Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The increasing energy demands of a growing population and climate change challenges provide a strong driving force for renewable energy and transportation electrification. As one of the most promising energy storage systems, Li-ion batteries become widely used in the renewable energy systems and transportation electrification. However, there are still many issues facing Li-ion batteries. One of the most important issues is the degradation of the cells during operation, which becomes the limiting factor in battery cycle life. Longer cycle life is urgently needed to achieve the economic viability in electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure. In order to achieve longer cycle life, several key questions need to be addressed, including: (1) how do Li-ion batteries degrade over long-term cycling (degradation analysis); (2) how should we design Li-ion batteries that last longer (optimal design); (3) how should we manage Li-ion batteries in different applications to achieve longer cycle life (intelligent management). ***The proposed research will investigate the battery long term degradation and address these knowledge deficiencies. The long-term degradation process remains poorly understood due to its complexity. Preliminary results indicate different stages of degradation over long-term cycling. A high fidelity degradation model will be developed and experimentally validated to predict the long-term degradation. Through the insights provided by the degradation analysis, potential opportunities for cycle life improvement will be identified. Optimal design techniques will be developed to optimize the battery design parameters to achieve longer cycle life. The proposed program will also develop optimal battery formation protocol, intelligent charging and health conscious management based on the degradation model. The overall program is divided into 5 objectives: 1) Investigate the main degradation mechanisms and develop degradation models; 2) Optimize battery design; 3) Design optimal formation protocol and intelligent charging; 4) Develop advanced battery monitoring system; 5) Develop intelligent management strategies.***The results of this research will contribute to strengthening Canadian leadership in the area of renewable energy and transportation electrification. It will provide a deep understanding of battery long term degradation, specific recommendations of battery optimal design, and optimized battery management strategies. This will enable the industry to produce longer cycle-life battery cells and protect battery health during operation. It will significantly benefit the relevant products and services in a wide range of important applications in Canada. This program will also provide tremendous opportunities for training HQP for the fast growing transportation and energy industry in Canada.