Newcastle Researchers to Deliver Vital Battery Projects
Newcastle University will be involved in four Faraday Institution battery research projects aimed at delivering commercial impact.
30 March 2023
The Faraday Institution, a leader in energy storage research, has announced a £29 million investment in six key battery research projects aimed at delivering commercial impact. These existing projects on extending battery life, battery modelling, recycling and reuse, safety, solid-state batteries, and lithium-sulfur batteries, have been reshaped to focus on the areas with the greatest potential for success.
The funding for these projects comes from the Faraday Battery Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK for UK Research and Innovation.
Four of the projects involve Newcastle University scientists from the School of Engineering Professor Mohamed Mamlouk, Dr Jie Zhang and Professor Paul Christensen- Recycling and Reuse (ReLiB), Battery Safety (SafeBatt) and the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Dr James Dawson - Extending battery life and Solid-state Batteries (SOLBAT).
Newcastle researchers to deliver vital battery projects
Extending battery life
The Faraday Institution’s Degradation project, a centre of excellence in understanding degradation mechanisms in lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide NMC811-graphite batteries, is expanding to investigate other systems of industrial interest. Researchers will apply their knowledge and new characterisation techniques to investigate the degradation of systems comprising silicon-rich composites and those using anode-free architectures.
Dr James Dawson will use advanced computational chemistry methods with particular focus on relating cell lifetime and performance to the electrolyte composition.
SOLBAT will continue to focus on developing a deep understanding of the materials properties and mechanisms behind the premature short-circuiting and failure of solid-state batteries, a crucial step towards avoiding such events and realising the commercial potential of this technology. The project will focus on the key areas of the solid-state system, namely the anode, cathode and electrolyte.
Dr James Dawson is also involved in the SOLBAT project. He will conduct first-principles calculations of transport of lithium ions at grain boundaries to better understand how the process affects battery performance and degradation.
Dr Dawson, NU Academic Track Fellow (NUAcT), School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, said: "I am delighted to be joining the Faraday Institution as a co-investigator of the SOLBAT and Degradation projects.
“In collaboration with our SOLBAT partners, we will improve the current understanding of how the microstructural features of solid electrolytes can govern the overall performance of solid-state batteries based on first-principles simulations.
“As part of the Degradation team, we will investigate solid electrolyte interphase formation through state-of-the-art atomistic models and utilise machine learning to identify optimal electrolyte compositions for anode-free batteries. Computational modelling plays an essential role in the development of new materials and technologies for energy storage and it is fantastic to see this continually acknowledged by the Faraday Institution."
