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

未来锂离子电池、钠离子电池和下一代电池的复杂性很可能是针对特定应用而定制的，其中高性能（高能量或功率密度）电池用于具有挑战性的应用，如垂直起降（VTOL）飞机，而标准的商品电池将被接受以满足大众市场应用，如个人运输。大部分电池的制造技术相对较低，而卷对卷浆料涂布是沉积电极的首选方法。浆料涂覆很好地符合大众市场的要求，它快速、低成本并且具有足够的过程控制，但是它缺乏非常高性能电池可能需要的几何自由度。电池的增材制造（AM）或3D打印提供了几乎有限的设计自由度，以探索高性能电池的形状，几何形状，化学和成分，然而，仍然需要对沉积材料的配方和加工进行基础研究。这特别涉及材料规格和配方，工艺选择和优化电极打印。这个EngD项目将通过研究不同的增材制造技术来解决其中的一些缺点，包括新型电池化学，从立体光刻，粘合剂喷射和激光粉末床融合（LPBF）。这将需要为选定的AM技术和优化的打印工艺进行配方设计，以制造高性能的3D打印电池。将进行物理和电化学建模，以优化设计电池的性能，并通过物理构建和测试进行验证。AM所需的溶剂和粘合剂材料可能与浆料涂层所用的材料有很大不同。该项目将通过以下方式分别提高产品和工艺的可持续性和绿色认证：（1）研究下一代电池技术;钠、锂、镁或混合离子体系，（2）除去令人不快的溶剂如NMP（1-甲基-2-吡咯烷酮）和（3）开发低成本和可再生的粘合剂系统，并考虑到回收和再生，（4）以较少的浪费提供更好的材料利用，这对于高性能电池中使用的昂贵和稀缺的阴极材料特别重要。

The complexity of future lithium-ion, sodium-ion and next generation batteriesare likely to be tailored to specific applications with high performance (highenergy or power density) cells used in challenging applications such as VerticalTake-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft whereas standard, commodity cells willbe acceptable to fulfil mass market applications, like personal transport. Much ofcell manufacturing is relatively low-tech, with roll-to-roll slurry coating beingthe 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-performancecells. Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D-printing of batteries offers almostunlimited freedom of design to explore, shape, geometry, chemistry andcomposition for high performance cells, however, fundamental research is stillrequired into formulation and processing of the materials for deposition. Thisspecifically involves material specification and recipe, process selection andoptimisation for electrode printing.This EngD project will look to address some of these shortcomings byinvestigating different additive manufacturing technologies, with novel batterychemistries, from stereo-lithography, binder-jet and laser powder-bed fusion(LPBF). This will require formulation design for the selected AM technologiesand the print processes optimised to enable manufacture high performance 3Dprinted cells. Physical and electro-chemical modelling will be conducted tooptimise performance of the designed cells with verification coming from thephysical build and test. The solvents and binder materials required for AM arelikely to be vastly different from those used in slurry coating.The project will look to improve both the sustainability and green credentials ofthe 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) fromthe manufacturing process and(3) developing low cost and renewable binder systems with recycling andreclamation in mind,(4) offering better material utilisation with less wastage, important particularly for expensive and scarce cathode materials used in high performance cells.