WMG has been named as a partner in five key battery research projects funded by the Faraday Institution.

The Faraday Institution has committed £22.6m to battery research projects involving a consortium of universities around the UK.

Research will progress over the next two years to 31 March 2023. The projects, involving WMG, are:

· SOLBAT. The solid-state battery (SSB) is one of the most important challenges in battery R&D. As well as increasing energy density, lifetime and transforming safety, SSBs will enable step changes in the safety, driving range and longevity of electric vehicles. Read more here: SOLBAT – Solid state metal anode batteries – The Faraday Institution

· SafeBatt – the science of battery safety. Safety control and countermeasures are built into the design of today's Li-ion batteries (LiB) systems, but this adds complexity, cost and weight. As the use of LiBs expands further into automotive, stationary storage, aerospace and other sectors, there is a need to decrease the risk associated with battery usage further and to enable the simplification of safety systems. This can only be achieved through enhanced understanding of the “science of battery safety.” Read more here: SafeBatt – Science of Battery Safety – The Faraday Institution

· Battery Degradation. Although mass manufacture has made lithium-ion batteries cheaper, cost and durability remain obstacles to the widespread adoption of battery electrical vehicles. The lifetime of the batteries falls well below the consumer expectation for long-term applications such as transport. The automotive industry wants to better understand the causes and mechanisms of degradation to enable improved control and prediction of the state of health of battery systems. Read more here: Battery Degradation – The Faraday Institution

· Multi-scale modelling. The performance and lifetime of a battery depends on how the cells are combined into a pack large enough to power an electric vehicle (EV), an aeroplane or even an electricity grid. The mechanism controlling the local environment of each cell within that pack also influences lifetime and performance. The first challenges to be tackled include fast charging of batteries, low temperature operation and thermal management of cells within battery packs. Read more here: Multi-scale Modelling – The Faraday Institution

· Nextrode Electrode Manufacturing. Nextrode focuses principally on manufacturing research into how to engineer a new generation of battery electrode structures. Novel developments in electrode structuring will be drawn from basic science understanding of the current slurry casting manufacture of Li-ion electrodes along with predictive modelling to suggest how control of electrode microstructure can deliver improved energy storage characteristics. Nextrode will support UK manufacturers and supply chain companies, draw on cutting edge scientific and technological knowledge to produce increased cell performance, add value in electrode processing, and improve safety and sustainability. Read more here: Nextrode – electrode manufacturing – The Faraday Institution

Meet the team and read more about WMG’s Energy research here.