Johnson Matthey (JM), a global leader in sustainable technologies, has teamed up with CPI, an independent technology innovation centre and Thomas Swan, one of the UK’s leading independent chemical manufacturers, to explore how to best optimise battery technology. (Logo quoted from Yahoo’s image)
The ICE-Batt project receives funding support from the Faraday Battery Challenge, managed by Innovate UK – the UK’s innovation agency – to enable the investigation of how innovative carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) can improve battery performance.
Ultimately this could lead to improvements in energy density, power density and low temperature performance of lithium-ion and beyond lithium-ion technologies. In addition, the project will explore how to improve the green credentials of battery processing.
ICE-Batt will combine Thomas Swan’s innovative GNP technology and CPI’s formulation expertise to explore how together they can help realise the full potential from JM’s high performance battery materials.
The battery market was revolutionised by the advent of lithium-ion technology in 1991. However, today’s electrification of the automotive powertrain, driven by our need for improved global air quality, requires constant innovation to meet the public’s expectations on range, power and lifetime cost.
The ICE-Batt project aims to overcome limitations of lithium-ion batteries, including energy density, power density and low temperature performance through the application of innovative carbons. ICE-Batt will fine tune these novel carbon structures produced at an industrial scale by Thomas Swan and demonstrate how they can be best applied to enhance the overall performance of traditional lithium-ion and next generation batteries such as JM’s family of nickel-rich advanced cathode materials eLNO® and LIFE POWER® LFP.
CPI is a founding member of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult, and will provide formulation optimisation through integration, iteration and evaluation. By using CPI’s high throughput capabilities, it offers a rapid route towards improved, safer and more-sustainable technologies in the production of battery cathodes. This will support the shift away from the commonly used – but toxic and now regulated – solvents, improving sustainability and the potential for widespread adoption.
Fine-tuning the existing cathode formulations and introducing advanced carbon nano-materials into them may result in a longer life-span for lithium-ion batteries, which will have widespread economic benefits to society. In this way the ICE-Batt project will help pave the way for the next generation of high-performance, sustainable battery technology.
(IRuniverse)
