Technology Offerings

At Aalen University, a novel composite material and a production process thereof was developed which makes the structural and material separation of current collector and cathode material unnecessary. The cathode material can be manufactured and formed in a continuous single stage electroplating process without the need to add binding material and electrically conductive particles. The proportion of active material in the cathode can thus be increased. Moreover, the mechanical stability and the efficiency of Li-Ion cells and Li-Sulfur cells improve.

The presented technology is a newly developed sucrose supported synthesis of transition metal doped zinc oxide nanoparticles, which can be used as active material for the fabrication of high capacity anodes for lithium-ion batteries. The general formula of these materials is TMxZn(1-x)O (0.02 ≤ x ≤ 0.14), with the transition metal TM being, for instance, Fe or Co. The obtained nanoparticles show a homogenous particle size distribution between 20-30 nm. Anodes made of such material exhibit specific capacities exceeding 900 mAh/g,an enhanced cycling stability, as well as an improved high rate capability, particularly after applying a carbonaceous coating. Extended laboratory tests have already demonstrated the advantages of the invented material for use in lithium-ion battery anodes. Further improvement is currently under development at the MEET battery research center. PROvendis offers licenses for this invention to interested companies on behalf of the University of Muenster, Germany.

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a novel, simple and potentially cost-saving production process for macro-porous ceramics. The process is based on the use of the capillary effect in a three phase suspension of nano- to micro-sized solid particulates. In this manner, it is possible to fabricate ceramics and polymer foams with macro-pores of diameter 50 nm or greater and narrow pore size distribution.

The invention describes a charge equalizer which connects a strong with a weak cell directly via a multiplexed DC-bus and a DC/DC-converter. Due to the direct connection the energy dissipation is much lower compared to systems where the energy is only transferred from one neighbour to the next.
The direct connection only requires low voltage components which simplifies the circuit design, reduces its costs and increases the efficiency. By additional implementation of an energy buffer, the technical complexity of switching cells with differing voltage levels can be reduced and hence the design of the multiplexed DC bus can be simplified.

1,3-Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) is a chemical compound used extensively in the cosmetics industry and with a high prospect of being used in synthesis of new biodegradable polymers if the market price were lower. In this invention, the DHA synthesis from glycerol is carried out photocatalytically under normal conditions using low-cost heterogeneous photocatalysts and easily available oxidizing agents.

Targeted therapy has become a promising therapeutic approach within the last decade due to its reduced toxicity. However, further development of targeted approaches for the specific delivery of therapeutically active substances is required. Especially the targeted delivery of macromolecular charged drug-like molecules, for example antagomirs and siRNA, is limited since these candidates do not cross cell membranes but rather have to be actively provided to the intracellular milieu.

The present invention provides novel aptamers capable of recognizing tumour cells and delivering macromolecular molecules into tumour cells. Aptamers are short single-stranded nucleic acids that recognize specific target structures with high affinity and specificity. Additionally, since aptamers have been shown to possess almost no toxicity and immunogenicity they are promising candidates for biomedical applications.