Automated laboratory accelerates material development

The E-MAP consists of a closed system in which robotically automated material experiments are conducted under protective atmosphere. (Image: Holger Röhm, KIT)

Systematically investigate, evaluate, and targetedly develop thousands of material variants – this is made possible by the new Energy Materials Acceleration Platform (E-MAP) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). It combines automated experiments with precise material characterization, laying the foundation for accelerated development of energy materials.

For new functional materials, it is often necessary to test numerous material combinations. Conventional experiments quickly reach their limits when many variants need to be compared. Therefore, the new Energy Materials Acceleration Platform (E-MAP) at KIT automates key laboratory steps. “Robotic systems handle, among other things, the preparation of materials, sample handling, deposition of thin films, and their characterization,” says Dr. Holger Röhm from the Light Technology Institute (LTI) at KIT, whose research team built the platform. “This allows experiments to be conducted with high precision and reproducibility. With E-MAP, we can more quickly identify which material compositions and manufacturing conditions are particularly promising for a specific application.”

Modular design and flexible expandability

The E-MAP is integrated into a closed system. This allows sensitive materials to be processed under controlled conditions.

The platform produces thin films from solution-based starting materials. A microfluidic system enables the automated production and formulation of semiconductor inks. The researchers continuously add further methods for the characterization of thin films. “A major advantage of E-MAP is its modular structure,” says Professor Alexander Colsmann from LTI at KIT. “We can integrate new experiments and characterization methods and adapt the platform to different scientific questions. Cooperation partners from science and industry can also contribute their own methods and devices.”

From automated experiments to AI-supported material development

With automation, large amounts of experimental data are generated. The researchers plan to evaluate these data using artificial intelligence methods in the future. This allows promising material combinations to be identified in virtual simulations and autonomous or semi-autonomous screening processes to be controlled. To do this, they integrate various automated research platforms. “When synthesis, processing, characterization, and data analysis are linked together, a research process emerges in which we can increasingly plan and conduct experiments data-driven,” says Röhm.

About E-MAP

The Energy Materials Acceleration Platform (E-MAP) is a Self-Driving Lab (SDL), a largely autonomous research platform. Such SDLs are a central component of the German High-Tech Agenda. The development of E-MAP began in 2023. KIT has so far allocated around 600,000 euros for the technical equipment of the platform. The Carl Zeiss Foundation supported the development over the past years within the research project KeraSolar. E-MAP is integrated into the planned Helmholtz Acceleration Alliance (HELMA), which aims to network autonomous research platforms across multiple Helmholtz centers in the fields of materials and life sciences.