Sensing functionalities for smart battery cell chemistries

Topic description

Specific Challenge:

Today, battery performance monitoring and control basically takes place only at the module or battery pack level via a battery management system (BMS). To gain a full supervision and thus control of the battery system and to increase their quality, reliability and life (QRL), it is necessary to monitor in operando the battery performance and control of their state of health (SoH), state of charge (SoC), state of energy (SoE), state of power (SoP) and state of safety (SoS). The challenge is to incorporate smart functionalities into the battery cell for following in time and space different relevant cell component parameters such as temperature variations, interface and interphase dynamics, structural changes by the integration and development of various sensing technologies so as to facilitate control of individual cells within the battery system.

The target is to develop a proof of concept for the establishment of successful sensing technologies capable of monitoring changes within a battery cell under various operation conditions, including their use under extreme weather conditions, as a first step towards the development of a wider range of sensing technologies capable of monitoring of cells from various emerging battery chemistries. The proof of concept should focus on the sensing technologies and the integration of sensors in liquid electrolyte cell technologies since it is deemed to be the technology of choice for short to medium term. Proposals should aim at smart functionalities incorporated into the battery cell and relying on the integration and development of various sensing technologies to transmit information out of the cell, in order to facilitate control of individual cells within the battery system. Sensors could be used to simultaneously measure with high sensitivity and resolution changes in multiple parameters, such as chemical composition, strain, temperature, pressure, and concentration of dissolved cations, and this at various locations and for diverse components within the cell, under different use cases, especially during high power charging. They must consider the adaptability of sensors to the targeted cell environment in terms of chemical and electrochemical reactivity, thermal design and foresee boundary manufacturing constraints. Additional constraints such as cost and recyclability of the battery with embedded sensor technology should also be tackled. Data processing within an advanced battery management system (BMS) and the synchronization with sensor data coming from the module and the pack level, incl. provisions for conflicting data management, is another essential aspect. Advancements towards standardisation of the BMS could also be included. With this regard, collaboration shall be ensured with the topic LC-BAT-10-2020: Next generation and realisation of battery packs for BEV and HEV.

All results shall be validated and demonstrate significant improvements compared to the state-of-the art technologies, incl. benchmarking to initiatives or projects supported under national funding schemes.

The Commission considers that proposals for Research and Innovation Actions of a 3-year duration and requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 2 and 4 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals of another duration and/or requesting other amounts.

The project partners shall make provisions to actively participate in the common activities of the large scale research initiative on Future Battery Technologies and in particular: coordinate technical work with the other selected projects of the call under topics LC-BAT-12-2020 and LC-BAT-14-2020; and contribute to the activities of the Coordination and Support Action defined under the topic LC-BAT-15-2020. In particular, the project partners will need to conclude a written collaboration agreement with the other projects selected from these topics as indicated in the Grant Conditions.

Note that special Grant Conditions will apply for projects granted under this topic. Please see under Call Conditions.

• Increased quality, reliability and life (QRL) of the battery system by maximizing the performance and safety of the complete battery system over its lifetime, including forecasting the remaining lifetime under different use cases, especially the suitability for possible "second life" usage.
• Assured best possible performance and lifecycle for a range of applied cell types at lowest cost
• Industrial opportunities for exploiting new concepts and technologies for integrating multifunctional sensor capabilities in the battery cells and for optimizing the performance of the complete battery systems
• Better identification of defective cell components, allowing replacement of components or introduction of local targeted repair mechanisms, such as self-healing, in future cell design and chemistry generations.
• Improved knowledge on different factor (use patterns, ambient temperature etc.) impact on battery performance and characteristics.
• Provide the foundations for collecting large amounts of data that can be used for autonomous discovery of future battery chemistries and for development of advanced modelling approaches to improve current chemistries with a view of optimizing cell performance for mobility applications (linking with topic LC-BAT-6-2019)

LC-BAT