Electro-Thermal Physics in NexGen Fast Charging Batteries: Re-evaluate Heat Evolution and Thermally Safe Operation temperature

Descripción del proyecto

Equilibrio entre velocidad, seguridad y calor del vehículo eléctrico

Esperar solo unos minutos para cargar un coche eléctrico parece ideal, hasta que la batería se sobrecalienta, se degrada o incluso falla. La carga rápida lleva las baterías de litio a sus límites, generando un intenso calor y desencadenando reacciones químicas no deseadas. Dichos problemas acortan la vida útil de las baterías y aumentan los riesgos para la seguridad. Con el apoyo de las acciones Marie Skłodowska-Curie, el proyecto ETPB se centrará en la densidad energética y abordará el olvidado problema del calor. Al tender puentes entre la ciencia térmica y la electroquímica, el proyecto ayudará a diseñar baterías más inteligentes que equilibren velocidad, seguridad y durabilidad. Sus investigadores están estudiando cómo afectan las distintas reacciones a la generación de calor y la resistencia, sentando las bases de sistemas de gestión térmica fiables. ¿El resultado? Baterías de carga rápida que no comprometen la seguridad ni la vida útil.

Objetivo

Fast charging for lithium batteries still faces challenging issues like fast heat generation, uneven electrochemical stress and side reactions like dendrites growth and solid-electrolyte interface (SEI) evolution. While considering How fast can we charge, another key concern is, How much we lose on capacity and Is it safe? Industry has primarily focused on improving the energy density of batteries, such as enhancing fast charging capacity—key electrochemical metrics. However, thermal metrics have received less attention, raising concerns about heat accumulation and uneven heat distribution, which exacerbate side reactions.
Thermal management of LIBs is key to solving these problems, and it is widely believed that battery thermal management systems (BTMs) should maintain a constant battery temperature around room temperature for optimal performance. However, with the advancement of LIBs towards higher energy densities and faster charge rates, this assumption is being challenged. The root cause of the mismatch between demand and design lies in the research gap between thermal energy science and electrochemical science which is likely to cause over-engineer.
The ambition of this project is to optimize the design of next-generation high-energy-density battery design by balancing the trade-offs between heat generation and energy density, while also fostering the development of reliable BTMs. This project will decouple the impact of different electrochemical reactions on the resistance R change and the heat generation variation induced by fast charging. The proposed research will outline three critical balancing issues: the trade-off between charging speed with (a) intrinsic safety (b) battery health and (c) heat generation.
Ultimately, this project will help the industry make next-generation batteries safer and more cost-effective by drawing on comprehensive multidisciplinary knowledge from academic pre-design research, with the potential to inspire future innovati