LiSTAR - Li-Sulphur Technology AcceleratoR
Funder
The Faraday Institution
Value to Coventry University
£117,172
Project Team
University College London (Lead)
Duration
2022 - 2023
Project overview
Global efforts to mitigate and limit the impact of climate change and to move to an environmentally sustainable future have resulted in a concerted move away from fossil fuels to an electrified future. To this end, the UK Government has banned the sale of petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles from 2040. For this to be achieved and for the adoption of increasing amounts of renewable energy, improvements in battery technology are needed. Whilst progress has been made in terms of cell energy and lifetime, a current shortfall of the state of the art lies in power capabilities, and in particular the ability to fast charge without suffering a loss in battery lifetime. The ability to fast charge is seen as a key enabler to the widespread uptake of electric vehicles by the consumer. When addressing the limitations in power and fast charge capabilities of cells, the anode active material can be highlighted as a limiting factor, with current materials showing poor rate behaviour and a decrease in lifetime or being expensive and difficult to process, with lower volumetric densities[1]. Recently a new class of Niobium Tungsten Oxides (NWO) materials was reported by Prof. Claire Grey[1] with exceptional power and charging rate capabilities. These were shown to have achieved these properties using micron-sized particles via scalable and economical synthesis routes. The company CB2tech was established as a spin-out of the labs of Prof. Grey at Cambridge University to further develop and commercialise these materials and progress has been made on initial scale-up and characterisation in lab cells. The next crucial step is their demonstration in commercially relevant prototype pouch and cylinder cells optimised for high power capabilities for true fast charge (up to 5-minute charge) and other applications. To achieve this, the project will bring together CB2tech and Dr Alexander Roberts (AR) of Coventry University (CU), with extensive experience in high power devices, cell development (as evident from CV) and the academic lead for CU’s Centre of Excellence in Cell Prototyping.
Project objectives
The project has the primary aim of demonstrating the high-power potential of NWO anode material in prototype Li-ion battery cells of standard commercial sizes and forms, representing a progression from TRL2/3 to TRL6 and a pull across the associated ‘development valley of death’ so often seen as the end of promising University spin out research. This is focused on enabling technology and materials uptake by manufacturers and OEMS and helping facilitate further investment in CB2tech, also helping establish a UK-based materials supply chain.
