NSERC-DFG SUSTAIN: Carbon materials from oil sands-derived asphaltenes for next generation sodium-ion batteries - from mechanistic investigations to life cycle analysis

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Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the currently established electrochemical energy storage devices in fields where high energy density is a strong requirement. It is expected that the current annual demand for lithium will increase by a factor of 18-20 until 2050, driven by the increasing demand for automotive lithium-based batteries. The limited availability of lithium and the environmental issues associated with its extraction are the main driving forces for research on alternative battery systems such as sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). The commercialization of SIBs is in progress, however, the SIB technology, which uses mainly soft- and hard carbons fabricated from expensive natural precursors as anode material, still suffers from lower specific gravimetric energies than graphite-based LIB systems. As one of the largest LIB producer world-wide, there is a special interest for the German economy to also take part in the commercialization of environmentally friendlier battery systems such as SIBs. One major aspect for the commercialization of a battery product, besides high specific capacity and stability, is its price. It is crucial to use starting materials with a low cost. A potential abundantly available and low-cost anode precursor are so-called asphaltenes. In Alberta, Canada, thousands of tons of asphaltenes are produced daily, as a byproduct of oil sands processing. Technically, they are defined as the crude fraction, which precipitates upon the addition of an excess of n-heptane, but are soluble in toluene. Asphaltenes are currently applied as paving materials, waterproof coatings on building foundations. However, their present applications do not generate the need even close to the amount generated. Therefore, asphaltenes are often simply combusted. Consequently, there is a big interest of Canadian researchers to upcycle such asphaltenes and to thereby extend their life-cycle. OILSANDSBATT will combine these two aims together into one collaborative work between German battery and Canadian material engineering experts. The idea behind the project is to generate a unique synergy between two research foci of Canada and Germany, namely the value-adding upgrade of the waste product asphaltenes and the development of electrode materials for future battery systems, respectively. OILSANDSBATT will focus on the development of next-generation SIBs, which will use oil sands-derived asphaltenes for the fabrication of anode materials. The main scientific objectives within the planned project are i) the establishment of asphaltenes-derived carbon fibers and carbon modified carbon fibers as anode materials in SIB, ii) to investigate underlying storage mechanisms to enable targeted optimization of the cells towards high energy density and lifetime, and iii) the estimation of the product’s CO2 emissions based on an LCA analysis, which will built on the data from the synthetically and electrochemically oriented work packages.