In a Faraday Battery Challenge Round 5 project aligned with the Faraday Institution FutureCat project, NiTech and CPI explored an innovative production method that can be used to produce single-crystal cathode battery materials. This approach has the potential to deliver increased range and battery life, reduced charge times, and lower capital cost to produce materials.

The ongoing and multi-faceted collaboration between the Faraday Institution community and Fortescue WAE, the Oxfordshire-based technology and engineering services company, has yielded substantial benefits for both organisations.

Eatron Technologies and WMG, University of Warwick collaborated on an Industry Sprint that developed an innovative new approach to accurately estimating an EV battery’s remaining useful life (RUL). It accelerated the development of a working demonstrator/prototype of the RUL prediction system, integrating it into Eatron’s battery management system.

LiSTAR project scientists at University of Oxford are making progress in extending the cycle life of lithium-sulfur batteries. Researchers have demonstrated a scalable approach to protect the anode in a lithium-sulfur cell, a crucial step to extending the lifetime.

NEXGENNA project researchers have patented a cost-effective, nickel-free, and cobalt-free cathode material for sodium-ion batteries, offering best-in-class performance with a 10% energy density improvement. The team aims to integrate this material into commercial battery formats in collaboration with an industry partner, utilizing the university's advanced scale-up facility.

SOLBAT scientists utilised X-ray computed tomography to study lithium dendrites, the build-up of metal leading to solid-state battery failure, discovering initiation and propagation are distinct processes. This insight is helping to devise strategies targeting either dendrite initiation or propagation for more effective dendrite prevention in practical devices.

FutureCat researchers have employed advanced computational methods to develop a framework that is now feeding in to the experimental team to inform and guide synthetic efforts to prepare novel, sustainable cathode materials with optimised properties.

CATMAT researchers advance high-energy-density cathodes, unravelling molecular oxygen formation at high states of charge. Crucial for reversible high-voltage cycling, this research opens avenues for advancing the range of electric vehicles.

By combining experimental data, domain knowledge, and AI, the Nextrode team explores how factors like slurry density, viscosity, and coating speed impact lithium-ion electrode characteristics, advancing transparency and establishing a digital twin model for battery production.

UCL and ESRF scientists have addressed the challenge of accurately determining battery internal temperature during use utilizing synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Their clever approach, published in Nature, informs battery management for even safer batteries.

ReLiB scientists at the University of Birmingham developed an eco-friendly process, using a green solvent, to remove PVDF binder from electrodes in a novel and convenient way. The technique enables binder separation, recycling, and reuse, showing promising electrochemical properties in coin cell tests.

The year 2023 saw the launch of Ionworks Technologies, an open-core software start-up built around PyBaMM (born out of the Multi-scale Modelling project), with the mission of building software solutions that can tackle the most difficult challenges in the battery space.

The Degradation project researchers recently found Ni-O redox processes involved a much larger participation of the oxygen ions than previously thought. Their understanding of bulk/surface reaction mechanisms provides insights into how to mitigate degradation pathways through oxygen release and maximise the performance and lifetime of future batteries.

Cheaper, more efficient lithium-ion batteries could be produced by harnessing previously overlooked high pressures generated during the ball milling process.

The North East of England – a trailblazer of the first industrial revolution — has now positioned itself as an important hub for the UK’s green industrial revolution. Within the region, a thriving battery ecosystem is taking shape, propelled by the efforts of the North East Battery Alliance (NEBA).

A new study led by Dr. Xuekun Lu from Queen Mary University of London in collaboration with an international team of researchers from the UK and USA found a way to prevent lithium plating in electric vehicle batteries, which could lead to faster charging times. Paper published in Nature Communications.

As part of the LiSTAR project, a new cathode material that enhances the performance of the lithium-sulfur batteries has been developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy.

An Industry Fellowship between Imperial and WAE investigated derating approaches, completing a critical review of derating methods and creating a go-to resource for those seeking to use the technique.

Significantly improved electric vehicle (EV) batteries could be a step closer thanks to a new study led by University of Oxford researchers, published in Nature. Using advanced imaging techniques, this revealed mechanisms which cause lithium metal solid-state batteries (Li-SSBs) to fail.

Paper published in Nature as part of the SafeBatt and Degradation projects. Novel thermal management techniques to inform computational modelling and accelerate the design iteration process

Edinburgh-based battery innovator StorTera has been working with researchers from the University of Strathclyde to improve the efficiency of an innovative graphite polysulfide single liquid flow battery

A University of Birmingham / Echion Technologies Industry Fellowship is facilitating the commercialisation of a mixed niobium-oxide anode active materials that could cut charging times to 5 minutes

A Faraday Institution Industry Fellowship between Cranfield University and Delta Cosworth has proved a concept that could reduce manufacturing costs and improve safety in high performance vehicles.

A Faraday Institution Industry Fellowship has helped deliver new insights into controlling particle morphology in high-nickel cathode materials, paving the way for more efficient, high-performance, cathodes to be developed.

The Degradation project is building towards a comprehensive model of lithium transport and diffusion behaviour and of mechanical properties such as shear yield and fracture, as a step towards extending battery lifetime.

The value of modelling to predict battery failure as a route to improving battery safety and performance.

ReLiB scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed and patented a phase selective leaching technology to recycle, upcycle and regenerate cathode materials.

A team at UCL has discovered an effective way to quantify thermal runaway within batteries, which can happen due to electric short-circuits, overheating or through impact or penetration.

Towards understanding the impact of calendering on the underlying microstructural evolution of electrodes during processing to understand what dictates the electrical conductivity and structural integrity of a lithium-ion battery and how these can be improved.

FutureCat researchers are applying advanced characterisation techniques, available at Diamond Light Source, to unravel the role of oxygen redox in high nickel layered oxide cathodes with the aim of the capacity of next generation lithium-ion batteries.

CATMAT researchers have made further advances in understanding critical properties and limitations of lithium-rich layered oxide and disordered rock-salt cathodes, developing novel solutions towards higher energy densities.

Scientists at the University of Oxford have used smart processing protocols to produce a composite cathode with outstanding performance.

Opening in late 2022, the University of St Andrews has created a versatile battery scale-up facility to complement and support academia and business with pouch cell production facilities.

The LiSTAR project has welcomed Coventry University into the consortium to increase its cell fabrication capability. This allows researchers across LiSTAR to test their developments in a pouch cell format, increasing confidence in the commercial potential of research demonstrated in coin cells.

With billions of lithium-ion batteries in circulation, safety is of paramount importance. While catastrophic Li-ion battery fires remain extremely rare, the vital work of the SafeBatt team is ensuring that first responders know how to tackle incidents correctly and, potentially, save lives.

A unique approach to calculating battery failure, affiliated to the Faraday Institution’s Multiscale Modelling project, has been shown to make predictions that are 15-20% more accurate than current approaches used on the same dataset. The paper, from researchers at the University of Oxford has been published in Joule.

Lithium-ion battery cells with unparalleled fast charging capabilities are being scaled up through a Coventry University - Nyobolt Ltd collaboration.

An international team led by researchers at UCL has revealed new insights into the workings of a lithium battery by virtually “unrolling” its coil of electrode layers.

A step forward in a mechanistic understanding of oxygen-redox processes in lithium-rich battery cathodes.

A digital analysis tool that screens for manufacturing defects with the potential to guide changes to commercial cell manufacturing processes and longer term, be used as a quality assurance/quality control tool in a gigafactory.

DandeLiion offers battery designers a fast, versatile and powerful modelling tool to accelerate battery pack design and deliver improvements to commercial battery performance, lifetime and safety.

Partnering with an aerospace company towards a better understanding of potential battery safety issues, to advance modelling capabilities and a faster, cheaper, more efficient battery pack development process.

A Faraday Institution team is revolutionising battery pack and cell design to better control cooling at the cell, module and pack level so that battery-makers can usher in considerable improvements in range, life and safety.

A novel method that uses fibre optics and cutting-edge sensor techniques to measure chemical changes inside operating lithium-ion batteries in real time could aid researchers in academia and industry to develop next generation batteries with a longer life.

Faraday Institution researchers have made a significant step in understanding how and why solid-state batteries (SSB) fail by dendrite growth and short circuit with cycling. Overcoming this failure mechanism could potentially usher in a new era of SSB-powered electric vehicles.