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© Nicolai Jahreis/ Katrin Schiller und MOBy e.V. (mo-by.de)

From February 21 to 23, the state finals of the 64th Mathematical Olympiad took place at the University of Bayreuth (more on this in UBTaktuell). In addition to exciting competitions, the participants also gained insight into current research. This included the supporting program ‘Battery Research’ (R2) on February 22, organized by the Chair of Methods of Battery Management (Steffen Zappe and Srivatsan Ramasubramanian) and the Chair of Electrochemical Process Engineering (Daniel Leykam).

A total of 20 children and young people experienced batteries and how they work firsthand. Under the guidance of Daniel Leykam, battery electrodes were produced from natural raw materials, lithium reactions were demonstrated, and other electrochemical experiments were performed. At the same time, Steffen Zappe and Srivatsan Ramasubramanian explained the core components of a battery management system to the participants. Using physical boards, they developed a charge control and state of charge estimation system that was then implemented in MATLAB Simulink and tested on a real battery setup. Lithium-ion batteries served as the test objects, Raspberry Pis and measurement instruments provided control, and LEDs and buttons enabled interaction and visualization.

The young talents worked with great enthusiasm on solutions for energy storage. The supporting program impressively illustrates how closely research and practical learning are linked.