Realising the UK Value-chain in Graphene Composite Battery Materials (GRAVITY)

气候变化是人类面临的最大威胁之一，向可持续能源过渡对我们物种的生存至关重要。交通运输是欧洲最大的二氧化碳排放源，占欧洲大陆温室气体排放量的25%。从内燃机向电动汽车（ev）的过渡，以及可持续能源供电的电网，可以帮助缓解气候变化。如果消费者选择购买电动汽车而不是内燃机汽车，这种转变可以加速。然而，电动汽车的广泛采用存在诸多障碍，包括电池充电时间长、电池寿命的不确定性。该项目旨在通过与现有工业兼容的固有可扩展且廉价的工艺开发石墨烯复合电极来解决这些障碍。电子在石墨烯中的移动速度比几乎任何其他已知材料都要快，比在金属中的移动速度快数千倍。正因为如此，石墨烯具有出色的电学性能，可以用来增强锂离子电池（LIBs）。大多数锂离子电池的阴极是由金属氧化物的小颗粒形成的，如镍锰钴氧化物（NMC）。它们能很好地储存Li+离子，但导电性能很差。为了提高导电性，这些颗粒被涂上炭黑（本质上是高级烟灰）；然而，石墨烯具有优越得多的电性能，因此可以显著提高电池中电极的导电性。制造高质量的石墨烯-金属-氧化物复合材料是极具挑战性的。这是因为石墨烯纳米片比金属氧化物颗粒更倾向于粘在其他石墨烯纳米片上。已经采用了多种方法来解决这个问题；然而，到目前为止，这些都没有成功，主要是因为该工艺导致石墨烯质量差（例如，使用还原氧化石墨烯），或者使用表面活性剂，导致材料中存在不良残留物。Anaphite开发了一种低成本的可扩展工艺来形成石墨烯-金属氧化物复合材料，这与快速扩展的LIB制造基础设施兼容。Anaphite的复合材料适用于制造充电时间更快的电池。使用这种技术形成的电池也将持续更长时间，因为电极的电气性能得到改善

Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing humanity, and transitioning to sustainable energy is paramount to the survival of our species. Transport is Europe's single largest source of CO2, responsible for 25% of the continent's greenhouse gases emissions. A transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles (EVs), along with a grid powered by sustainable energy, can help mitigate climate change. This transition can be accelerated if customers choose to purchase EVs over cars with internal combustion engines. However, there are multiple barriers to widespread EV adoption, including long battery-charging times, uncertainties over battery lifetimes. This project seeks to address these barriers by developing graphene-composite electrodes via an inherently scalable and inexpensive process that is compatible with existing industry. Electrons are more mobile in graphene than almost any other known material, travelling thousands of times faster than in metals. Because of this, graphene has outstanding electrical properties, and these can be used to enhance Li-ion batteries (LIBs). The cathodes of most LIBs are formed of small particles of metal-oxides, such as nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC). These are good at storing Li+ ions, but poor electrical conductors. To enhance electrical conductivity, these particles are coated in carbon black (essentially high-grade soot); however, graphene has far superior electrical properties, and therefore can significantly increase the electrical conductivity of electrodes in the battery. It is extremely challenging to create a high-quality graphene-metal-oxide composite. This is because the graphene nano-sheets have a tendency to stick to other graphene nanosheets in preference to the metal-oxide particles. Multiple approaches have been applied to address this problem; however, to-date these have not succeeded, largely because the process results in poor quality graphene (e.g., using reduced graphene oxide), or uses surfactants, resulting in undesirable residues in the materials. Anaphite has developed a low-cost scalable process to form graphene-metal-oxide composites, which is compatible with the rapidly scaling LIB manufacturing infrastructure. Anaphite's composite materials are suitable for creating batteries with faster charging times. Batteries formed using this technology will also last longer due to the improved electrical performance of the electrodes