The current standard battery type contains an electrolyte of a lithium salt dissolved in a liquid organic liquid. Such batteries pose a serious safety risk due to the use of this type of fluid as a transport medium for the lithium in the battery. They are flammable and volatile so that any leakage will pose a potential safety issue. One strategy to solve this challenge is to base them on technologies where one can eliminate the use of such organic liquids completely.
Safe batteries can be made by basing all the components in the batteries on solid components, so-called "all solid-state batteries" (ASSB). Such batteries are fireproof and safe during use and can withstand higher temperatures. There is a need to gain a deeper understanding of the behaviour of all the components, especially the transport properties of the materials. Challenges are also related to finding a set of components that has compatible properties well adapted to each other, and also to some extent the development of proper methods for the production of these materials.
The project OxiBat addresses these challenges by preparing dense electrolytes and electrode materials by several different methods (e.g. tape casting, screen printing, spray coating), and assembling these by means of lamination at high temperatures or by sputtering the electrodes directly on the electrolytes via pulse laser deposition (PLD). Fundamental understanding of the electrolytes' stability and transport properties will be addressed through DFT modelling, establishment and use of defective chemistry model, conductivity measurements and NMR studies. Assembled complete batteries will be tested with regards to their lifetime, stability during cycling, degradation and expansion.
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