E-MOBILITY
LITHIUM-SULFUR BATTERIES
How can lithium-sulfur batteries open up new performance gains for the electric vehicles of the future?
T
he surge towards electrification of transport means there is an increasing need for a range of
battery technologies and options for development. While still playing an important role, lithium-ion batteries have begun to reach their limit in terms of performance improvements. Lithium-sulfur, meanwhile, is one of the alternatives with the greatest potential benefits that is also close to being commercially available. Dr Jennifer Hack and Dr James Robinson of University College
London’s (UCL) Electrochemical Innovation Lab are the lead researchers on the LiSTAR research project, which aims to develop new battery cell concepts and technologies. Alongside Daniel Auger, Reader in Electrification, Automation and Control at Cranfield University’s Advanced Vehicle Engineering Centre, the researchers explain the objectives of the project and its progress to date…
THE POTENTIAL OF LITHIUM-SULFUR Research into lithium-sulfur
batteries is part of a major £29 million UK research programme into energy storage funded by the Faraday Institution. The LiSTAR research project, the Lithium-Sulfur Technology Accelerator — led by UCL (and a team headed by the UK’s battery technology visionary Professor Paul Shearing) and also involving the universities of Birmingham, Cambridge, Coventry, Cranfield, Imperial College London, Nottingham, Oxford, Southampton, and Surrey — aims to maximise the commercial potential of the lithium- sulfur technology, bridging the gap between research and industry — and putting the UK at the forefront of new battery technologies. Lithium-sulfur batteries have a
number of potential advantages over existing lithium-ion battery technology. The availability of lithium-sulfur batteries will mean a lighter option for vehicles: important for electrification of short-haul aircraft (where fuel load is everything) and light goods
The move to electrification is demanding new technologies and concepts to improve EV battery performance
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