The University of Oxford is to lead a new £3 million project to develop novel cathode materials for future lithium-ion batteries.
The University of Oxford is to lead a new £3 million project to develop novel cathode materials for future lithium-ion batteries. This could unlock a range of improvements that include better battery performance, improved energy density, reduced cost and a lower environmental footprint. Ultimately, this could significantly advance progress towards Net Zero by boosting the range and power available to electric vehicles.
This new project is part of a major investment by the Faraday Institution – the UK’s independent institute for electrochemical energy storage research. The 3D-CAT project will bring together researchers at the University of Oxford and UCL, besides industry partners, to directly address a key industry challenge. Specifically, it’s aim is to develop viable lithium battery cathode materials that do not require cobalt and nickel - both of which are expensive, and associated with environmental and supply chain concerns.
Strong existing candidates include lithium iron phosphate and lithium manganese iron phosphate cathodes, however these have lower energy densities than cathodes using cobalt and nickel. There is an urgent need to develop new cathode materials that can match the performance of cobalt- and nickel-based cathodes without requiring costly, geographically-concentrated precursors or impractical production processes. The 3D-CAT project will address this by progressing from first-principles design through to prototype synthesis and validation in test systems.
Read More: University of Oxford
Image: Professor Robert House showing Faraday Institution interns an X-ray diffractometer and the setup he uses for operando battery measurements. (Credit: Faraday Institution)
