Publish Date: 15.12.2022
Category: Our contribution to sustainable development goals
Sustainable development goals: 9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure, 12 Responsible consumption and production (Indicators)
Energy generation and storage are key processes in the modern world. Batteries, in particular, have been identified by the European Union (EU) as a key technology for the transition towards a carbonneutral economy. Currently, the battery market is dominated by lithium-ion chemistries, however, conventional Li-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes are reaching their performance limits in terms of energy density and face safety issues. These challenges can be avoided by new generations of batteries, such as Solid-State Batteries. Consequently, solid-state batteries with high energy density produced in the EU enable the creation of a new industrial value chain in Europe and thus contribute significantly to reaching the objectives of the Green Deal
In response to these challenges, ADVAGEN - Development of ADVAnced next GENeration Solid-State batteries for Electromobility Applications, funded by the European research and innovation programme Horizon Europe - will develop a new lithium metal battery cell technology based on a safe, reliable and high performing hybrid solid-state oxide-sulfide based electrolyte. This innovative ceramic oxide-sulphide-based hybrid electrolyte will be integrated with a novel Li-metal anode and a high nickel rich-based cathode to demonstrate supreme energy density and durability. The aim is to strengthen the EU as a technology and production leader in batteries, as set out in the ERTRAC electrification roadmap and Action Point- 7.
Author of the image: Igor Mele
The ADVAGEN consortium consists of 14 transdisciplinary partners from 9 countries with extensive experience in battery technology development and production, ranging from the automotive industry (Toyota Motor Europe), industrial material producers (Ceramic Powder Technology, Avesta Battery & Energy Engineering, Schott), battery manufacturer (Avesta Battery & Energy Engineering), and research and development centres (Ikerlan, CEA-Commissariat a L'energie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternative, IREC-Catalunya, Technische Universitaet Braunschweig, CIC energiGUNE, Politecnico di Torino, INEGI, FEV Europe, University of Ljubljana) and specialised consulting companies (Euroquality, Techconcepts) covering the entire knowledge and value chain.
The research team from the University of Ljubljana, Laboratory of Internal Combustion Engines and Electromobility (LICeM), led by Prof. Dr. Tomaž Katrašnik, will lead work package 6 - Multiscale Modelling - in this 4 -year project, which deals with the development and optimization of all constituent materials of the final solid-state cell. They will focus on innovative models of the oxide-sulphide hybrid electrolyte and its interactions with the nickel-rich NMC-based solid-state cathode as well as a thin Li metal anode deposited on copper current collectors. In particular, the University of Ljubljana will focus on innovative mesoscopic modelling approaches for the analysis of interfacial phenomena and the bulk cathode material, the modelling of the elementary electrochemical cell, and the development of a physicochemically consistent equivalent circuit model.
The leading role in multiscale modelling confirms LICeM's high modelling competence, while the ADVAGEN project synergistically complements the development of advanced modelling tools that LICeM is also developing in other Horizon Europe projects: PULSELiON (PUlsed Laser depoSition tEchnology for soLid State battery manufacturIng supported by digitalization) and NEXTCELL (Towards the next generation of high performance li-ion battery cells), as well as in projects funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency: MoSiLIB (Modeling and development of silicon-tin sulfide composite anodes for generation 3b MoSiLIB lithium-ion batteries), and Slovene Research Funding Agency: Advanced multi-scale modelling of NMC cathode materials for enhanced next-generation energy storage systems.
Authors of the image: Igor Mele and Tomaž Katrašnik