Pouch cell architectures for extremely fast charging

The UK's stated objective to emit zero carbon emissions by 2050 means that future cars and commercial vehicles will need to be driven by electric motors powered by compact batteries. The battery technology of the future is expected to be a descendant of existing Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries used in existing Electric Vehicles (EVs) - such as the Toyota Prius and the Tesla range of EVs.

To optimise the cycle life (running cost) and performance (range and power) of Li-ion devices, the battery temperature must be maintained within a narrow window of operation - typically 15-50 degC (Wang, 2016). It is therefore not surprising that advancing battery thermal management technology is recognised as key to facilitating the widespread adoption of EVs.

One of the main challenges for future Battery Thermal Management Systems (BTMS) will be the facilitation of Extremely Fast Charging (XFC). XFC would enable a battery pack with a 200-mile range to be re-charged on a time-scale like that for refueling a conventional petrol or diesel car. However, XFC is challenging from a BTMS perspective as it leads to the generation of considerable amounts of heat in the batteries. Being able to maintain the batteries within their operational temperature envelope during XFC, particularly in hotter climates, is currently an un-solved problem in the automotive sector. The aim of this project is to assess the feasibility of optimising current pouch-cell architectures for heat extraction; combining the result with Qdot's battery cooling technology to enable XFC.