ALION project develops an aluminium-ion battery technology for energy storage application in decentralized electricity generation sources.
ALION pursues an integral approach comprising electro active materials based on “rocking chair” mechanism, robust ionic liquid-based electrolytes as well as novel cell and battery concepts. This results in a technology with much lower cost, improved performance, safety and reliability with respect to current energy storage solutions.
The project covers the whole value chain from materials and component manufacturers, battery assembler, until the technology validation in specific electric micro grid system including renewable energy source.
Project Objectives:
- Synthesize new materials for aluminium ion insertion, stable at room temperature for at least 3000 battery cycles which pose no health hazard. These materials will be synthesized at the laboratory scale first and then the most viable ones will be selected to be produced in higher quantity (0.1 – 1 kg per 18650- and PHEV-2-type battery).
- Synthesize ionic liquid-based electrolytes with an ionic conductivity in the range of 1-10 mS/cm. Small batches of 10 to 50g will be used at the lab scale. A quantity of around 1 kg will be produced for each 18650- and PHEV-2-type battery.
- Develop test cell arrays dedicated to the Al-ion battery materials to enable the High-throughput Screening of materials on full cell level.
- Develop a numerical electrochemical model for Al-ion battery to guide the materials search and battery design as well as increase the understanding of the internal electrochemical mechanisms.
- Assemble an Al-ion battery cell at lab scale with a capacity of 500 mA.h, a voltage >1V and an efficiency of 80%. To obtain an Al-ion battery (PHEV-2) with a capacity of 10 A.h, a voltage >1V and an efficiency of 80%.
- Validate the technology with a battery module prototype tested in an electrical grid where a Li-ion battery is normally used. The performances of this Al-ion battery pack are expected to be comparable with the Li-ion one (capacity of 10 A.h, a voltage of 48V and a coulombic efficiency of 80%) but with a volume and weight reduced at least two folds.
- Carry out technical, economic and environmental assessment of the technology developed considering a safe-by design approach to guide all developments within the project scope
Main Tasks:
- Specifications: define the targeted characteristics of the battery that will be developed and validated in the project.
- Define materials: synthesize new materials for aluminium ion insertion, stable at room temperature for at least 200 battery cycles and which pose no health hazard and which are cost effective. Also, obtain novel electrolytes for Al-ion batteries
- Modelling and simulation of Al-ion batteries based upon determined parameters for obtaining an insight of the intercalation mechanisms, interphase reactions and kinetics of these batteries.
- Establish operational limits and characterization data of unit cells for incorporation into battery modules
- Demonstration: test the performance of an Al-ion battery prototype in a real environment and verify its validation as an efficient electric storage element.
- Recycling and economic assessment: integrate state-of-the-art methods for detailed environmental and economic analysis and use these to systematically assess, compare and benchmark battery, systems designs, and recycling schemes.
Duration:
4 years
June 2015 – May 2019
Partners:
- Acondicionamiento Tarrasense
- Torrecid
- Varta Microbattery
- Albufera Energy Storage
- Dechema
- University of Southampton
- TU Berlin
- Solvionic
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Accurec
- Acciona Infraestructuras
- CEG Electronica
- Commissariat a l’energie atomique et aux energies alternatives