Grant: Automotive Partnership Canada Project

This research program brings together a team of researchers, whose objective is to use in situ techniques tocharacterize the meso-, nano- and moiecular scale processes that govern device performance in materiais forrechargeable lithium ion batteries. General Motors has identified the electrification of the vehicle as the next driver ofautomotive technologies. It has also determined, in particular, that cost and reliability of the lithium ion battery is theprimary hurdle to achieving wide-spread consumer uptake of this alternative technology. In order to improve the lifetimeof the battery, and to avoid conditions which lead to failure or ioss of capacity, the degradation mechanisms of the cellmust be understood. This will be achieved using state-of-the-art characterization methods, which can be applied to theoperating electrochemical cell that comprises the battery. These methods will enabie the development of ""in situ""techniques that are currently not possible - and currently prevent the ""scaling up"" of lithium ion battery technology fromlaptop and portable devices to use in automotive applications. The techniques we shall deveiop will support thenecessary innovations that will help bring the next generation of automotive batteries in to the cars of tomorrow.In collaboration with General Motors, the team will target the critical processes which determine the state-of-health of thecell. Characterization techniques which can accurately detect and report on the nano-scale mechanisms of cell failure,inclUding changes as a function of materials properties, cycling rates, cell temperatures, and lifetimes are not widelyimplemented, and for the most part unavailable within industrial research and development facilities. Therefore thispartnership offers a powerful new avenue for probing these processes, and feeding information back into the controlparameters and operating conditions, to enhance automotive battery performance.