Electric mobility: Batteries, better performance with integrated sensors
17/10/2019
Manufacturing third-generation lithium batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles, with integrated monitoring systems that guarantee greater autonomy thanks to reduced consumption. It’s the objective of the project 3beLiEVe[1] funded with 10 million euro by the European Union. The research on the new storage systems will involve 21 international partners, coordinated by the AIT - Austrian Institute of Technology; Italy will participate with ENEA, the hi-tech company Sensichips of Aprilia (Latina) and the FIAT Research Center of Turin.
"Electric vehicles, especially those with a range of more than 400 km, require the use of batteries made up of hundreds of cells. Our task will be to develop smart and wireless sensors capable of monitoring the state of health and charge of each cell to optimize the overall performance of the batteries and significantly improve the electric car driving experience", Simone Mannori, researcher at the Diagnostic and Metrology Laboratory and ENEA responsible for the project.
These innovative monitoring methods will use control electronics with advanced diagnostic functions: they will be applied on integrated circuits, designed and supplied by the partner company Sensichips, with the final objective of guaranteeing and extending the operational life of the new high-performance accumulators.
“This type of easurement techniques are only possible through a deep knowledge of cell chemistry, construction processes and testing methods. ENEA has the infrastructures and skills necessary to a project that could help electrochemical storage technologies and, consequently, electric mobility make the next leap forward in Europe, where research, industry and, above all, big car manufacturers are investing a lot ", Francesco Vellucci at the Laboratory of Systems and Technologies for Mobility and Accumulation, pointed out.
Making new-generation, more efficient and safer batteries, using innovative and low environmental impact materials with a sustainable and circular economy approach, is a key objective for the European Commission, which has allocated 246 million euro in the 2019-2020 Horizon2020 work program to promote research, create an industrial chain and face the Asian domination (currently the European share is 3%).
Lithium batteries are the current standard, but next-generation batteries are already being studied which promise to double the capacity of present accumulators, a 30% reduction in charging time and a 50% increase in life span.
In order to meet these challenges, ENEA is setting up a multidisciplinary work team called "ENEA Battery Value Chain Inter-Lab Research Group", aiming at enhancing research on the batteries of the future, following the path traced by the Battery2030 + Roadmap. “Numerous experiments are underway at the ENEA laboratories, such as those on solid-state batteries that promise 8-10 times better performances than the current ones.
Furthermore, we are looking with great interest at new solutions (advanced lithium-ion batteries with nano-structured silicon and graphite, lithium-air, lithium-sulfur, zinc-air, aluminum-air and sodium ions), which in the future could replace lithium ions in electric mobility (and in stationary use), with numerous advantages in terms of safety, reduction of production costs and above all of performance, with shorter charging times and greater autonomy ", Margherita Moreno of the Laboratory for the Development of Chemical and Thermofluidodynamic Processes for Energy, concluded.
Compared to the second-generation ones, third-generation lithium-ion batteries have a higher cell voltage (5 V compared to the current 4 V), thanks to the use of silicon at the anode and variation at the cathode of the percentages of strategic materials strategic like nickel, cobalt and manganese, guaranteeing faster refills, greater autonomy and safety.
For more information please contact:
Simone Mannori – Laboratory of Diagnostics and Metrology, simone.mannori@enea.it
Francesco Vellucci – Laboratory of Systems and Technologies for Mobility and Storage, francesco.vellucci@enea.it
Margherita Moreno – Laboratory Development Chemical and Thermofludynamic Processes for Energy, margherita.moreno@enea.it
[1] Delivering the 3b generation of LNMO cells for the xEV market of 2025 and beyond.