Uniqueness of our approach
Global efforts towards reduced CO2 emissions are pushing towards a rapid implementation of electrification of transportation. However, to convince the average consumer to buy electric, and thus enable a reduction of greenhouse gas emission, the electric vehicle should be affordable, safe and with the comfort of large enough driving range and short enough charging time. Those four key requirements are directly linked to the performances of the battery cell, a key component in Electric Vehicle . Current battery cell technologies are reaching their limits. A main difficulty lies in increasing further the driving range and charging time while maintaining a safe operation of the cell and EV.
The SOLiDIFY solid-state battery concept and its unique solid electrolyte component can offer a solution for most shortcomings in solid-state battery technology including upscaling and manufacturing.
The project comprises the development of a manufacturable solid-state battery technology based on a unique liquid-to-solid processed solid electrolyte which is easily impregnated into the electrodes providing multiple advantages towards cell performance and upscale manufacturing both directly in relation with the cost of cell (€/kWh)
Concept
The technical work packages contain 3 WorkPackages dedicated to the development of the different upscale cell components (WP3 electrolyte, WP4 solid composite cathode and WP5 thin lithium metal anode).
WP2 will have a central role in coordinating and guiding the integration of the different components. Hence, WP2 has the role of “integrator” in a processflow, who has to communicate with all parties involved in the technology developments to make sure all necessary components for the cell demonstrators are on track and mutually aligned. For example, whereas the different tasks of protective coatings (on active material and on lithium) and advanced characterization are distributed over the WPs 4 (composite cathode), WP5 (lithium anode) and WP6 (validation), the integration WP2 will see to it that understanding and learning leads to the right implementation and optimization. In this specific example, also WP3 (electrolyte) needs to be involved as the task of dendrite formation is related to the (tuneable) electrolyte properties. This balancing act of the integrator will keep the iterations of the individual developments fully aligned with the iterations of the cell integration and assembly. In addition, WP2 has its own developments on cell assembly and upscaling, to which a manufacturing road mapping exercise is coupled and output for assessment in WP7. The strong inter-relationship within the SOLiDIFY project and the coordination role of WP2 is shown schematically in the figure above.