Advancing battery intelligence using digital parameterisation of battery electrode microstructures

Batteries are a critical technology in achieving net zero, and will be crucial for the successful decarbonisation of a range of sectors from transport to energy storage. The next generation of batteries must be lighter, have higher energy densities, last longer and use less of the critical raw materials found in the technologies of today. This will require rapid innovations in materials design and electrode engineering to ensure this next generation of battery materials are well-suited to the ever increasing technological demands. Battery intelligence is a key pathway to achieving these urgently-needed innovations.

This project will tackle the urgent need for novel battery intelligence tools that can analyse large multidimensional datasets, to extract meaningful, statistical information about battery microstructure evolution and degradation. By combining the use of state-of-the-art testing facilities within the Sheffield Tomography Centre, coupled with the advanced algorithms for data processing, rapid analysis on battery materials can be done.

This project will be carried out in close collaboration with the industrial partner, Elysia Battery Intelligence by Fortescue WAE, who have significant expertise in cloud-based analysis of battery systems. By harnessing the existing decades of expertise at Elysia, the student will benefit from interaction with a leading company in the field and the project will help solve truly relevant industrial challenges.