Stories| Synchrotron X-rays deliver unique insights into batteries
Synchrotron X-rays deliver unique insights into batteries
Electronics and energy industry
Non-destructive optimisation of batteries
What if you could easily determine the condition and functionality of a battery from the outside, without destroying it? What if you could X-ray it while in operation, like doing a CT scan, to identify why it was ageing and its performance deteriorating – and then put this right? Together with researchers at DESY, the company FINDEN has developed an X-ray technique that can do just that.
A major challenge of our time is the ever increasing demand for energy and for efficient means of storing electricity as a fundamental component of the energy transition. To address this, we need a better understanding of what causes batteries to age, reduces their capacity and slows down their charging cycles. Industry is looking for ways of continuously improving single-use and rechargeable batteries, through optimised functionality and new materials. This is something that research scientists can help them with.
Together with the industrial partner FINDEN LTD, DESY researchers have used advanced X-ray diffraction computed tomography (XRD-CT) to learn more about the inner workings of simple AAA batteries and find out why they age and how their life could be prolonged. They did this using synchrotron X-rays which, when combined with computer tomography, permit non-invasive 3D imaging. Without having to open the batteries, the partners involved in the project looked inside them while they were in operation, as well as at various charging levels, and made a high-resolution movie of what exactly was going on. This helped them to understand the detailed mechanisms involved in the degradation, capacity loss and recharging of the batteries. In other words, XRD-CT technology provides valuable insights and enables industrial partners to get the most out of single-use and rechargeable batteries. Its application is particularly promising as a means of increasing the range of electric cars or the performance of smartphone batteries, for example.
Partners involved:
- DESY (measurements at PETRA III)
- Hereon (at the beamline P07 - High Energy Materials Science Beamline (HEMS) – operated by Hereon)
- FINDEN LTD (client)
