PhD in Advanced Characterisation of Large Format Lithium-Ion Battery Failures

Funding Source: EPSRC (ICASE)

Sponsor Company: Jaguar Land Rover

Stipend: Standard PhD at UKRI rates: £18,622

Eligibly: Available to eligible Home fee status and UK domicile EU students

Start Date: ASAP

Project Overview

WMG and Jaguar Land Rover have been researching battery safety for over 10 years. This includes the creation of novel and repeatable methods of battery failure initialisation using laser technology and the integration of sensors within lithium-ion batteries to measure internal battery states such as core temperature, gas pressure and gas composition. Much of this research is often discussed using generic terms such as “battery thermal runaway” or “battery abuse testing”. The primary aims of this PhD project are:

• To evaluate the feasibility of concurrently measuring internal battery temperature, gas pressure and gas composition within physically larger battery concepts appropriate for future electric vehicle integration.
• To explore the use of novel failure initialisation methods (e.g., lasers) to robustly and repeatably induce different battery failure modes beyond to those possible using conventional test methods.

This research will (1) provide valuable new insights into battery design, vehicle integration and battery management, (2) improve our fundamental understanding of battery safety and (3) accelerate the transition towards new virtual methods (simulation) of battery failure assessment within an electric vehicle pack.

As a PhD student you will work within a large multidisciplinary research team comprising academics, researchers and professional engineers.  You will have access to the UKs leading laboratories for battery research - the WMG Energy Innovation Centre and the Battery Safety Centre. You will also work closely with the Jaguar Land Rover battery research team who are co-located on campus.

For further information, please contact Professor James Marco, [email protected]  

Essential and Desirable Criteria

The ideal candidate will have a degree in either electrical or mechanical engineering, with the ability to design and undertake experimental research, including good programming, data processing and visualisation skills using tools MATLAB, LabVIEW and dSPACE. Electives in energy storage (e.g., batteries), sensor technology, instrumentation and electronics would be an advantage. A general interest in electric vehicles and electric mobility would be beneficial.

Funding and Eligibility

Available to eligible Home fee status and UK domicile EU students.