Title: Building more reliable and performant batteries by embedding sensors and self-healing functionalities to detect degradation and repair damage via advanced Battery Management System.
Call ID: HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-06
EU nr: 101103702
Period: 1/5/2023- 30/4/2027
Total Budget: 4,998,505.75 €
VUB Allocated Budget: 983,750 €
Contact: Prof. Maitane Berecibar
We spoke with Prof. Berecibar and asked her 2 questions:
What is PHOENIX about?
Maitane: “PHOENIX aims to develop battery cells with integrated sensors and self-healing functionalities. It has 2 major impacts: the first one is scientific: the consortium aims at developing batteries with a longer lifetime and greater safety. The second impact refers to our economy: costs of battery manufacturing should be reduced. The pioneers in the technology are also the manufacturing and recycling industries as they will accelerate the growth of innovative, competitive, and sustainable batteries.
To make this possible, highly-reputed partners in the consortium such as Fraunhofer and CSEM will develop tailor-made triggering devices to activate self-healing mechanisms. Furthermore, the consortium will develop self-healing battery components, manufacture them with 1Ah targeted capacity without excluding a recycling and mass production point of view. This with an increase sustainability and improved Life Cycle Assessment. The developed novel batteries would be applicable in mobility and grid storage applications.”
Why is PHOENIX important for VUB?
Maitane: “VUB will coordinate the overall project management which includes the project strategy, supervision of the scientific and timely implementation of the technical work plan. In PHOENIX, the VUB will also lead the process development of self-healing battery and cell assembly (including the sensor and self-healing triggering integration in the cells) building a know-how which will be used in large-scale production. Accordingly, the developed next generation of batteries should incorporate those functionalities with the control and management of the Battery Management System (BMS). In the project VUB will also develop full life cycle of the batteries within all PEFCR impact categories.”
AIM
PHOENIX aims to develop battery cells with integrated sensors (mechanical, enhanced impedance spectroscopy, temperature, gas, reference electrode) and Self-Healing (SH) functionalities (magnetically activated polymers, thermally activated polymers, metallic organic frameworks coated separator, core-shell NMC composites). Tailor made triggering devices to activate SH mechanisms will be developed, prototyped and demonstrated in Generation 3b and 4a Li Ion batteries.
METHODOLOGY
A Battery Management System (BMS), capable of detecting defective operations and of triggering SH functionalities will be developed with in-line communication.
The degradation detection and Quality, Reliability and Life (QRL) will be tested through dedicated profiles (fast charging, extreme temperatures, calendar life).
The novel batteries’ manufacturing will be studied from a recycling and mass production point of view. PHOENIX’s 7-objectives are:
- Develop sensors to detect healable degradation mechanisms
- Develop materials with SH functionalities triggered by external stimulus to eliminate/avoid failure mechanisms in battery cell components
- Develop triggering devices to activate SH mechanisms
- Demonstrate proof of concept for coupling sensors and SH agents via BMS
- Detect critical degradation processes during cell ageing and estimate the QRL over the life span
- Assess the environmental sustainability and demonstrate the competitive advantage over alternative approaches such as replacement, recycling or second use
- Adopt an adaptable approach towards battery cells mass production processes which do not hinder the subsequent recycling process and enables an economic evaluation of the developed cells .
IMPACT
It is the aim of PHOENIX to nurture a world-class European research and innovation eco-system on batteries along the value chain based on sustainable pathways. PHOENIX focuses on improving the technological performance to increase application user attractiveness (safety, cost, user convenience, fast charging and environmental footprint) by supporting the creation of a competitive, circular, and sustainable European battery manufacturing value chain. PHOENIX will collaborate with the BATTERY 2030+ initiative and will contribute to Europe’s competitive and sustainable battery manufacturing industry. Together the goal is to invent the batteries of the future by providing breakthrough technologies to the European battery industry across the value chain and enables long-term European leadership in existing markets and future emerging applications.
