INDUSTRY News
UK Research and Innovation invests £330m into the development of solid-state batteries
The Faraday Battery Challenge (FBC) has invested £330m in research, innovation projects and facilities to drive the growth of the UK-based battery sector. As part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the projects aim to generate ground-breaking technology to reduce dependency on lithium-ion batteries.
To date, one of the most popular forms of energy storage in the world is the lithium-ion battery, commonly used for portable electronics alongside many other technologies such as electric vehicles. However, lithium-ion batteries have limited lifespan, are expensive to make and their materials are difficult to source, hence innovation to create novel cell types is being undertaken across the UK. Projects Granite and Solbat are funded by UKRI, and focus on developing solid-state batteries and their feasibility for certain applications. The development of solid-state batteries that can be manufactured at a large scale is one of the most important challenges in the battery industry today. Such batteries will be suitable for use in electric vehicles, and will substantially surpass the performance, safety and processing limitations of lithium- ion batteries.
Both projects benefit from cooperation from key industry companies, such as Jaguar Land Rover, Ilika and AMTE Power, and UK universities, including that of Warwick, Oxford, Liverpool, Sheffield and the University College London.
Sodium-ion batteries is also the focus of UKRI funding. This is an emerging battery technology that can provide several advantages over lithium-ion batteries.
ABB COLUMN YOUR 5-STEP PLAN TO ROBOT SUCCESS
Robots have proven to bring inherent flexibility, speed, improved productivity and enhanced competitiveness. With robot automation, success come from following these two rules: one, a proper specification is critical to ensure that you get the best solution for your needs, and, two, avoid the urge to cut corners and costs. The cheapest solution may be tempting based
on price, but any upfront savings can prove to be false economy as what you purchased falls short of your requirements. It pays to do things right the first time, and when it comes to planning a robot installation, the following key questions and steps should be considered:
What do you need the robot to do? Narrow down exactly what you need, which is not only the robot, but the related equipment. Get this wrong and it will end up being an expensive mistake that never matched your preliminary requirements. What are you going to make? Developments in robot technology mean that robots can now make most things; however, in certain circumstances it may still be better for a worker to do it. An example is agricultural machinery manufacturer Shelbourne Reynolds, which set a cut-off point where only welding tasks that manually took longer than an hour were allocated to the robot. How long are you going to make it for? Robots are equally as suited to one-off or short production runs as they are to mass-production processes. Today’s robots can be quickly changed over to handle a completely different product within minutes. What’s the best robotic solution for your needs? The evolution of collaborative robots has opened the door to many
options. Consider payload, reach, size and speed, and whether the robot will be operating near or alongside staff when choosing the best robot for your needs.
How will you justify the investment? Robots provide many benefits and, understandably, to gain the support of your financial director, these need to be quantified. Find out whether your application could benefit from a robot, by signing up to our free automation appraisal:
https://bit.ly/FreeAutomationAppraisal
Nigel Platt LBL Manager, UK and Ireland, ABB Robotics
automationmagazine.co.uk
Automation | May 2022
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