Advancing Nanotechnology for Energy Storage – Highlights from the IEC TC 113 Meeting

On 18-22 November 2024, DigiCell partner ISC participated in the IEC TC 113 Meeting on "Nanotechnology for Electrotechnical Products and Systems" in London, UK. The event started with a Strategic Forum followed by nine Working Group (WG) meetings and concluded with a plenary session where key resolutions were finalized. Delegates from around the globe gathered to discuss and drive forward international standards in nanotechnology with a focus on energy storage and related electrotechnical applications.

With insightful presentations from the field, the Strategic Forum kicked of the Meeting on 18 November. The forum aimed to align the IEC TC 113 goals with emerging trends in nanotechnology and energy storage. It was well attended with 43 participants on location and online.

Over the course of the meeting, nine Working Groups (WGs) convened to discuss ongoing projects, address technical challenges and propose new work items.

ISC was actively participating in the meeting of WG 11 “Nano-enabled energy storage”. The discussions in this WG included:

• Progress on standards development: significant advancements were reported for projects such as silicon nanosized materials for anodes (TS 62565-5-3), graphene-carbon nanotube suspensions (TS 62565-5-5), and electrochemical test methods for EDLCs (TS 62607-4-9/10).
• Emerging Work Items: the WG identified the need for new standards addressing emerging technologies
• Refinement of concepts and terminology: revisions to the titles and scopes of standards were shared to ensure consistency and alignment

The presentations included proposals for two new work items, presented by Norbert Fabricius, Secretary of IEC TC 113 and leader of the standardization activities within DigiCell:

• A Blank Detail Specification (BDS) for secondary batteries, which was proposed as "Nanomanufacturing – Product specifications – Part 5-7: Nano-enabled energy storage – Blank detail specification: Secondary batteries".
• A KCC measurement standard for electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) applied to secondary batteries, titled "Nanomanufacturing – Key Control Characteristics – Part 4-Y: Nano-enabled energy storage – Electrochemical characterization of secondary Batteries: Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)".

These proposals were well received and subsequently approved in the plenary meeting as new Preliminary Work Items (PWIs).

The meeting concluded with the plenary session where key decisions were formalized through resolutions.

A comprehensive and insightful report about the IEC TC 113 Meeting will soon be available on ISC’s website.

Gerd Weking (ISC), Norbert Fabricius (ISC) with Ha-Jin Lee of Seoul Women's University