PHOENIX – Building More Reliable And Performant Batteries By Embedding Sensors And Self-Healing Functionalities To Detect Degradation And Repair Damage Via Advanced Battery Management System (No. 101103702) has received funding from the European Union’s Research And Innovation Programme Horizon Europe under HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01 call.
Concept and challenges
The demand for batteries in electric mobility, grid energy storage, and consumer electronics is projected to increase tenfold in the next decade.However, in order to increase the acceptance level of batteries, battery costs over lifetime still have to be reduced and battery performance, reliability and safety have to be improved.
The PHOENIX project aims to explore various possibilities for integrating self-healing, sensing, and triggering functionalities into batteries, to develop cells capable of living longer, detecting and preventing any kind of degradation, being more sustainable and less expensive.
These functionalities, along with the control and management of the Battery Management System, will be prototyped and demonstrated in Generation 3b and 4a Li-ion batteries. These battery technologies have the potential for high voltage and fast charging, making them suitable for electric mobility and stationary applications.
The demand for batteries in electric mobility, grid energy storage, and consumer electronics is projected to increase tenfold in the next decade. However, for sustainable and European batteries to be developed and utilised, improvements are necessary.
The PHOENIX project aims to explore various possibilities for integrating self-healing, sensing, and triggering functionalities into batteries, to develop cells capable of living longer, detecting and preventing any kind of degradation, being more sustainable and less expensive.
These functionalities, along with the control and management of the Battery Management System, will be prototyped and demonstrated in Generation 3b and 4a Li-ion batteries. These battery technologies have the potential for high voltage and fast charging, making them suitable for electric mobility and stationary applications.
The project will demonstrate the self-healing behaviour of the batteries using sensors in single-layer and multi-layer cells, with the prototyping of 200 cells.
Additionally, the project will address manufacturing concerns such as cost and mass production, recycling feasibility, and sustainability assessment. The aim is to reduce specific battery costs by 10% and enable the recycling of self-healing materials without significant changes to the current recycling processes.
Methodology
PHOENIX will be deployed in three phases to achieve its goals.
In the first phase, the focus is on developing self-healing battery materials and sensing devices. The challenge lies in implementing these materials and devices in a way that the beginning of battery degradation can be detected and a self-healing process can be initiated. Various sensing technologies, such as thermal, ultrasonic, gas, and deformation sensors, are used to measure the battery’s health. The triggering can be done thermally, magnetically, or by applying pressure. Different cell types will be prototyped, with specific self-healing properties and triggering effects tailored to the degradation occurring in each technology.
2. VALIDATE
In the second phase, the validation of the triggering mechanisms and degradation detection is carried out. Single-layer pouch cells are developed to implement the self-healing triggering mechanisms, followed by the fabrication of multilayer cells integrating both sensors and self-healing functionality. The validation involves electrochemical testing to identify irreversible reactions and activate the repair process, as well as the triggering of the self-healing functionality monitored by sensor devices.
3. ASSESS
The third phase focuses on the development of the Battery Management System and addresses manufacturing, recycling, and sustainability assessment. The BMS interfaces with the developed sensors and self-healing triggering mechanisms, hosting degradation detection and self-healing triggering algorithms. An assessment of the competitive advantage of smart batteries is conducted, considering environmental sustainability and comparing it to alternative approaches such as replacement or recycling. The environmental impacts of the materials are evaluated through an early screening and full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
Expected results
Development and implementation of magnetic, thermal and pressure triggering
Design and implement the mechanical, electrical, thermal and gas sensors
Demonstration of Gen 3b and 4a batteries with increased anode capacity and excellent capacity retention after numerous cycles
The demonstrator pouch cell shows significant capacity retention after multiple cycles at a moderate charging rate
Develop a fully
integrated BMS
Lower the specific costs of the self-healing battery compared to the reference battery
Achieve a high recycling efficiency that demonstrates the recyclability of self-healing components
Prospective Life Cycle Assessment of future batteries
Development and implementation of magnetic,
thermal and pressure triggering
Design and implement the mechanical, electrical,
thermal and gas sensors
Demonstration of Gen 3b and 4a batteries with increased anode
capacity and excellent capacity retention after numerous cycles
The demonstrator pouch cell shows significant capacity
retention after multiple cycles at a moderate charging rate
Develop a fully integrated BMS
Lower the specific costs of the self-healing battery
compared to the reference battery
Achieve a high recycling efficiency that demonstrates the
recyclability of self-healing components
Prospective Life Cycle Assessment of future batteries