The Battery School

What will I learn?

• Industrial Perspectives - An industrial cross-sector perspective of Lithium-ion batteries, roadmaps for electric vehicles, electrification in transport sectors, UK supply chain opportunities for batteries, future target for EV batteries.
• Module and Pack Design - Overview of challenges and opportunities of pack design and manufacturing, battery priorities in different sectors, cell/module/pack components, pack design examples, battery life management.
• Challenges and Opportunities of Li Batteries - A textbook view of Li-ion cells, SEI formation, N-P ratio, cell formation, state of art commercial cells, cathode engineering, benefits and challenges of Ni-rich cathodes.
• Chemistry of Battery Active Materials - Range of cathode & anode active materials, cathode comparisons, details of NMC and LFP cathodes, materials synthesis methods, strategies of materials optimization.
• Progress of Batteries - Origin of cell voltage, range of primary and secondary batteries, progress of traction batteries for EVs, Pb-acid, Ni-Cd, NiMH, Li-ion, Li-S, Solid-state, Na-ion, progress of battery materials.
• Battery Electrochemistry and Forensic Characterisation - Landscape of battery chemistries, assessment methods for batteries, C-rate, charge-discharge, cycling, EIS, differential capacity, selection of charterisation techniques.
• Battery Electrical Testing & Aging - Cell datasheet, capacity testing and the impact of temperature/C-rate/degradation, pulse power test, EIS test, OCV test, GITT test, reasons for battery aging, impact of test setup quality.
• Battery Management Systems - BMS hardware and software architecture, SOC estimation methods, SOH estimation and linking with degradation, incremental capacity analysis, fast charge, energy balancing, smart cells.
• Battery Safety and Abuse Testing - Examples of battery hazards events, nail penetration, understand cell limits, mechanical/electrical/thermal abuse testing, risk assessment, handling Li-ion batteries in transport, high voltage.
• End of Life Management and Recycling - Recycling of EV, battery second life, safety in recycling, discharge and dismantling, module shredding and material separation, pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical recycling, LCA.
• Cell Fabrication (Lab Demonstration) - Virtual lab tour of the Energy Innovation Centre and cell fabrication facilities, step-by-step manufacturing processes of pouch cells and cylindrical cells, respectively, in the pilot manufacturing facilities, considerations and notations at different manufacturing stages.
• Battery Testing (Lab Demonstration) - Virtual demonstrations of different battery testing process and discussion on the results, inducing terminal voltage, capacity, EIS, plus power; filmed battery thermal events triggered by different abuse conditions; pack testing.