HIPERCARB - High performance hard carbon composites for Na-ion

Sodium-ion is emerging as a rival chemistry to the ubiquitous lithium-ion owing to its sustainability, lower cost and increased safety. Today, UK based Faradion and AMTE Power are manufacturing sodium-ion cells in the region of 140Wh/kg opening up 48V mild hybrid and 48V light mobility markets alongside 12V SLI (starting/lighting/ignition) lead acid replacement. This project's vision is to open up sodium-ion to the market of full-EV's by developing a high capacity anode material in excess of 500mAh/g which translates to a cell level energy density exceeding 200Wh/kg. The Centre for Process Innovation will screen processes and materials for techno-economics at TRL2\. Nuria Tapia-Ruiz at the University of Lancaster then identifies promising candidates in half cells at TRL3\. These are then progressed further in single layer pouch cells (TRL4) manufactured at Deregallera. Finally, the best material is tested in double-sided electrode multilayer pouch cells in a size and format guided by the Automotive end-users (TRL5). The National Physical Laboratory supports with their latest operando techniques to lift the fog of empirical analysis during material discovery process development and directly elucidate the electrochemical reaction pathways. In parallel, Deregallera responds to a techno-economic assessment the CPI conducted during round 3, to drive down the cost of their 240mAh/kg (140Wh/kg cell) hard carbon, opening opportunity for a UK based supply chain.