A new research consortium involving Professor Saiful Islam from the University of Bath’s Department of Chemistry has been awarded £6.8 million by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to explore and develop next-generation lithium batteries.  

Building upon the portable revolution The new Programme Grant will fund a five-year project entitled “Enabling Next-Generation Lithium Batteries” to carry out research on new battery technologies, similar to those that have helped to power the worldwide portable revolution in mobile phones, laptops and tablet computers.  

The multidisciplinary team is led by Professor Peter Bruce FRS based at the University of Oxford, and consists of chemistry, engineering and materials groups at the Universities of Bath, Cambridge and Leeds, and at Imperial College London. Bath will receive around £800,000 of the £6.8 million total.

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Japanese scientists have synthesized two crystal materials that show great promise as solid electrolytes. All-solid-state batteries built using the solid electrolytes exhibit excellent properties, including high power and high energy densities, and could be used in long-distance electric vehicles.  

High power batteries are desirable for numerous applications, including the electric vehicles of the future. These batteries must be rechargeable, remain safe to store and use at variable temperatures, and retain charge for a considerable length of time. Now, Yuki Kato and Ryoji Kanno in collaboration with colleagues from Toyota Motor Corporation, Tokyo Institute of Technology and High Energy Accelerator Research Organization Japan (KEK), have successfully designed and trialled novel, high power all-solid-state batteries with promising results.

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