Business Engagement Manager and energy storage theme lead for the Henry Royce Institute, Robin Morris, provides an update on energy storage research facilities and equipment supported by the Royce.
At the University of Sheffield, the Empyrean high energy XRD equipment, with silver target operating at 22keV, is supporting in situ and in operando analysis over a wide temperature range. This advanced instrument helps determine the phase purity of components and the crystallite size in electrode compounds. Sheffield has also recently brought online an AFM, to explore nanostructure, reactivity and local ionic transport. The equipment is backed up by support technicians.
At Oxford, in the David Cockayne Centre for Electron Microscopy, Professor Dave Armstrong and Dr Ed Darnbrough are working with a new combined SEM, picoindenter and X-ray mapping tool, housed in a glovebox – watch an animation. Ed spoke about this exciting area of research at the recent Faraday conference. The capabilities of this unique equipment were highlighted at a recent industry workshop on electron microscopy. The workshop also featured the Plasma FIB, nanomill and 4D canvas capabilities. Allan Paterson adds, “The acquisition of the plasma FIB is an exciting capability, capable of generating results applicable to several Faraday Institution projects.”
Assisted by the Royce, refurbishment work is nearing completion at the Rex Richards building. Battery materials and modelling research groups – including those of Peter Bruce, Mauro Pasta and Rob Weatherup – will be housed across four dedicated floors. Once commissioned, the new equipment and facilities will significantly enhance the ability to synthesise, test and characterise air-sensitive materials for batteries. Further advanced processing equipment is also being installed at the advanced processing laboratory at Begbroke Science Park. This will underpin the recently commenced Nextrode project, led by Professor Patrick Grant.
Royce facilities for energy storage research at the University of Cambridge include an electrochemical microbalance. This can be used to monitor changes to mechanical properties of thin films during electrochemical cycling, crucial to understanding failure mechanisms.
The Royce facilities at all partner institutions are open to academic and industrial users. The Institute offers funding schemes to support access for both student researchers and SMEs. For more information about accessing these and the wider range of facilities, please visit www.royce.ac.uk.
Robin Morris is the business engagement manager for energy storage. For enquiries about student access to Royce facilities, please contact the Senior Project Manager Dr Leigh Mapledoram. Both Leigh and Robin can help connect you with Royce hosts.
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