LIAMM project
Mechanisms and modeling of Lithium-Ion battery aging processes
Project Context
With a view to replacing fossil fuels in transport applications, all vehicle manufacturers are looking to transfer their technologies to electric motors equipped with rechargeable batteries. This is true not only for automobiles, but also for recreational and industrial vehicles.
The key to widespread adoption of electric vehicles is to maximize the energy of rechargeable batteries over their lifetime while minimizing demand for critical and strategic minerals.
As Canada is a world leader in recreational and industrial vehicles, this project will help strengthen its position. Thanks to this project, the intellectual property that will be generated could benefit other Canadian companies in the field of transportation and energy storage.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The most widely used energy storage technologies for electric vehicles are lithium-ion batteries (LIB) and all-solid-state batteries (ASSB), due to their energy and power density. However, challenges related to cell aging and battery malfunctioning are hampering the exploitation of their full commercial potential.
INDUSTRY INVOLVED
- Chemical
- Electrification
- Manufacturing
- Recreational and industrial vehicles
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The main objectives are to improve our knowledge of battery aging in order to boost performance, extend service life and detect faulty cells.
The tools developed will take the form of :
- Fast, calibrated numerical models representing the behavior of cells and batteries subjected to real-life conditions in recreational and industrial vehicles.
- Models used in online algorithms to diagnose the electrical, thermal, and chemical states of cells and batteries.
- Experimental setups to identify aging mechanisms and detect defective cells.
” The training of highly qualified personnel in transportation electrification, and the development of knowledge as well as engineering tools will have a major strategic and economic impact for Canadian companies specializing in transportation and energy storage. This will be helpfull for the efficient and intelligent management of resources. ”
THE TEAM FOR THIS PROJECT
A professor at Université de Sherbrooke since 2013, Mr. Veilleux has a BEng degree in engineering physics (Polytechnique Montréal) and holds a PhD in chemical engineering (McGill). His research focuses on nanomaterials synthesis and manufacturing, technical ceramics, thermal plasma technology, lithium batteries (materials synthesis and recycling), solid lubricants and process diagnostics. He is also director of the Materials Research and Analysis Platform (PRAM).
A professor at Université de Sherbrooke since 2006, Mr. Désilets is a graduate of Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and Université de Sherbrooke. His areas of expertise and research include energy diagnostics for metallurgical reactors, industrial electrolysis, simulation of processes involving phase changes, modeling of reactive fluids with mass and energy transfer, energy efficiency and energy conversion.
Responsible for electrification projects at the CTA, Mr. Ménard has more than 25 years of experience in product development, including nearly 10 years in electric and hybrid vehicle design. He has developed expertise in battery design and prototyping, battery management systems (BMS), laboratory characterization of cells, modules and complete batteries, as well as the prototyping of entire systems and their integration into test vehicles.
PARTNERS IN THIS PROJECT
Come and realize your
higher education project with us!
Profiles sought :
Are you interested in new electric vehicle technologies and have completed a bachelor’s degree in electrical, computer, chemical, mechanical or materials engineering?
THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TAILOR-MADE FOR YOU!
POST DOCTORAL FELLOW (1)
Development and calibration of a solid-state battery (ASSB) cell model, including aging mechanisms for this emerging technology. The person will be responsible for building a suite of predictive models using a multi-scale approach, i.e. building a toolbox including:
i) 3D models to assess aging mechanisms
ii) pseudo-2D (P2D) models for comparison purposes
iii) reduced models involving compromises in physics/geometry leading to faster models using less CPU resources, and intended for packaging modeling.
The person will be closely associated with a PhD student in the development of experimental procedures and in the identification of ASSB aging mechanisms. The data that will be obtained is needed to estimate all the required parameters (structure, mass transport, aging) and to calibrate the models.
The person will also build and evaluate state estimators by comparing model predictions with experimental measurements. Finally, this person will ensure that all model developments are aligned with real-time predictions and compatible with embedded applications.
PhD (4)
PhD #1 – Development and calibration of a lithium-ion battery cell (LIB) model including representative aging mechanisms for Li-ion chemistries that are used in partners’ electric vehicle battery modules.
PhD #2 – Experimental study of cylindrical cell aging using curve-based analysis of their open circuit voltage (OCV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), followed by disassembly and post-mortem analyses. With the help of the data scientist from industrial partner UgoWork, the person will process telemetry data acquired over 5 years for 500 batteries to identify extreme operating conditions correlated with accelerated aging.
PhD #3 – Study of aging in partner modules. One of the targeted results will be to use macro and sparse temperature, voltage and current (T-V-I) data to assess the states of charge (SOC), health (SOH) and temperature (SOT) of each individual cell within a given battery module, in order to improve our assessment of module condition.
PhD #4 – Developing high-performance battery management system (BMS) algorithms and applying them to predict the behavior and temperature-voltage-current (T-V-I) states on board modules used inside recreational and industrial electric vehicles.
M.Sc.A. (2)
M.Sc.A. #1 – Experimental study of cell aging, in collaboration with PhD2. Development of protocols for disassembling aged cells and recovering the anode, cathode, separator and electrolyte, as well as morphological and physicochemical characterization of aged materials using tools from the Platform for Materials Research and Analysis (PRAM).
M.Sc.A. #2 – Development of instrumentation for battery modules, carried out in collaboration with PhD3. Selection of the type, number and positioning of sensors to enable temperature, voltage and current measurements useful for diagnosing states of charge (SOC), health (SOH) and temperature (SOT).
Interns – Baccalaureate Level (3)
During years 2-3 and 4 of the project.
The intern will provide support to graduate students. Internship opportunities will be defined according to the various needs and the progress of the project. Internships will therefore be offered throughout the duration of the research project.
The purpose of the internships are to introduce students to Li-ion cell and battery aging through modeling and experimentation, encourage them to pursue graduate studies, and assess their potential as future graduate students.
Any interest in joining this project or questions?
Contact us and we will be happy to offer you the best opportunity according to your profile and career goals.
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