Approach

The core concept of INERRANT is to identify and optimise the key materials and processes that establish a cost-effective and credible method for producing safer Gen 3 LIBs, with enhanced performance and rapid charging capabilities. This approach is grounded in efforts to reduce the use of critical raw materials (CRMs) and to adhere to safe and sustainable design of chemicals and materials. To this end, INERRANT adopts a holistic strategy to optimize four key components of a LIB cell: anode, cathode, separator, and electrolyte. Additionally, INERRANT pioneers innovative recycling processes.

Unlike most R&D initiatives thus far, which often examine these crucial components in isolation or fragmentarily—leading to incremental improvements that could not effectively address current bottlenecks—INERRANT’s integrated approach aims to overcome existing limitations and truly transform LIBs technology in three major areas:

• LIBs safety concerns

  With the widespread use of LIBs and the continuous improvement in their energy density, ensuring battery safety becomes indispensable to prevent unintended energy release. A major concern arises from the high flammability of the organic-based liquid electrolyte. The cascading thermal runaway is the dominant cause of catastrophic failures taking place in LIB systems.

  The thermal runaway is the result of parasitic processes and uncontrolled exothermic reactions. When the battery's temperature rises internally above some critical point, i.e. 80–90°C, the reaction rate of the exothermic reaction increases immensely. This adds additional heat and triggers temperature rises in the cell, which causes a feedback mechanism accelerating the battery damage either via blasting fire and/or explosion.

  The INERRANT methodology recognises the key processes and the underlying causes of thermal runaway. This is essential to designing and developing functional components and combinations among them to tackle the issue of long-term, reliable, and safe operation of LIBs.

• LIBs thermal runaway causes

  The thermal runaway process can broadly be split into three main stages: During stage 1, abnormal battery operation (which may arise from various factors) causes temperature rise beyond normal levels. At stage 2, temperature rise damages some of the battery elements and initiates exothermic reactions, which lead to additional heat increase at a faster rate and liberation of gases, such as oxygen. When the battery temperature reaches the flash point of the electrolyte, stage 3, combustion commences, which leads to fire and possible explosions.

  Battery protection can be internal or external. The latter relates to developing “alarming” electronics to warn the user when, for example, the temperature rises above a certain threshold. Beyond the dead weight increase of such protection systems, external protection may be ineffective, as in the case of remote storage. INERRANT develops internal protection methodologies, which rely on the design and large-scale sustainable production of separator structures with smart/responsive behaviour to prevent battery operation when parasitic processes lead the cell to thermal runaway.

• Electrode/Electrolyte Interfaces

  LIB performance limitations are predominantly associated with the electrode/electrolyte interface. In fact, battery operation is largely determined by electrochemical interfaces' thermodynamic, kinetic, and mechanical properties.

  INERRANT seeks to comprehensively understand the electrode and electrolyte interface phenomena. This involves controlling the formation and evolution of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI)A solid electrolyte interface (SEI) is a passivation layer that forms on the electrode surface and is crucial for stabilizing the electrode-electrolyte interface in lithium and the cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI)The Cathode–electrolyte interphase (CEI), the formation between the cathode and the electrolyte, is a critical factor that determines the stability of LiBs. and analysing their role in affecting the kinetics of Li-ion transport and the overall battery performance. Interface engineering will be carried out by evaluating materials and hybrid structures prepared using novel methods. The varied morphologies proposed by the INERRANT team are expected to help reduce the anode, cathode, and electrolyte degradation to a certain extent, offering safety and longevity to LIBs.