Battery Materials and Cells Group - WMG
Battery Materials and Cells Group
Pioneering Battery Materials & Cells – Driving Innovation from Research to Reality for a Sustainable Future
BMAC is a unique, all-in-one battery research group, offering a complete development pipeline from materials research and cell prototyping to scale-up and advanced metrology through our state-of-art facilities within Energy Innovation Centre (EIC) and Wellesbournecampus. Our comprehensive approach accelerates innovation from lower to higher technology readiness levels (TRLs), all under one roof. Our expertise spans the entire battery lifecycle, from materials research and prototyping to scaled-up production and in-depth analysis.
We leverage cutting-edge electrochemical techniques and materials science knowledge to develop innovative solutions for energy storage. Our research goes beyond lithium-ion, exploring promising next-generation chemistries to meet the demands of a sustainable future.
Our state-of-the-art facilities enable us to:
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Develop and optimise novel energy storage materials.
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Scale up production to kilogram quantities for industrial evaluation.
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Conduct forensic and tear-down analyses to gain insights into battery performance and failure modes.
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Utilise advanced tomography and microscopy to visualize material behaviour in real-time, leading to process optimisation and improved battery design.
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Perform In-House XRD and EXAFS for Operando Studies to monitor battery reactions and structural changes under operating conditions, providing crucial insights for refining our battery technologies.
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Our research expertise:
Chemistries: Ni-rich and Si-rich anodes, anode-free and Li-metal anodes, solid-state electrolytes, Na-ion batteries, and protective coatings.
Manufacturing: Electrode formulation, novel processing techniques, battery recycling, and scale-up.
At WMG, our dedication to sustainability drives our intensive efforts in developing next-generation materials for energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions. We prioritise understanding the intricate processes involved, recognising it as the key barrier to scaling up from proof of concept to production levels. Through our expertise in operando and forensic analyses, we gain crucial insights into battery performance and failure modes. By emphasizing sustainability and leveraging our research findings, we actively shape the future of energy storage.
Join us in our mission to revolutionise energy storage! Explore how our cutting-edge research can drive your organisation towards sustainable innovation and greater environmental impact.
Electrode Screening and Formulations
Our pioneering research specialises in transforming advanced materials engineered for battery cells and validating their viability for commercial applications. Electrodes formulated using novel battery materials are benchmarked against equivalent formulations containing commercial materials to assess their impact.
Quality control tests such as Hegman gauge and rheological measurements are carried out on electrode composite slurries to assess their processability. Electrode composite slurries are coated on foil to form battery electrode coatings, which are then screened using conductivity measurements and adhesion testing before being constructed into battery cells.
Cell Scale-up
We can test new materials and processes in small batches of a few grams up to production runs involving tens of kilograms of material. As part of our battery scale-up pilot line, we have established a suite of cell production equipment covering the full production process including mixing (100 ml up to 10 L), coating (roll-to-roll and drawdown), and cell assembly and testing. We manufacture battery cells in a variety of different formats to suit project needs e.g. coin cell for rapid data generation or fundamental research, or cylindrical (21700, 46xx)/multi-player pouch cell for device level testing.
Our large cell testing facility within WMG’s Energy Innovation Centre (EIC) enables the simultaneous testing of thousands of cells under a wide range of conditions. We can support the commercial development of batteriesfor our partners from low to high TRL, while developing a deeper fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of battery operation in real cells. Our battery manufacturing facility supports the development of the battery industry in the UK and further afield, along with enabling world-class academic research.
Novel Manufacturing Methods
Traditionally, lithium-ion electrodes have been prepared by batch mixing and coating. Our research focuses on developing advanced techniques, including the evaluation of a twin-screw extruder as a continuous mixing device to achieve higher solid content, less solvency, lower evaporated energy, andultimately a dry mixing process. We are also exploring alternative advanced coating methods including spray coating and electrodeposition.
Advanced Materials
Surface coating is often applied to lithium-ion cathode materials to improve their electrochemical stability, particularly at high voltages. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a highly controlled coating process, giving a conformal coating of the required composition. Layers are deposited sequentially, until the required coating thickness is achieved. Cathode materials used in solid electrolyte cells also require surface coating, because of the limited voltage stability window of the solid electrolytes. Apart from ALD, other techniques like spray coating are also being evaluated.
Electrochemical Characterisation
We perform electrochemical cell tests beyond simple charge and discharge cycling on two electrode cells. Using a reference electrode in a three-electrode cell allows us to monitor the individual voltages of the anode and cathode. Impedance spectroscopy allows us to investigate processes occurring on widely different timescales. We use differential capacity techniques like DCAand ICAto look at phase changes with cycling, we use GITT and Intermittent Current Interruption (ICI) to quantify diffusion and resistance vs. state of charge.
Advanced Characterisation
A wide range of spectroscopic techniques can be applied to lithium-ion cells and materials; SEM, EDS, XRD, XRF, XPS, and SIMS. The simplest to use is ex situ, before and after testing. In situ and operando tests can give more information; the challenge is not to compromise the cell design and functionality while performing the measurements. A new technique called DEMS will soon be used to monitor gas evolution during electrochemical tests.
Cell and Battery Forensics
WMG’s Forensic Group is a leading force in the rapidly expanding field of battery forensics, driven by the global shift towards electrified transport. Our state-of-the-art laboratories and expertise enable us to dissect and analyse a wide range of cell formats and components, providing valuable insights into battery degradation and failure. We specialise in reverse engineering, where we deconstruct cells to understand their design and components, contributing to performance and safety improvements. Our team also conducts detailed autopsies and root-cause failure analyses on Li-ion batteries, providing crucial feedback for manufacturing processes.
We undertake comprehensive forensic case studies on new cell formats and chemistries, as well as device-specific battery incidents. In addition to failure incidences, we also investigate long-term ageing phenomena using a comprehensive array of characterisation techniques to support the electrochemistry. Working as a partner with The Faraday Institution’s SafeBatt project, WMG’s Forensic team are focused on understanding early signatures of failure using advanced characterisation. We investigate batteries subjected to beyond-ambient conditions to understand the mechanisms behind compromising safety. We use advanced three-electrode cells in specialised thermal chambers to operate them at extremes of temperatures and probe the electrodes separately.
Next Generation Sustainable Battery Solutions
WMG is contributing to the development of the next generation of sustainable battery technologies. We're exploring innovative chemistries, materials, and manufacturing processes to push beyond the limits of current state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries.
Our research focuses on:
Sustainable materials processing and implementation into cell prototypes: Design, characterisation and processing of novel, sustainable electrochemical materials, including Na-ion cathodes (Prussian blue, layered oxides and polyanion compounds) and anodes (Hard carbon and Sn). Implementation of recycled scraps-derived materials, self-healing functionalities, and smart sensing functionalities
Understanding structure/property correlation of electroactive materials: Utilising advanced techniques to analyse bulk and surface properties, thermodynamic and kinetic processes, and components compatibility in electrochemical systems.
Scaling Up Manufacturing: Overcoming challenges to produce sodium-ion and more sustainable lithium-ion cells at prototype scale.
Our multidisciplinary approach combines cutting-edge characterisation techniques with expertise in electrochemistry and to unravel the complex mechanisms governing next-generation battery systems. Our goal is to reduce the use of critical raw materials, increase longevity of battery cells, re-use valuable materials in line with a circular economy principle and improve sustainability by adopting aqueous processing of battery materials from lab to upscaled prototypes.
Our work is funded and includes activities from the following projects:
Projects:
SIMBA (Horizon2020),
SALAMANDER (Horizon Europe-UKRI), SUNRISE
RESPECT (Horizon Europe-UKRI),
JLR-WMG Catapult partnership),
EPSRC studentships,
COMMONWEALTH-Split scholarship, eNargiZinc (Horizon Europe-UKRI), GEMINI (The Royal Society),