New battery technology development for a sustainable future
During Thermo Fisher Scientific’s inaugural Clean Energy Forum, a collaboration of battery industry and academia revealed that there are some significant gaps that need to be overcome for the development of new battery technology.
Battery technology has come a long way in recent years, with advances in energy storage and performance making it possible to power everything from electric vehicles to smartphones. However, experts in the field recognize that there are still significant gaps between the goals that academia have and the goals that battery manufacturers have that hinder progress and limit the translation of academic discoveries into practical applications.
Connecting battery development and manufacturing for new battery technology production
One of the major gaps between battery R&D and manufacturing is scalability of findings from R&D to battery production. While academic research mainly focuses on product development and fundamental research, manufacturing prioritizes scalability, cost-effectiveness, and commercial viability. This can lead to a significant gap between the two areas, with promising new battery technologies developed in academia failing to make the transition to commercial production. Bridging this gap requires continued collaboration between academia and industry to ensure the new battery technology developed in academia can be successfully scaled up for commercial production.
“The relationship between academia and industry needs to go both ways,” said Dr. Meng Jiang, Chair of the Technical Advisory Committee for the US Advanced Battery Consortium and Staff Researcher from General Motors. “Industry cannot just take the research from academia because in many cases there’s a lot of great research coming out, but they are not trying to solve the problems that are relevant to the industry. For example, in lithium battery production, industry needs to let research labs know what is most important to the field – do we want to improve energy density or safety or reduce cost? There needs to be crosstalk. These conversations help to fine tune the technology.”
“The easiest way to bridge this gap is through people,” said Professor Stanley Whittingham, Nobel Prize Laureate and creator of the lithium-ion battery agrees. The easiest way to bridge this gap is through people and an exchange of, not only information, but also of talent. “I spent about 15 years in industry before I moved back to academia, so I know how industry works. There must be a give and take.”
Battery manufacturing quality control to ensure consistent performance
Manufacturing and developing lithium-ion batteries requires robust quality control processes to ensure consistent performance and safety.
“We have to go all the way back to the mine where we get the raw materials to make the active battery materials to start,” said Dr. Y. Shirley Meng, professor, University of Chicago and Chief Scientist, Argonne National Laboratory. “We’re not even talking about batteries yet, just the materials that batteries are made from. The quality of the raw materials significantly impacts the final product.”
To achieve this, material characterization technology is critical to provide quantitative, precise, and reproducible data acquisition and analysis to help manufacturIn addition, analytical data can be handled using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to provide valuable insights to drive decision-making and strategic planning in battery manufacturing quality control.
There are also different quality control needs to consider.
“In the gigafactory, it becomes important to have high-throughput characterization methods so that they can maintain high production levels,” added Dr. Meng.
Without these tools and advanced analytical methods, it can be difficult to ensure that batteries produced at scale are of the highest quality and meet the standards required for use in commercial products.
Collaborating for a sustainable future and the scalability of battery production
While battery research and development has made remarkable strides, the connection between academia and manufacturing can be stronger to help solve the challenges in translating research into practical applications. Bridging this gap requires a two-way relationship between academia and industry, with a focus on scalability and commercial viability. Additionally, ensuring consistent performance and safety in battery production necessitates robust quality control processes and the utilization of advanced material characterization tools. By addressing these challenges and fostering continued collaboration, the battery industry can advance towards a more sustainable future where new battery technology plays a pivotal role in meeting energy demand while minimizing environmental impact.
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Check out a recap of the Clean Energy Forum and read about what experts think the future of battery technology looks like.
Read about the scientists at Thermo Fisher Scientific who enable safer and more sustainable batteries with electron microscopy technology and more.
Dieter Hofmann is the Senior Director, Business Development, Clean Energy, Analytical Instruments
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