The Grid 11 E-Mobility Engineering | March/April 2024 Technical consultants Ryan Maughan is an award-winning engineer and business leader with more than 20 years’ experience in the High-Performance, Heavy-Duty and Off-Highway Automotive markets. Prominent in the development of Power Electronics, Electric Motors and Drives (PEMD) for these demanding applications, he has successfully founded, scaled and exited three businesses in the electric vehicle space. He is currently CEO of eTech49 Limited, an advisory business specialising in disruptive hardware technology in PEMD. In addition, he is Chairman of EV North, an industry group representing the booming EV industry in the north of England, a board member of the North East LEP and an adviser to a number of corporations. Danson Joseph has had a varied career in the electrical power industry, having worked in areas ranging from systems engineering of photovoltaic powerplants to developing the battery packs for Jaguar Land Rover’s I-Pace SUV. With a PhD in electrical machines from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, Danson has focused on developing battery systems for automotive use. After completing the I-Pace project he formed Danecca, a battery development company with a focus on prototyping and small-scale production work, as well as testing and verifying cells and packs destined for mass production. Dr Nabeel Shirazee graduated from Leicester University in 1990, where he studied electrical and electronic engineering. An MSc in magnetic engineering followed at Cardiff University, where he continued his studies, earning a PhD and developing a permanent magnetic lifting system that has been patented by the university. His interest in magnetics led to a patented magnetic levitation system that was awarded the World’s No 1 Invention prize at INPEX in the USA. In 1999, he founded Electronica, a magnetics research and design consultancy. Since then, he has been involved in various projects, including the design of an actuator motor for a British aerospace company. He has also licensed the levitation technology in France. Ryan Maughan Danson Joseph Dr Nabeell Shiirazee Researchers in the US have developed a solid-state lithium-air battery cell with a potential energy density of 1000 Wh/kg (writes Nick Flaherty). The capacity is potentially four times that of the current lithium-ion battery technology used in heavy-duty vehicles such as aircraft, trains and submarines. The electrolyte is a mix of polymer and ceramic materials that takes advantage of the ceramics’ high ionic conductivity and the high stability and high interfacial connection of the polymer. The electrolyte is based on Li10GeP2S12 nanoparticles embedded in a polyethylene oxide polymer matrix. The result allows for the critical reversible reaction that enables the battery to function – lithium dioxide formation and decomposition – to occur at high rates at room temperature. It is the first demonstration of this in a lithium-air battery. “We found that solid-state electrolyte contributes around 75% of the total energy density,” said Mohammad Asadi, Assistant Professor of chemical engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology. “That tells us there is a lot of room for improvement, because we believe we can minimise that thickness without compromising performance, which would allow us to achieve a very high energy density.” Prof Asadi said he plans to work with industry partners to optimise the battery’s design and engineer it for manufacturing. The prototype cell is rechargeable for 1000 cycles with a low polarisation gap, and it can operate at high rates. BATTERIES Lithium-air’s quadruple potential March/April 2023 | E-Mobility Engineering Cell-to-pack architecture for fast charging StoreDot has developed a cell-to-pack architecture for its silicon-based fast-charging batteries, writes Nick Flaherty. The I-BEAM XFC is a patented cell design that accelerates the integration of extreme fast charging (XFC) into EVs using StoreDot’s proprietary 100in5 electrode technology. The silicon anodes enable charging for 100 miles of range in just five minutes. With the I-BEAM XFC, cooling is embedded in the cells to provide the thermal management required for fast charging. This prevents localised hotspots and maintains uniform temperatures across the battery pack. “By taking a holistic approach, we have developed a concept that improves packing efficiency and battery lifecycle,” said Dr Doron Myersdorf, CEO of StoreDot. The firm is building a demonstration vehicle with the XFC technology and shipping prismatic B-samples of the cells to car-makers. StoreDot has also shown an early prototype of its 100in4 cell, enabling charging for 100 miles of range in four minutes. The 3Ah 100in4 cells were tested using low applied pressure with minimal expansion. The cells showed 1100 fast-charging cycles with high energy density, and a projected energy density of 340Wh/kg in an EV form factor. The 100in4 technology will scale up from this 3Ah cell to 140Ah for mass production in 2026. A 100in3 cell for charging a range of 100 miles in three minutes is planned for 2028.
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