Seed Projects

Fast-paced, focused projects that began in June 2022 that widens the Faraday Institution’s research scope and informs future priorities for its research programme beyond March 2023

In June 2022, the Faraday Institution initiated 16 small, fast-paced, focused projects in areas not covered within its existing battery research portfolio. In doing so it widened its research scope, and set of university partners, in an initiative that will inform future priorities for its research programme beyond March 2022. The projects represent a £2 million investment in research by the Faraday Institution.  

The new seed projects, in the areas of anodes, electrolytes, cathodes, next generation technologies, applications and data management, and flow batteries, aim to deliver transformative results that may lead to a second stage of collaborative research beyond the initial exploratory work.  

Banner photograph from RSC Advances

ANODES

Scalable and sustainable manufacture of Si anodes for transforming commercial batteries

The University of Sheffield is seeking to develop the first commercially viable large-scale process for the bulk manufacture of porous silicon for graphite anodes with high silicon content.

Operando PDF-CT for advanced batteries

UCL will further develop the relatively new technique of pair-distribution-function computed tomography, which facilitates atomic mapping of working cells at a microscopic scale.

Microwave assisted processing for interface tailoring of Si-C anodes (MAP IT)

Loughborough University aims to deliver silicon-carbon composite anodes with optimised porosity and surface area by designing a fast, energy efficient microwave processing pathway.

Silicon Evolve

UCL, with guidance from Nexeon, will apply X-ray computed tomography to quantify volume expansion in Si-based anodes and link morphological evolution to performance.

ELECTROLYTES

Exploring new electrolytes for next-generation Li-ion batteries

The University of Leicester will explore five novel classes of electrolytes, aiming to deliver solutions that improve cycling performance and interfacial stabilisation of both the cathode and anode.

Phase-independent electrolytes for improved battery safety and recycling

The University of York will investigate a new class of organic solid-state electrolytes that show promise as lightweight, flexible and manufacturable alternatives.

CATHODES

Manufacturing of advanced electrodes with green solvents - MAEGS

The Universities of York and Birmingham will develop novel green solvent-binder systems to provide a low cost and low environmental impact route for manufacturing and recycling of Li-ion electrodes.

Scale-up manufacturing of next generation ultra-high power Li-ion cathodes

UCL, with QinetiQ, will demonstrate a new energy-efficient scale-up route to synthesise two ceramic powders used in cathodes, benchmarking electrochemical performance in large format pouch cells.

NEXT-GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES

Targeted design and testing of novel magnesium battery electrolytes for safe, high energy density storage

The Universities of Strathclyde and Sheffield with NPL will explore the potential use of magnesium as a more sustainable, cheaper alternative to lithium in rechargeable high energy density batteries.

Demonstration of the lithium-air gas diffusion electrode and system scoping

The Universities of Nottingham and Oxford will explore the use of gas diffusion polymers as a route to increasing the capacity and rate of lithium-air batteries, of particular interest to aerospace.

Rational design and manufacture of stacked Li–CO2 pouch cells

The University of Surrey, with Johnson Matthey and NPL, will tackle the limiting factors of Li-CO2 battery performance using their on-chip Li-CO2 batteries platform for electrocatalyst screening.

APPLICATIONS AND DATA MANAGEMENT

Battery multiphasE modelling for improving SAFEty (BESAFE)

Imperial College London, with WAE, will bridge the gap between thermofluid science & electrochemistry & develop a multiphase model of battery failure via thermal runaway.

Hybrid electrochemical energy storage

The University of Birmingham will demonstrate the feasibility of a hybrid technology combining batteries and supercapacitors in a single device, enabling both high power and energy density.

Supercomputing capable battery data hub for scale and accelerated analysis

The Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford will deliver a proof of concept “minimal viable product” for a Battery Data Hub, improving the efficiency of scientific discovery and supporting access to data.

REDOX FLOW BATTERIES

Advanced manufacturing of 3D porous electrodes for redox flow batteries

The Queen Mary University of London and UCL will combine 3D printing and electrospinning to develop an innovative concept of 3D electrodes for optimised use in redox flow batteries.

Device engineering of Zn-based hybrid microflow batteries and by-product H2 collection for emerging economies

UCL, with Bramble Energy, will develop a novel printed circuit board-based cell-module battery architecture for zinc-based hybrid microflow batteries.

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