Realising Structural Power: Addressing the Manufacturing Challenges

结构动力复合材料是一种机械承载材料，具有储能和输送电能的能力。这些多功能复合材料是一种完全不同的结构材料使用方式，结合了两项关键技术(轻量化和储能)。它们在交通运输、便携式电子产品和电网基础设施中的采用可以极大地帮助实现NetZero的目标。目前，为了满足电动汽车的续航里程要求，相当大比例(~25%)的车辆重量是电池。为了减少这种寄生质量，传统的方法是增加电池的能量密度，但这存在相当大的可持续性、安全性和寿命问题。但是，通过用可以储存电能的结构材料制造车身，可以节省大量的重量。例如，我们已经证明，对于给定的能量密度，使用结构动力材料制造的电动汽车的续航里程大约是使用传统电池的汽车的两倍。在另一个例子中，不要求飞机机翼是中空的(以储存燃料或电池)将释放设计限制：机翼可以非常细长，减少阻力，对未来的飞机设计和航程产生深远影响。结构电力复合材料有可能给未来的交通运输、便携式电子产品和基础设施带来革命性的变化。然而，自研究人员率先开发以来，由于微观结构控制不佳、器件制造不一致、由于低效的电流收集和缺乏封装解决方案而导致的放大差等问题，它们的产业化受到了阻碍。这项提议旨在解决这些问题，使结构性电力复合材料能够在工业上得到应用，从而造福于社会。研究重点是超级电容器：提供快速充放电循环的储能设备。我们的结构超级电容器由两个碳纤维薄片电极组成，这些电极注入了碳气凝胶(CAG)。这些电极夹在一个离子导电但电绝缘的隔板中，该层压板注入了结构电解液(SE)。拟议的研究将由来自伦敦帝国理工学院(ICL)、杜伦大学(DU)和布里斯托尔大学(UOB)的一个互补团队进行，与从材料供应商(Hexel、Gen2Carbon和CME)、研究提供商(Have Composites、NCC和NPL)到OMS(空中客车和BAE系统)的行业合作。我们将解决实现结构功率的制造问题，重点关注WP1的相互依赖的方面：结构电解液(DU)、WP2：器件制造(UOB)和WP3：电流收集和封装(ICL)。在WP1(结构电解质)中，我们将采用两种并行策略。第一种方法是使用我们现有的配方，但在不损害其性能的情况下改善加工性。第二种更具冒险精神的方法是使用一种不同的基质化学物质，在SE中产生更精细的微观结构。WP1中正在开发的配方将被用于WP2(器件制造)，我们将探索在加工过程中更好地控制微结构，方法是将SE涂膜或将SE注入干燥电极/隔膜堆中。为了更好地了解和控制加工过程中的SE微观结构，我们将设计一种智能模具，它将在制造过程中提供对流动和固化条件的详细监测和控制。在WP3(电流收集和封装)中，我们将识别和模拟材料和工艺，以最大限度地减少电流收集的阻性损失和寄生质量。最后，封装任务将确定提供不透水屏障但可以将机械载荷转移到结构超级电容器中的材料。这项工作将最终展示受行业启发的应用程序中的最佳概念。

Structural power composites are mechanically load-bearing materials with the capacity to store and deliver electrical energy. These multifunctional composites are a completely different way of using structural materials, combining two critical technologies (lightweighting and energy storage). Their adoption in transportation, portable electronics and grid infrastructure could significantly help in meeting the NetZero targets. At present, to fulfil range requirements in electric vehicles, a sizable proportion (~25%) of the vehicle weight are the batteries. To reduce this parasitic mass, the conventional approach is to increase battery energy density, but this has considerable sustainability, safety and longevity issues. But by making the vehicle body from structural materials that can store electrical energy, huge weight savings can be made. For example, we've shown that for a given energy density, electric cars made using structural power materials would have about twice the range of that of a car using conventional batteries. In another example, not requiring aircraft wings to be hollow (to store fuel or batteries) would release design constraints: the wings could be very slender, reducing drag, having a profound effect on future aircraft designs and range. Structural power composites have the potential to revolutionise future transportation, portable electronics and infrastructure. However, since the investigators pioneered their development, their translation to industry are being hampered by issues such as poor microstructural control, inconsistent device manufacture, poor scale-up due to inefficient current collection and lack of encapsulation solutions. This proposal aims to address these issues, enabling industrial adoption of structural power composites to the benefit of society.The research focusses on supercapacitors: energy storage devices that provide rapid charge/discharge cycles. Our structural supercapacitors consist of two carbon-fibre lamina electrodes that are infused with a carbon aerogel (CAG). These electrodes sandwich an ion-conducting, but electrically-insulating, separator and this laminate is infused with a structural electrolyte (SE). The research proposed will be undertaken by a complementary team from Imperial College London (ICL), Durham University (DU) & University of Bristol (UoB), in collaboration with industries ranging from material suppliers (Hexcel, Gen2Carbon & CME), research providers (Hive Composites, NCC & NPL) to OMEs (Airbus & BAE Systems). We will address manufacturing issues for realising structural power, focussing on the interdependent aspects of WP1: Structural Electrolytes (DU), WP2: Device Fabrication (UoB) and WP3: Current Collection and Encapsulation (ICL). In WP1 (Structural Electrolytes) we will pursue two parallel strategies. The first approach will be using our existing formulation but improve the processability without detrimental effects to its performance. The second, more adventurous approach, is using a different matrix chemistry to produce a more highly refined microstructure in the SE. The formulations under development in WP1 will be adopted in WP2 (Device Fabrication), where we will explore better control of the microstructure during processing either through filming the SE or infusing the SE into the dry electrode/separator stack. To better understand and control the SE microstructure during processing we will design a smart mould which will provide detailed monitoring and control of the flow and cure conditions during manufacture. In WP3 (Current Collection and Encapsulation) we will identify and model materials and processes to minimise the resistive losses and parasitic mass of current collection. Finally, the encapsulation task will identify materials that offer an impervious barrier but can transfer mechanical load into the structural supercapacitor. The work will culminate in demonstration of the best concepts in industry-inspired applications.