Abstract
Lithium-ion cells and battery packs are not designed to maximize the performance of thermal management systems. As a result, every cell in use is performing sub optimally, and is degrading needlessly fast. The root cause of the problem is the lack of information surrounding the thermal performance of lithium-ion cells. Cell Cooling Coefficients (CCCs) have been developed to quantify the cell thermal performance. They can immediately tell the user exactly how a cell will behave in a battery pack, vital information for the design of any thermal management system. They can also be used to inform redesign, both at the cell level and at the battery pack level. In our most recent work, we use the CCCs to elucidate the potential for tab cooling of pouch cells. The evidence highlights that simple cell redesign can drastically improve tab cooling feasibility for a given application. This is significant for future lithium-ion cell design. In published literature, tab cooling has been demonstrated to improve the performance and lifetime of cells, when the thermal bottleneck is not a limiting factor. The battery industry must embark on sensible redesign to implement tab cooling in battery packs in and beyond the automotive sector.
Biography
Alastair gained a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bristol in 2016. Prior to joining Imperial College London in 2018, Alastair worked for SUEZ Advanced Solutions UK, designing equipment closely linked to his PhD topic, and as a Research Associate at Queen Mary University of London. Alastair’s existing work is focused around the thermal management and thermal effects of lithium-ion cells. Alastair led the work introducing the Cell Cooling Coefficient as a universal metric to quantify battery thermal performance. He is now building upon this research to develop capability for cell design optimization.
Energy Futures Lab
Energy Futures Lab is one of six Global Institutes at Imperial College London. The institute was established to address global energy challenges by identifying and leading new opportunities to serve industry, government and society at large through high quality research, evidence and advocacy for positive change. The institute aims to promote energy innovation and advance systemic solutions for a sustainable energy future by bringing together the science, engineering and policy expertise at Imperial and fostering collaboration with a wide variety of external partners. The Energy Futures Lab daytime seminars are delivered by staff and students from across the College and further afield.