Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

The Electrolytic Revolution: Harnessing Coulomb Physics and Soft Matter Chemistry to Design Electrolyte Materials

Project description

Seeing electrolytes under a new light

Electrolytes are materials which transport ionic charge. Essential for a number of bodily functions, they are everywhere – our blood, sweat and urine. Animals and plants are also made up of electrolytes, as are the oceans. Also, batteries and fuel cells incorporate electrolytes as a central and essential component. The EU-funded ELECTROLYTE project will explore and understand molecular interactions in complex and high-concentration electrolytes. It will draw on theories and predictions from far-separated disciplines of Coulomb physics, ionic liquid chemistry, soft matter, and the biology of halophiles. The findings will shed new light on innovating electrolyte materials for future technologies.

Objective

Electrolytes fill our natural environment and are crucial to many areas of modern technology. Animals and plants are made up of electrolyte and our oceans are enormous reservoirs of electrolyte covering 2/3 of the surface of the Earth. Energy storage and conversion technologies, such as batteries and fuel cells, incorporate electrolyte as a central and essential ingredient. Despite this enormous ubiquity and importance of electrolytes, these fluids are often relegated to the ‘background’, considered simply as a solvating environment or conduits for charge transfer, sufficiently well defined by a few general parameters. Recently, a new perspective has begun to emerge: of electrolytes as a complex, central player: A vast library of different chemistries are being discovered including molecular ions, eutectic mixtures, self-assembling liquid salts, and oligomeric solvents. This diversity brings an unexplored jungle of nano-architectures and dynamic heterogeneities, relevant across many orders of magnitude in time and space.
The overall vision of the ELECTROLYTE project is to explore and understand molecular interactions in complex and high-concentration electrolytes. The philosophy and methodology of the project involves drawing on theories and predictions from far-separated disciplines of Coulomb physics, ionic liquid chemistry, soft matter, and the biology of halophiles and electric fish. From these foundations, a series of hypotheses will be tested through experimental investigations of the structure, dynamics, electrochemical, mechanical and confinement properties of a wide range of electrolytic materials. This will lead to deep insight into the properties of concentrated electrolytes, and demonstrations of radically new electrolytic materials with properties outside of what is currently possible. Ultimately, the project will bring new mindsets for understanding and innovating electrolyte materials for future technologies.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2020-COG

See all projects funded under this call

Host institution

THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 996 357,00
Address
WELLINGTON SQUARE UNIVERSITY OFFICES
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom

See on map

Region
South East (England) Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Oxfordshire
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 996 357,00

Beneficiaries (1)

My booklet 0 0