Annual-Report-2019

ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS
Dr Satyajit Phadke
LE STUDIUM Research Fellow
ARD 2020 LAVOISIER Programme
From: Customized Energy Solutions - IN
In residence at: Laboratory of Physico-
Chemistry of Materials and Electrolytes for
Energy (PCM2E) - Tours
Nationality: Indian
Dates: January 2016 to June 2019
Dr Satyajit Phadke completed his PhD in Materials
Science and Engineering from the University of
Florida. His main interest area was the development
of intermediate temperature proton conducting
membranes for applications in PEM fuel cells.
Thereafter he worked on an Advanced Research
Projects Agency for Energy funded project as a
postdoctoral associate at MIT. Here he pursued
the development of a novel high temperature all
liquid battery for stationary grid scale storage
applications. He holds several patents from this
work all of which have been licensed to Ambri,
Inc. During his position as a materials scientist at
Alveo Energy, Inc., a startup based in the Silicon
Valley, he worked on the development of Prussian
blue analogue battery materials. Additionally he
has worked on the development of zinc alkaline
batteries for transportation applications during
his stay at Princeton University. He is the author of
several publications in the field of energy storage and
conversion technologies. Recently, he was selected
into the list of ’50 Most Influential Indians in the Field
of Energy Storage and Microgrids’ awarded by India
Energy Storage Association (IESA).
Prof. Mérièm Anouti
Host scientist
Prof. Mérièm Anouti is a Professor in the PCM2E
laboratory at the University of Tours. Her research
focuses of electrolytes for electrochemical energy
storage with a particular emphasis on room
temperature molten salts as ionic liquids, deep
eutectic solvents and their mixtures. She also applies
ionic liquids for nanomaterials synthesis and studies
fundamental properties including dissolution of gases.
Based on the use of ionic liquids, she formulates
electrolytes for improving the lifetime of energy
storage systems, especially by enhancing the voltage
and operating temperature range and by controlling
the phenomena at the electrode/ electrolyte interface.
She coordinates numerous ANR, regional funded and
industrial research projects while also supervising PhD
students. Her industrial research includes contracting
with national and multinational companies.
The research project focuses on Energy Storage and Conversion Technologies
and is supported by the ARD 2020 LAVOISIER Programme. The objective of
the project is to develop novel materials for advanced energy storage devices.
The research work performed on Lithium-Sulphur batteries has led to the
expansion of the project in the form of industry funding (Arkema) for two
years.Details about the topics of research and the progress made are listed
below:
1. High energy NMC cathodes (HE-NMC): The high energy NMC
cathodes have considerably higher energy density when compared to
conventional lithium ion battery materials such as LCO, LMO, NMC, etc.
Specific electrolyte modification strategies have been demonstrated to
significantly reduce the capacity fade in these cathodes. In this work
supported by SAFT and UMICORE technologies we have reported
a 10X improvement in the cycle life of the electrodes by optimising
the composition of the electrolyte. We have also demonstrated the
applicability of a completely new characterisation technique of in-situ
pressure measurement during galvanostatic cycling which aids in the
study of the HE-NMC materials.
2. Lithium-Sulfur (Li/S): Li/S batteries have an extremely high theoretical
capacity density of about 1600 mAh/g. Thus the use of Li/S batteries
has the potential to reduce the weight of batteries by 4-6X. The main
challenges limiting its commercialization are low cycle life, low
coulombic efficiency and high self-discharge. Although significant
progress has been made, most of the processes used are either difficult
to scale up industrially or require the use of very expensive additives. We
have shown that the electrolyte modification through the use of specific
electrochemically active disulphide additives can not only significantly
prolong the cycle life but also provide a very high coulombic efficiency.
3. Organic electrodes: Organic polymer materials have attracted a lot of
attention in last decade due to their favourable characteristics to serve
as effective electrode materials. In this research we are focusing on the
characterization of PAQS (poly anthraquinone sulphide) as a negative
electrode material. It shows excellent cycling stability with a high
discharge capacity and very fast redox kinetics. By increasing the cycling
rate from 1C to 4C only a 25% reduction in capacity is observed which
makes it suitable for high power applications. Owing to the excellent
charge/discharge characteristics, the material will now be paired with
activated carbon and with conventional lithium ion cathode materials
where PAQS can serve as a highly reversible and stable anode. Recent
tests conducted show favourable cycling performance which opens
avenues for the use of PAQS in sodium and potassium ion batteries
also. Currently we are performing further investigation on the insertion/
desinsertion kinetics of larger cations (potassium and sodium).
4. Gas solubility measurement in electrolytes: The work is focused on
the measurements of the solubility of gases in various electrolytes and
solvents of interest. Complimentary to these measurements are the
pouch cell volume expansion studies and pressure cell measurements.
These studies together allow precise in-situ determination of the
evolution of gases during the cell cycling. Such studies are essential for
prolonging the cycle life of batteries.
Materials & Energy Sciences 2019
25