An aluminum-graphite-dual-ion battery (AGDIB) system developed and tested by researchers in Germany offers a stable cell chemistry alternative to lithium-based devices. The rechargeable aluminum-ion battery is a cost-effective, non-flammable energy storage technology that uses easily obtainable active materials. With natural graphite as the cathode material, AGDIB cells can achieve energy densities of 160 Wh/kg and power densities exceeding 9 kW/kg.

The high-power storage device was engineered as part of the collaborative R&D project INNOBATT, led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology. The reversible chemistry of the battery allowed over 10,000 cycles at 100% depth of discharge in laboratory test cells, with nearly 100% Coulombic efficiency and energy efficiency above 85%. The corrosion-resistant multi-layer pouch cells developed for aluminum ion batteries have capacities of up to 200 mAh, achieving more than 1,000 cycles for four-layer 200 mAh cells at 6° C and over 7,000 cycles for single-layer 30 mAh cells at 30° C.

In a realistic test case, the prototype integrated eight AGDIB pouch cells with a wireless battery management system based on the open-source foxBMS platform, featuring secure radio frequency communication and a diamond-based quantum sensor for high-resolution current measurement.

This battery system successfully validates the aluminum ion-based cell chemistry and its high-power capabilities for grid stabilization applications.