Researchers at WMG, University of Warwick’s Forensics & Advanced Characterisation of Batteries Group, have secured £1.5m funding for materials analysis in multiple format batteries.

The funding, from the University of Warwick’s Academic Equipment Fund and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, will be used to purchase a Plasma Focused Ion Beam (PFIB) microscope. The microscope is key to the accelerated development of new battery chemistries, providing unique access to the critical interfaces within battery cells that dictate best performance. This will be instrumental in developing new materials for better batteries, regardless of their end use application.

This PFIB will be the first specifically configured microscope dedicated to battery research in the world, allowing researchers at WMG to inform battery manufacturing, answer key scientific questions and link with industry and growing supply chains.

There is increased recognition in the battery community that the integration of new chemistries needed for the UK Government’s 2030 electric vehicle battery targets will require integrating new manufacturing processes with advanced microscopic characterisation. The PFIB has been specifically designed to address the critical challenges of studying alkali-based battery systems and will provide unique insights needed for the development of next generation batteries.

The performance of battery materials is dictated by the stability, efficiency and functionality of the interfaces, i.e. the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) at the anode and oxygen-induced cathode-electrolyte interface (CEI) at the cathode. Attempts to analyse these interfaces, in order to determine structure and chemistry, is seriously compromised using conventional techniques by the extreme air-sensitivity, beam sensitivity and the high volatility of certain species present. The specially configured PFIB microscope will address these issues.

WMG is one of seven HVM Catapult centres in the UK and is the lead centre for transport electrification. Investment in this PFIB is part of a range of equipment investments by the HVM Catapult and the University of Warwick to maintain WMG’s leading position in battery technology.

The PFIB has already secured interest from the Faraday Institution and from the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Lord Bhattacharyya Education Programme. Starting in the Autumn, a student will use this for a project entitled “The development of a new multi-modal capability for investigating the performance-controlling interfaces and microstructures that underpin operation of battery materials.”

The Lord Bhattacharyya Education Programme provides up to 90 bursaries annually for local students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The objectives for the scheme include encouraging a greater number of young people from a more diverse range of backgrounds, raising their aspirations and skill levels. Moreover, it supports the growth of a science and engineering skills base for the UK.

The project will make extensive use of the new system to develop strategies for studying the degradation of buried interfaces and structure dynamics in state-of-the-art high Ni NMC cathodes as a function of cycle ageing i.e., the evolution of the cathode-electrolyte interphases. The platform provides some unique opportunities for developing powerful new ways to characterise these controlling interfaces and will form the basis for the project. Preliminary research will commence in October 2023. The project will be advertised online for interested applicants to apply – the studentships page, Jobs.ac.uk, FindAPhD.com and the Doctoral College website.

Find out more about WMG’s electrochemical research here: Electrochemical Materials (warwick.ac.uk)

The new PFIB microscope will be based in WMG’s Advanced Material Manufacturing Centre (AMMC).