The Reliability Center operates a knowledge and equipment pool to perform research, tests and inspections for industry, academic institutions and public authorities.

It is an ISO/IEC 17025 accreditated testing laboratory (STS 0059) for physical qualification, reliability investigations, non­destructive testing and analysis of materials, components and systems.

• Reliability: Reliability and failure analysis; preparation of development guidelines; performance of qualification tests
• Knowledge transfer: Lecturing at the ETH on reliability of equipment and     systems, and on physics of failure and failure analysis of electronic circuits;  organisation of conferences and courses
• Research: Leading and collaborating in national and international research projects

• Research on battery degradation as a function of calendar life, temperature, SOC, amplitude of cycling, stress cycling profiles
• Optimization of charging strategies
• Optimization of battery lifetime under harsh environmental conditions
• Testing and non-destructive electrical characterzation, testing, measurement and
• simulation of thermal and mechanical behaviour to optimize lifetime
• Battery safety testing according to UN, UL, ECE, IEC, ISO standards
• Development of safe batteries and battery management systems
• Post degradation and post mortem analysis of battery materials

Marcel Held

Empa Reliability Center

marcel.held@empa.ch