Researchers at Imperial College London (ICL) are developing battery and fuel cell technology aimed at safer, longer lasting and efficient energy solutions. The research covers lithium-ion, sodium-ion and solid-state chemistries, according to ICL.
Dr Chun Ann Huang is researching new materials for battery electrodes and electrolytes, as well as manufacturing processes.
Dr Huang’s research group has been using advanced electron microscopy and spectroscopy tools within the ICL’s department of materials, it said.
She told the ICL that: “These facilities are important as they reveal the materials properties that link to their energy storage performance.”
Professor Stephen Skinner is researching materials for electrochemical cells and how they work in real conditions, including in solid-state batteries or solid oxide cells.
ICL say that this work contributes to supporting technologies which can reduce emissions for major sectors.
This includes for the electrolysers that can generate green hydrogen or powering data centres via high-efficiency fuel cells.
Advanced research tools are required for Professor Skinner and his team.
Both researchers told ICL how crucial collaboration is for their research, as well as the transition to net zero.
Professor Skinner told ICL: “No single lab can do this alone. To develop these breakthroughs requires the insights of materials scientists and engineers, design engineers, data science specialists, chemical engineers…”
This includes partnerships within the industry.
Scaling up technologies are also an issue these researchers face, whereby there are technical challenges and real-world considerations to be made.
The researchers told ICL that they believe that a cleaner energy future is in a diverse range of technologies made that are practical and effective.
Photo: Dr Chun Ann Huang working in the laboratory. Credit: Imperial College, London
