Project background

CAPTURE is an interdisciplinary project centred at Swansea University dedicated to the development of a circular approach to the manufacture and management of electrochemical energy storage solutions, particularly next-generation batteries. The research philosophy is based on a ground-up approach, where all energy storage components (material, processes, management) are conceptualised , designed and developed from incept within a circular economy framework , ensuring an optimum use of resources, re-use and recyclability of its components towards a zero-carbon approach.

Technology summary

With petrol and diesel engines making up 73% of transport-related pollution switching to electric vehicles is key to driving the decarbonisation of road transport and mitigating one of the main contributors to our warming climate. A key element of this transition is energy storage and the capture of energy that can be harnessed at another point in time. To date lithium-ion batteries have enabled the switch to electric vehicles and the portable electronics revolution, with other applications continuing to grow, including “behind-the-meter” residential energy storage systems and integration with the grid. However, with energy density having plateaued in standard LIBs, new manufacturing solutions are needed to meet demand and keep pace with increasingly power-hungry applications by unlocking the commercial potential of other energy storage technologies including those based on Lithium/Sodium metal anodes and Llithium/Sulphur batteries which promise a large increase in energy density. However large-scale production of these next-generation batteries is currently stalled by technical and manufacturing limitations. CAPTURE aims to tackle these issues by delivering a step-change in the manufacturing of next-generaton battery technologies by providing scalable and sustainable solutions. This is achieved by leveraging on (i) state-of-the-art fabrication and testing equipment including pouch and cylindrical cells production lines, (ii) a wide platform of industry partners from materials providers to battery manufactureres and (iii) new and unique multidisciplinary collaboration assembled specifically to overcome the challenges associated scalable and sustainable manufacturing, bringing together academic expertise from across multiple engineering disciplines.

Benefits/Advantages

Building on fundamental work to determine the conditions and pre-requisites necessary to achieve high-energy density and long-cycle life batteries, CAPTURE offers a new approach using unique commercial-scale equipment for fabrication/testing and enabling the integration into existing production lines. The implications of the research programme for research and development are multifaceted, impacting researchers and industries working on innovative energy storage solutions based on Li/Na-metal (e.g. lithium-air, Li-S and solid-state batteries) as well as battery integration and e-drive technologies. Furthermore, the toolbox of ex-situ and in-situ characterisation techniques developed will impact the production of high-performance electrode active materials, scaling-up processes for electrode manufacturing and in-line optimisation of battery components.

Market application

Through advancements in the sustainable manufacturing of rechargeable batteries, which are rooted within many technologies (transport, mobile tech, portable equipment, grid storage etc.) and with prospects in emerging sectors (heavy-freight, storage of renewably generated electricity, electric aviation), keeping at the forfront of technological development in this domain has huge benefits for various market applications. Primarily , CAPTURE aims to address the needs of industries focusing on the production of batteries at cell and pack level.

Ways of collaboration

· Joint technical collaboration

· Technology commercialization in China