Manuel Baumann is a Principal Investigator at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), specializing in decision support, sustainability, and the techno-economic assessment of energy technologies. From 2018 to 2022, he has served as a lecturer in energy systems at Aalen University and coordinated Sub-Program 6, “Energy Storage: Techno-Economics and Sustainability,” within the Joint Program on Energy Storage of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA). Manuel is actively involved in several European and national research projects, including StoRIES, TwinVECTOR, and EPISODE. He currently serves as the Spokesperson for Sub-Topic 1.2, “Societally-Feasible Transformation Pathways,” within the Helmholtz Program Energy System Design. He is the author and co-author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and contributions to conferences and workshops.
What was your original motivation to pursue a career in innovation, e.g., become a researcher/project manager?
My motivation is being at the frontier of developing new battery systems. This is a high responsibility and gives you the opportunity to actively shape the energy transition and be part of the change to tackle climate change and improve our wellbeing.
What is your (main) research area today?
Currently I work in the field of decision support, sustainability and techno-economic assessment of energy technologies. Here I engage with my colleagues to support the development and design of cost-efficient, sustainable energy storage systems.
What is the main focus of you and your team in Episode?
Within episode, our team analyses in detail the environmental and techno-economic performance of selected cell materials and entire battery storage units over their entire life cycle. At the same time, we assure that the battery is based on circular economy principles and that the battery can be produced at scale in Europe. Here fore we use and combine methods as life cycle assessment, techno-economic analyses and others while integrating stakeholder expectations.
From all your activities within the project, what are you the most proud of/keen of to share with the public?
I´m very happy that we have a strong consortium that covers all relevant aspects of Sodium ion battery energy storage, starting form materials, entire storage units, and their system integration considering sustainability, resource and cost aspects as well. I´m looking forward to showing the public that battery storage is a main pillar to assure a safe and sustainable integration of renewable energies on a decentralized level, helping end users to save money.
How do you expect the Episode results will impact your organisation and the battery sector in Europe?
The project will help us to better understand the implications of sodium ion battery production, use and recycling on sustainability, resource efficiency and cost. Also, it will boost our visibility in the field of sustainability assessment. I look forward to proving that we can built a sustainable and cost-efficient home storage battery produced in Europe.
