Capgemini is teaming up with one of Germany’s top research universities, the Technical University of Munich, to create AI-powered battery cell simulations.

The focus is on lithium-ion batteries, the most commonly used power storage technology on the market today.

A battery design initiative has four main priorities: to maximize the battery’s safety, longevity and electricity capacity while minimizing its cost. That’s the four-fold goal Capgemini’s new collaboration with the Technical University of Munich aims to accomplish.

The plan is to use AI software to simulate different battery designs and test how well they might perform in the real world. In a simulation, researchers can quickly adjust the characteristics of a virtual battery to see if a change here or there might make it more efficient.

Capgemini said that one goal of the collaboration is to identify materials from which more advanced batteries could be made. In parallel, researchers from the consultancy and the Technical University of Munich will seek to reduce the total amount of materials necessary for battery manufacturing.

The collaboration is being carried out as part of Capgemini’s Strategic University Program. It’s an initiative through which experts from the consultancy and top universities join forces to launch three- to five-year research projects.

The Strategic University Program offers numerous benefits for Capgemini.

First, it’s excellent marketing. Technology consultancies like Capgemini need to demonstrate their expertise in cutting-edge innovations to potential clients and launching research collaborations with universities is a good way of achieving that.

Second, giving Capgemini researchers an opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from the academia makes for great workforce training. While participating in such projects, Capgemini staffers can familiarize themselves with new technologies and ultimately apply that knowledge to projects the consultancy takes on for clients.

Plus, any technologies that Capgemini invents through its university partnerships can potentially become a new revenue source in the future. 

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