Energy Storage

High-resolution imaging combined with image analysis, physical property calculations and measurements. A rare combination of instrument capacity and people skills provide unparalleled insights into microstructural behaviour.

Lithium-ion batteries are currently used extensively across a range of applications. Their increasing uptake in larger-scale applications requires an understanding of degradation mechanisms at the atomic scale and developing new materials or concepts for these batteries.

Revolutionising the synthesis of graphene-based materials for use in a wide range of applications, including energy storage and conversion.

Carbon materials are excellent candidates for energy-related applications, from batteries and supercapacitors to fuel cells and electrocatalysis. A series of carbon nanostructures, such as graphene platelets and films, can be provided, along with innovative, scalable synthesis strategies, to enable the uptake of these materials in applications.

Developing materials with the energy density of batteries and the power density of supercapacitors is an exciting target for energy storage. New-concept proton batteries, which use the fastest-transferred hydrogen ion as carriers, can potentially revolutionise energy storage in the near future.

Industrial and mining wastes are literally ‘treasure troves’ of valuable elements like cobalt, nickel, vanadium, lithium and zinc, which are critical for next generation, high-efficiency batteries and energy storage systems.

Understanding how lithium-ion migrates during the electrode charge/discharge is important for improving the performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIB). Atomic simulation of the lithiation process provides the capability to recognise the mechanisms and key parameters, and use them to aid the design and manufacturing of LIB electrodes.

Lithium ion batteries that can be charged and discharged at high rates can play a critical role in stabilising electricity grids with a high proportion of renewable energy generators. These devices blur the distinction between supercapacitors and batteries, and may also find applications in electrical power buffering for mass transport systems.

Sodium- and potassium-ion batteries are promising candidates for next-generation grid-scale energy storage, due to the elements’ abundance and their encouraging battery performance. Their commercialisation requires the development of new electrode materials and a fundamental understanding of their structure-performance relationships.

World first developments in energy storage and flow battery technology including the vanadium redox flow battery provide opportunities for maximising renewable energy power plant performance and improvements in electricity quality and supply. Advancements made on flow battery technology have been utilised globally in large scale demonstration and commercial projects.

Lightweight energy storage is vital to environmentally friendly transport, including electrical vehicles, electrical drones, and wearable devices. Structures that can simultaneously carry load and store electrical energy while simultaneously providing an energy density equivalent to the current state-of-the-art supercapacitors are critical enablers for these new technologies.

Reconfigurable Energy Storage (ES) systems incorporate a module switching circuit which allows the topology of the ES modules connected to the output converter to be controlled. The voltage and current capacity of the reconfigurable ES system can be adjusted, which increases flexibility and operating range.

Micro-supercapacitors offer energy densities comparable to micro-lithium-ion batteries, but with one hundred times more power density and an ability to be recharged in 3 seconds. These devices have a range of potential applications, including electric vehicles and wearable electronics.

The design of an optimised bi-directional DC-DC converter that is capable of charging and discharging super-capacitor banks.

In an energy storage string or module consisting of a number of cells, a significant variation in temperature distribution can exist. However, monitoring the whole module temperature is often hindered by hardware and cost limitations and, typically, only a limited number of temperature sensors are employed.

Battery management systems (BMS) for managing both charge and discharge of individual or groups of cells is essential for safety and increasing performance of the system. Balancing can be a simple passive circuit that normalises voltages in the steady-state or highly complex, using networks of active converter circuits that provide balancing function in both transient and steady-state.

A wireless battery management system for LiFePO4 batteries that can survive cold-soaking at -80°C and has been proven in Antarctica.

Advanced energy storage techniques require advanced grid interfaces. Such advanced interfaces ensure that bidirectional inverter or converter technologies are capable of harnessing the benefits of the storage technique, helping unlock the advantages of new storage technologies.