Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC
Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC
Electrochromics Fraunhofer ISC
© Fraunhofer ISC

© Fraunhofer ISC

Electrochromic Systems

Coating Technology for efficient Light Control / Darkening

Electrochromic materials - introduced into a layer stack with conductive components - can be automatically switched: By applying an electrical voltage (or current), a charge and ion exchange takes place resulting in decoloration/coloration of the layers. This phenomenon can be used, among other things for light control or window shading.

The smart shading solutions developed by the Fraunhofer R&D Center for Electromobility Bavaria (FZEB) as part of the Fraunhofer ISC can be applied in particular in the aircraft, automotive and architectural sectors and offer many advantages such as glare protection, control of lighting conditions and interior temperature, as well as energy savings for air conditioning.

Darkening through electrochromic film

Innovation Prize Awarded by Netzwerk ZENIT e.V.

The winners of the eighth Innovation Award organized by the ZENIT e.V. network have been announced. On March 6, 2018, NRW Economics Minister Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, as patron of the competition, presented the award to the winner and five other companies in Mülheim an der Ruhr.

Twenty-two projects with highly interesting competition entries had applied for the Innovation Award. Under the motto "Success through cooperation", the competition was looking for innovative product and service ideas from across NRW that had been developed in cooperation between a medium-sized company and a university or research institution, or between companies themselves. Because the quality of the entries was exceptionally high, six projects received awards. Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH from Dormagen is one of the companies that received one of the five awards. Project manager Dr. Uwe Posset from Fraunhofer ISC is delighted with the recognition.

Read more about the Dormagen company's Portal Dormago Innovation Award here.

Here you can find more information about the ZENIT e.V. network.

© Fraunhofer ISC

Our competences

The center offers integrated solutions with maximum substrate variability, complementary active materials and gel/polymer electrolytes.

 

The work focuses on:

  • Conductive polymers
  • Metal complex compounds
  • Organometallic polymers


The electrochromic thin films can be applied wet-chemically at room temperature by fast and cost-effective roll-to-roll processing. The production of large-scale films is also possible.

 

Application advantages
of electrochromic coatings

  • Low operating voltages in the range of a few volts
  • Energy consumption only during color change
  • Low energy density during shading process
  • High cycle stability even over 100,000 cycles
  • Excellent coloration efficiency
  • Short switching times in the range of a few seconds (depending on size and conductivity of the film)
 

© Fraunhofer ISC

Current key topics

As part of the Fraunhofer ISC, the Fraunhofer R&D Center for Electromobility Bavaria (FZEB) is developing novel electrochromic systems and customized coating technologies for efficient light control in windows and facades.

The electrochromic coatings are in particular suitable for electrically switchable glass and films.

Website FZEB

© K. Dobberke for Fraunhofer ISC

Customer service

  • Development of shading systems for individual customer requirements
  • Development of the system up to pilot scale
  • Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical test methods as well as long-term and climatic tests with cutting-edge equipment for existing customer systems
  • Electrolyte development

Your local contact

Marco Schott

Contact Press / Media

Dr. Marco Schott

Deputy Head of Department and Head of Electrochromic Systems

Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC
Neunerplatz 2
97082 Würzburg, Germany

Phone +49 931 4100-556