Structural Batteries Seminar

Weight reduction is currently a top priority for many applications in the transport industry.  Use of lightweight materials has been identified as key for successful electrification of future road transport.  Reduced vehicle weight is required for increased range and energy efficiency of future electric cars.  In addition, reduced vehicle weight will allow reductions in battery volume and mass.  Introduction of carbon fibre composites in electric vehicles is already taking place; e.g. BMW Mega city electric vehicle and Toyota Prius X/1.

The versatility of polymer composite materials offers an ideal opportunity to develop novel multifunctional materials for use in future cars.  In 2009 an interdisciplinary team of Swedish researchers set out in an endeavour to develop structural batteries from polymer composite materials, i.e. a material which can simultaneously store electrical energy, while meeting the demands of the mechanical loading.  The idea behind the project was to employ carbon fibres for mechanical performance and as negative electrode in the structural battery material, and to use a lithium-ion conductive polymer electrolyte as matrix material for mechanical load transfer between fibres and lithium ion transport.  Carbon fibres are particularly attractive as they are commonly used as both electrodes and as high performance structural reinforcement, but usually the forms of carbon is different.  This presentation will give a brief overview of the project and then focus on some of results that has been obtained on the electrochemical versus mechanical performance of carbon fibres.