InCa²

Project Overview:

With increasing global demand for renewable energy, the need for efficient and safe battery systems rises. All-solid-state batteries are currently some of the most sought-after next generation battery technologies mainly due to their utilization of a solid electrolyte, which significantly enhances the safety features relative to conventional lithium-ion batteries.

Inorganic solid electrolytes based on sulfides have a superior ionic conductivity at room temperature, which makes them an attractive choice. However, they suffer for issues of interfacial instability, which hinders their wide scale use. Specifically, the interface between the cathode active material (CAM) and the solid electrolyte (SE) leads to capacity fade and poor performance after long cycling. Coating the active material particles, e.g. with LiNbO₃, has proven to have a protective effect against the formation of the interface between CAM and SE. Nonetheless, the exact mechanisms, through which the interface forms, as well as the protective influence of the coating have yet to be unraveled. 

The project InCa² combines the expertise of German and Japanese research institutes, in order to further understand and analyze both the degradation mechanisms as well as the protective function of the coating. Here, a combination of modelling and experimental techniques is implemented. Ultimately, this combined approach can serve as a tool in order to further develop and optimize all-solid-state batteries with sulfide-based SEs. This contributes a significantly to paving the path towards introducing such batteries into the market and increasing the overall safety of electrification. 

Contact:

Hassan Karaki
h.karaki(at)tu-braunschweig.de