Sustainable materials and manufacturing for zero-excess multivalent batteries

To combat climate change, the UK and other nations have put forward ambitious net-zero targets for transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy generation and storage. Li ion batteries (LIBs) and other technologies will play a crucial role in this transition. However, Li and other materials in LIBs such as Co and Ni are critical metals with rapidly depleting resources and concentrated in few geographical regions with ~15 tons of CO2 emitted into the air for every ton of the mined critical metals. It is estimated that LIBs can only meet 1/3rd of the global energy storage demands by 2030. Furthermore, current battery manufacturing consumes excessive amounts of toxic solvents, it is pressing to consider both the constituent elements of batteries and how the batteries are manufactured to improve sustainability.
The vision of this Fellowship is to develop (i) new sustainable materials with earth-abundant elements only; (ii) advanced manufacturing techniques and instrumentation without toxic solvents; and (iii) a novel characterisation technique to guide the design of materials and component structures for a new family of zero-excess multivalent batteries without an anode or any excess metals to achieve the ultimate high energy density. The combination of (i), (ii), and (iii) for the zero-excess multivalent batteries is absolutely novel internationally.
Materials: develop multivalent Ca, Mg, and Al batteries that are amongst the most earth-abundant elements to be >40x cheaper with up to 4x higher volumetric capacities (~8000 mAh cm-3) than current LIBs. 2D MXenes materials will be developed for both the cathode and current collector for the zero-excess multivalent batteries for the 1st time. I will challenge the orthodoxy and contest that “impure” MXenes synthesised directly by mild chemicals will outperform “pure” MXenes that usually require harsh chemicals during synthesis to improve sustainability and scalability of the 2D materials.
Manufacturing: invent scalable, sustainable aqueous manufacturing technologies to construct the 2D materials into drastically different microstructures for the cathode and current collector to improve ion diffusion and (de)solvation kinetics. The replacement of toxic organic solvents with water in battery manufacturing will reduce ~3.4 Mt CO2 emissions per annum globally.
Characterisation: pioneer an operando correlative imaging technique as a flexible platform for designing new energy materials, structures, and manufacturing technologies. It took Sony 10 years to develop the mass manufacturing technology of LIBs, we do not have 10 years for every single change of device chemistry. The material family, manufacturing technologies, characterisation technique, and the fundamental ion diffusion science question that this Fellowship aims to address will benefit a wide range of future batteries and other electrochemical energy applications.
These work builds upon my unique track record of making innovations in energy materials, manufacturing techniques (3 patents) and pioneering in operando correlative imaging of X-ray Compton scattering-computed tomography to understand material behaviour to close the design-make loop.
This Fellowship will enable me to: (i) establish a new research field of quantum electrochemistry for new materials that are challenging to be characterised using conventional methods; (ii) develop novel manufacturing techniques and instrumentation for rapid prototyping and facilitate technology transfer; and (iii) build a three-way partnership bridging academia, large research facilities and industry in my role as a long-term researcher at Research Complex at Harwell, these will jointly allow me to fulfil my long-term goal of establishing a world-leading Centre for Rational Advanced Manufacturing in Energy.