2 minute read
The Faraday Institution has today announced the launch of 16 small, fast-paced, focused projects in areas not covered within its existing battery research portfolio. In doing so it has widened its research scope in an initiative that will inform future priorities for its research programme beyond March 2023.
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.
In the first project, led by the University of Strathclyde, NPL will support the design and testing of novel magnesium battery electrolytes for safe, high energy density storage.
The project will explore the potential use of magnesium as a more sustainable, cheaper alternative to lithium in rechargeable high energy density batteries. It also aims to help transition Mg-ion batteries to market by developing suitable electrolytes that can support efficient and reversible transfer of magnesium between the electrodes, along with a high stability to withstand the operating conditions of the battery. These electrolytes will be tested for electrochemical performance against existing cathode materials and analysed to establish performance and stability.
In the second project, NPL will partner with Johnson Matthey on work led by the University of Surrey to design and manufacture stacked Li-CO2 pouch cells.
The project will use CO2 as a cathodic reactant, which has the potential to be used as an industrial gas and contribute to carbon neutrality. The team will tackle the limiting factors of Li-CO2 battery performance, which hinders the practical application of this technology, by using their unique on-chip Li-CO2 battery platform for efficient electrocatalyst screening. Selected catalysts will be used to manufacture stacked Li-CO2 pouch cells and their capacity and reliability assessed for potential use in real-world applications. Moreover, research into Li-CO2 electrochemistry could help to understand and further optimise the feasibility of Li-air batteries.
NPL will be supporting both projects by providing measurement facilities and expertise. NPL’s inclusion in these projects highlights its growing presence in the battery research landscape in the UK.
Find out more about Electrochemistry
01 Jun 2022