Atomic-scale modelling of structural batteries.

My project will focus on the construction and optimisation of an anode using Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), with the aim use it in a full structural electrochemical cell. The process works like a conventional graphite anode whereby the lithium ions are stored in-between the graphitic layers. However, even though CFRP has similar local properties to graphite, it is an amorphous composite giving it very different material properties. Being able to better understand these material properties and how it interacts with lithium will lead to the realisation of a working battery electrode. Looking at the different defects and migratory paths for lithium ions in CFPR will be a major part of research in this PhD. In order to complete these two research objectives, I will be using a combination of analytical methods such as, X-ray diffractometry and cyclic voltammetry but also using computational modelling software to gain insight into the fundamental mechanisms that occur when the lithium ions move in and out of the carbon fibre. Problems arises due swelling and expansion of the material when the lithium ions intercalate, which leads to greater degradation of the battery and a reduction in the strength of the carbon fibre. To overcome these problems, I am looking to investigate the carbon fibre strands on an atomic scale, to better understand what causes of these problems are and try to solve them. This will help in the development of novel CFPR materials that are able to withstand these expansion effects, whilst maintaining its electrochemical properties. The final aim of this PhD is to start combining carbon fibre with an electrolyte and studying the effects of this interaction to ensure that both electrochemical and mechanical integrity is maintained. This will be done by working closely with others in the research group who will have been working on different electrolytes, in order to create an optimal system for its intended use.

Impact Summary

This proposal has been developed from the ground up to guarantee the highest level of impact. The two principal routes towards impact are via the graduates that we train and by the embedding of the research that is undertaken into commercial activity. The impact will have a significant commercial value through addressing skills requirements and providing technical solutions for the automotive industry - a key sector for the UK economy.

The graduates that emerge from our CDT (at least 84 people) will be transformative in two distinct ways. The first is a technical route and the second is cultural.

In a technical role, their deep subject matter expertise across all of the key topics needed as the industry transitions to a more sustainable future. This expertise is made much more accessible and applicable by their broad understanding of the engineering and commercial context in which they work. They will have all of the right competencies to ensure that they can achieve a very significant contribution to technologies and processes within the sector from the start of their careers, an impact that will grow over time. Importantly, this CDT is producing graduates in a highly skilled sector of the economy, leading to jobs that are £50,000 more productive per employee than average (i.e. more GVA). These graduates are in demand, as there are a lack of highly skilled engineers to undertake specialist automotive propulsion research and fill the estimated 5,000 job vacancies in the UK due to these skills shortages. Ultimately, the CDT will create a highly specialised and productive talent pipeline for the UK economy.

The route to impact through cultural change is perhaps of even more significance in the long term. Our cohort will be highly diverse, an outcome driven by our wide catchment in terms of academic background, giving them a 'diversity edge'. The cultural change that is enabled by this powerful cohort will have a profound impact, facilitating a move away from 'business as usual'.

The research outputs of the CDT will have impact in two important fields - the products produced and processes used within the indsutry. The academic team leading and operating this CDT have a long track record of generating impact through the application of their research outputs to industrially relevant problems. This understanding is embodied in the design of our CDT and has already begun in the definition of the training programmes and research themes that will meet the future needs of our industry and international partners. Exchange of people is the surest way to achieve lasting and deep exchange of expertise and ideas. The students will undertake placements at the collaborating companies and will lead to employment of the graduates in partner companies.

The CDT is an integral part of the IAAPS initiative. The IAAPS Business Case highlights the need to develop and train suitably skilled and qualified engineers in order to achieve, over the first five years of IAAPS' operations, an additional £70 million research and innovation expenditure, creating an additional turnover of £800 million for the automotive sector, £221 million in GVA and 1,900 new highly productive jobs.

The CDT is designed to deliver transformational impact for our industrial partners and the automotive sector in general. The impact is wider than this, since the products and services that our partners produce have a fundamental part to play in the way we organise our lives in a modern society. The impact on the developing world is even more profound. The rush to mobility across the developing world, the increasing spending power of a growing global middle class, the move to more urban living and the increasingly urgent threat of climate change combine to make the impact of the work we do directly relevant to more people than ever before. This CDT can help change the world by effecting the change that needs to happen in our industry.