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NEWS !

26 February 2016: workshop ‘Flow batteries’ at IREC in Barcelona (Spain ) --> More information and registration

New publications (open access): 

27 May 2016: SIRBATT workshop ‘Controlling Lithium Battery Interfaces’ in Orlando (Florida, USA ) --> More information and registration: www.sirbatt.eu or here

27-28 August 2015: Influence short course on Electrochemical Engineering and Modeling --> program and registration

29 September 2015: SIRBATT workshop 'Understanding Lithium Battery interfaces' in Bilbao. More information and registration: www.sirbatt.eu

20 November 2014: Topical Workshop  on Active Anode and Cathode Materials for Li-ion batteries at KIT-HIU --> program and registration

First EU-China Workshop on the Understanding of Interfaces in Batteries May 2014.

First Progress Meeting held on March 6th-7th 2014.

Kick-off Meeting held on October.25th 2013.

The FP7 project InFluENCE aims at improving the fundamental understanding and control of interfaces of a battery type based on Li-ion and Na-ion active materials: semi solid flow batteries (SSFB). The fact that the case study will be a SSFB set-up instead of classic lithium ion batteries is an asset, given that the methods and techniques developed are generic and could as well be implemented for conventional Li- and Na-ion systems for the techniques that are not concentrated on flow aspects.

A main objective is the investigation and optimization of the interfaces developing between the electrolyte and the electrochemically active material particles in fluid electrodes. The acquired knowledge would allow the chemical and morphological optimization of active materials as well as the design of optimized interfacial layers (also called artificial Solid Electrolyte Interfaces, art-SEI) capable of warrant stable interfaces.

A second main objective is the understanding and control the mechanical and conductive behaviours of the slurries. For this, it is necessary to determine the role of shape anisotropy and the overall nature (attractive or repulsive) of the short ranged interactions of the active materials besides the strength of the attractive forces for conductive nano-particles. The cross interaction should allow intimate contact between active material and the conductive particles.

The experimental work is accompanied by thorough modelling to understand the physical phenomena occurring at the microscopic scale, to derive scaling rules towards macro-scale and to enable design recommendations leading to optimal interface behaviour (size of anodic and cathodic compartments, geometry of collectors, etc.).