3D-Printed Battery Electrodes Manufacturing Technology Centre (Coventry)

The complexity of future lithium-ion, sodium-ion and next generation batteries

are likely to be tailored to specific applications with high performance (high

energy or power density) cells used in challenging applications such as Vertical

Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft whereas standard, commodity cells will

be acceptable to fulfil mass market applications, like personal transport. Much of

cell manufacturing is relatively low-tech, with roll-to-roll slurry coating being

the preferred method for depositing electrodes. Slurry coating matches the mass-

market requirements well, it is fast, low cost and has sufficient process control,

but it lacks geometric freedom that may be required for very high-performance

cells. Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D-printing of batteries offers almost

unlimited freedom of design to explore, shape, geometry, chemistry and

composition for high performance cells, however, fundamental research is still

required into formulation and processing of the materials for deposition. This

specifically involves material specification and recipe, process selection and

optimisation for electrode printing.

This EngD project will look to address some of these shortcomings by

investigating different additive manufacturing technologies, with novel battery

chemistries, from stereo-lithography, binder-jet and laser powder-bed fusion

(LPBF). This will require formulation design for the selected AM technologies

and the print processes optimised to enable manufacture high performance 3D

printed cells. Physical and electro-chemical modelling will be conducted to

optimise performance of the designed cells with verification coming from the

physical build and test. The solvents and binder materials required for AM are

likely to be vastly different from those used in slurry coating.

The project will look to improve both the sustainability and green credentials of

the product and process respectively by

(1) investigating next generation battery technologies; sodium, lithium,

magnesium, or mixed-ion systems,

(2) removing unpleasant solvents such as NMP (1-Methyl-2-pyrrolidinone) from

the manufacturing process and

(3) developing low cost and renewable binder systems with recycling and

reclamation in mind,

(4) offering better material utilisation with less wastage, important particularly for expensive and scarce cathode materials used in high performance cells.