Sustainable microwave manufacturing of functional inorganic materials (SuMMa)

Completed

Energy Efficiency(Transport)
Not Energy Related
Other Power and Storage Technologies(Energy storage)

Basic and strategic applied research

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Chemical Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Dr S Corr
Chemistry
University of Glasgow

Dr G Dimitrakis
Faculty of Engineering
University of Nottingham

Standard

EPSRC

01 June 2022

31 March 2026

46 months

£1,683,171

Manufacturing

Scotland; East Midlands

Manufacturing : Manufacturing

Dr S Corr, Chemistry, University of Glasgow
Dr G Dimitrakis, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham

Dr E R Binner, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham
Dr R Boston, Engineering Materials, University of Sheffield
Dr S Brown, Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Sheffield
Dr KLS Campbell, Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London
Professor D Coca, Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, University of Sheffield
Professor J Cordiner, Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Sheffield
Dr E Cussen, Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde
Dr R Elder, Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Sheffield
Dr J Howse, Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Sheffield
Dr J Lees, Engineering, Cardiff University
Dr SV Patwardhan, Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Strathclyde
Professor A Porch, Engineering, Cardiff University
Dr IM Reaney, Engineering Materials, University of Sheffield
Dr J Robinson, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham
Dr DR Slocombe, Engineering, Cardiff University

Project Contact, Johnson Matthey Plc
Project Contact, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL)
Project Contact, Centre for Process Innovation - CPI
Project Contact, Advanced Microwave Technologies Ltd
Project Contact, Microwave Technologies Cousulting
Project Contact, Britishvolt
Project Contact, Oaklands College
Project Contact, University of Nottingham
Project Contact, University of Warwick

Delivery of bespoke, tailored functional materials for specific applications often requires multistep and/or custom manufacturing processes which may not always be transferable. This programme of research brings together experts fromacross the UK with the goal of designing, developing and deploying sustainable microwave manufacturing processes that deliver bespoke inorganic functional materials not accessible at scale by current manufacturing methods. Microwaveprocessing affords unique control and heating characteristics which, when coupled with judicious reactant choice, can shorten reaction times (from days to minutes), avoid unwanted side-reactions which can lead to unwanted additionalproducts and improve short-range crystallinity by alleviating defect formation. These benefits represent considerable advantanges over traditional methods, where processing can lead to defects which plague performance.Synthesis of state-of-the-art, tailored functional materials currently requires additional resource demands, be they multistep processes or more energy-intensive treatments. Solving the production of such materials represents a key challenge in delivering materials with demanding performance criteria, e.g. nanostructured cathodes for high power density applications or textured electrodes for long cycle life. The unique properties of microwaves offer a greener, faster, and more targeted manufacturing route to achieving high value functional materials. Here, we target the scaled-up (kg/day) synthesis of nanostructured and faceted cathode particles, with the key delivery of (i) a microwave flow reactor producing high quality Li-ion battery cathode materials with primary particle morphologies and performances not accessible by traditional synthetic routes and (ii) a sustainable route to the reduction of manufacturing resource use, to just the amount required, through delivery of resource efficiency, multi-level optimization and circular economy principles. Realising this sustainable microwave manufacturing route to high value energy storage cathodes of immediate interest for next-generation electric vehicle applications has the opportunity to contribute in a significant way to a UK economic chemical industry opportunity worth a potential 2.7B per year

02/03/22