Professor Mauro Pasta: Lead on new Faraday/SOLBAT project

"We are grateful to the Faraday Institution for the continued support of the SOLBAT project.  This new investment will allow us to maintain momentum in our progress towards understanding and addressing the scientific roadblocks that are hindering the commercialisation of solid state batteries"

Professor Mauro Pasta

On Thursday 30 March 2023 The Faraday Institution announced its further investment into battery research.  Amounting to £29M, this is a substantial commitment into six key battery research projects, aimed at delivering commercial impact by extending battery life, battery modelling, recycling and reuse, solid-state batteries and lithium-sulfur batteries.  One of the projects is headed by Professor Mauro Pasta.

The Solid-state Batteries projects (SOLBAT) will continue to focus on developing a deep understanding of the materials properties and mechanisms behind the premature short-circuiting and failure of solid-state batteries, which is a crucial step towards avoiding such events and realising the commercial potential of this technology.  

The project will focus on the key areas of the solid-state system, namely the anode, cathode and electrolyte.  On the anode side, the project will investigate use of lithium-metal alloys, the nature of the anode/electrolyte interface and the use of 'lithium-less' solid-state batteries as ways to increase critical current densities, improve cycling performance, reduce manufacturing cost and prevent cell failure by managing dendrite growth and void formation.

On the cathode front, researchers will continue to study the use of polymers as a coating between the solid electrolyte cathode active particles as a promising way to minimise volumetric changes and reduce cell operating pressures.  Additionally, the project will focus on mitigating the growth of dendrites by controlling the microstructure and mechanical properties of the solid electrolyte separators, whilst also reducing its thickness towards commercially relevant values.  A further focus area will be characterisation and modelling, which will help to enrich the understanding of the materials and decipher the mechanisms driving the performances and failures.

Read more about this good new on the University's webpage: '£29 million investment to support critical battery research'.