Gräfensteiner, M. Osenberg, A. Hilger, N. Bohn, J. R. Binder, I. Manke, V. Schmidt, M. Neumann,
“Data-driven stochastic 3D modeling of the nanoporous binder-conductive additive phase in battery cathodes,”
Journal of Mathematics in Industry, 15 (2025), 9.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13362-025-00174-z - M. Fath, A. Pamperin, P. Heidebrecht, C. Drechsler, M. Kamlah,
“Extension of the Newman-P2D-Model for Cracks and Open Pores – Modelling States of Degradation,”
Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 173 (2026), 010511.
https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ae32b6 - P. Gräfensteiner, A. Pamperin, M. Osenberg, R. Himstedt, M. Neumann, B. Prifling, I. Manke, M. Kamlah, V. Schmidt,
“Structure-property relationships of lithium-ion battery cathodes using stochastic 3D modeling and resistor network simulations based on synchrotron tomography,”
Materials Today Communications, 55 (2026), 115893.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtcomm.2026.115893
Conference Presentations
- J. Naumann, O. Birkholz, N. Bohn, J. R. Binder, M. Kamlah,
“A Multi Scale Optimization Approach for Large Format Lithium-Ion Battery Cells,”
11th European Solid Mechanics Conference (ESMC2022), Minisymposium 5-5 – Mechanics in Energy Harvesting and Storage, Galway, 2022. - J. Naumann, O. Birkholz, N. Bohn, J. R. Binder, M. Kamlah,
“Limiting processes in hierarchically structured electrodes: Relationship between morphology and cell performance,”
MSE Congress, Darmstadt, 2022. - V. Becker, O. Birkholz, J. Naumann, M. Kamlah,
“Modeling the effect of structural features of cathodes for electrochemical energy storage cells on performance,”
Joint Korean-German Workshop on From Insights to Solutions for Next-Generation Batteries, Daejeon, 2023. - A. Pamperin, O. Birkholz, V. Becker, M. Kamlah,
“Computation of effective transport properties of granular cathode material in particle and pore space using the resistor network method,”
Euromech Colloquium 632, Ulm, 2023. - J. Piruzjam, P. Gräfensteiner, M. Neumann, M. Osenberg, A. Hilger, A. Wagner, N. Bohn, J. R. Binder, I. Manke, V. Schmidt, T. Carraro,
“Porous Secondary Particles in Lithium-ion Batteries: Comparing the Accuracy of Homogenized and Microscopic 3D Models,”
Colloquium 632 of the European Mechanics Society, Ulm, 2023. - J. Naumann, N. Bohn, O. Birkholz, M. Müller, J. R. Binder, M. Kamlah,
“Limiting processes in hierarchically structured electrodes: Relationship between electrode structure and cell performance,”
Helmholtz Energy Conference, Koblenz, 2023. - M. Fath,
“Cathode Morphology in the Newman P2D-Model,”
14th European Congress of Chemical Engineering (ECCE), 2023. - M. Fath,
“Modelling the Impact of Secondary Particle Cracks and Pores on NCM Cathodes,”
Symposium on Modeling and Experimental Validation of Electrochemical Energy Technologies (ModVal), 2025. - M. Neumann, J. R. Binder, N. Bohn, P. Gräfensteiner, A. Hilger, I. Manke, M. Osenberg, V. Schmidt,
“Data-driven stochastic 3D modeling of the nanoporous binder-conductive additive phase in battery cathodes,”
21st International Symposium on Modeling and Experimental Validation of Electrochemical Energy Technologies, Karlsruhe, 2025. - J. Naumann, M. Müller, N. Bohn, J. R. Binder, Y. Gan, M. Kamlah,
“Modeling Morphology Dependent Influences on the Performance of Battery Cells with Hierarchically Structured Cathodes,”
76th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry, Mainz, 2025. - M. Fath, A. Pamperin, P. Rieder, M. Osenberg, B. Berkes, V. Schmidt, M. Kamlah,
“Quantifying the Effect of Secondary Particle Cracks on NMC,”
Symposium on Modeling and Experimental Validation of Electrochemical Energy Technologies (ModVal), 2026.
Posters
- A. Pamperin, N. Ribic, O. Birkholz, V. Becker, M. Kamlah,
“Effective transport properties of granular cathode material in particle and pore space including intragranular cracks,”
20th Symposium on Modeling and Experimental Validation of Electrochemical Energy Technologies (ModVal), Baden, 2024. - A. Pamperin, N. Ribic, O. Birkholz, V. Becker, M. Kamlah,
“Influence of Microstructure and Intragranular Cracks on Effective Transport Properties of Granular Cathode Material,”
6th Oxford Battery Modelling Symposium, Oxford, 2024. - M. Fath, C. Drechsler, B. Berkes, P. Heidebrecht, M. Kamlah,
“Strategic Approach for the Characterization of NCM Cathodes,”
Symposium on Modeling and Experimental Validation of Electrochemical Energy Technologies (ModVal), 2024. - A. Pamperin, M. Kamlah,
“Influence of intragranular cracks on effective transport properties of granular cathode material using homogenization,”
21st Symposium on Modeling and Experimental Validation of Electrochemical Energy Technologies (ModVal), Karlsruhe, 2025. - A. Pamperin, M. Kamlah,
“Particle Scale Homogenization of Intragranular Cracks in Granular Cathode Material to Investigate Its Influence on Effective Transport Properties,”
7th Oxford Battery Modelling Symposium, Oxford, 2025. - A. Pamperin, M. Kamlah,
“Influence of intragranular cracks on effective transport properties of granular cathode material using homogenization,”
Energy Symposium 2025: Powering the Future – Accelerating the Energy Transition, Karlsruhe, 2025. - A. Pamperin, M. Kamlah,
“Using particle scale homogenization in granular cathode material to investigate the influence of intragranular cracks on effective transport properties,”
76th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry, Mainz, 2025. - A. Pamperin, M. Kamlah,
“Geometry dependence of effective transport in a periodic medium,”
22nd Symposium on Modeling and Experimental Validation of Electrochemical Energy Technologies (ModVal), Lausanne, 2026.
Scientific and Technological Outcomes
High-nickel NCM cathode materials, such as those investigated within HiBRAIN, are of major importance for electric-mobility applications. The project generated important scientific results concerning the hierarchical structuring of high-nickel NCM cathodes and improved the understanding of how microstructural features, in particular cracks and conductive-additive distributions, affect effective transport properties and electrochemical performance.
A particular focus was placed on the relationship between electrode morphology and fast-charging capability. Hierarchical nanostructuring was shown to offer possibilities for improving rate capability, while modifications involving carbon nanotubes as conductive additives were of particular interest from an application perspective.
Another major topic concerned the influence of cracks in primary and secondary active-material particles. Physics-based and mathematically systematic studies enabled morphological effects on transport properties to be distinguished from purely electrochemical degradation mechanisms. This is important for understanding and quantifying degradation in realistic electrode structures.
Detailed Scientific Achievements
Materials Design and Hierarchical Electrode Structures
The project demonstrated that substantial microstructural and morphological modifications can be achieved starting from commercially available materials. In particular, hierarchical nanostructuring provides a route toward improving the rate capability of high-nickel NCM cathode materials, with particular relevance for fast-charging applications.
The production of single-crystal materials through two different processing routes was also investigated. These developments are relevant for future solid-state battery concepts and provide possibilities for extending the developed material-design strategies to additional classes of battery materials.
The material-design capabilities established and further developed within HiBRAIN can therefore be transferred to future projects addressing both current lithium-ion and post-lithium battery materials.
Process Development and Scale-Up
Significant progress was achieved in the scale-up of high-nickel NCM materials, both with respect to material synthesis and electrode fabrication. Although several of the technological challenges were material-specific, the developed methodological approaches are transferable to related material and electrode systems.
The project also highlighted the importance of tailor-made experimental materials for the systematic validation of computational models. Controlled variations of electrode and particle morphology provide essential data for separating individual structural effects and validating structure–property relationships.
Cracks and Effective Transport Properties
A systematic and mathematically rigorous methodology was developed to investigate the effect of cracks in primary and secondary particles on effective conductivity.
Cracks were represented by ellipses in two dimensions and ellipsoids in three dimensions. This parameterized description made it possible to study a broad range of crack geometries using a limited number of clearly defined parameters and therefore to derive representative rather than geometry-specific conclusions.
Based on homogenization theory, extensive simulation data were generated for individual cracks as well as interacting crack pairs. These data can also be used for training data-driven and AI-based models.
A particularly important result was the statistical identification of the crack area projected onto the transport direction as an effective damage parameter over a broad range of geometrical configurations.
Building on the single-crack analysis, the degradation of effective transport properties in polycrystalline structures with arbitrary crack orientations was subsequently investigated.
Data-Driven and Stochastic Microstructure Modeling
The combination of experimental imaging, stochastic geometry and numerical simulations enabled the development of data-driven three-dimensional models of battery electrode microstructures, including the nanoporous binder–conductive-additive phase.
These models provide a framework for systematically studying structure–property relationships beyond individual experimentally observed microstructures and allow statistically representative virtual structures to be generated and investigated.
The resulting methodology establishes a basis for future developments involving digital twins, synthetic microstructure generation, AI-assisted structure–property prediction and inverse electrode design.
Letzte Änderung: 25. August 2026