WHAT ERA IS DOING
The Energy Innovation Centre is a world-class facility for battery research across the R&D process from materials and electrochemistry through to application integration and recycling / re-use. The facilities support test, development and scale up of new battery chemistries from concept through to full proven traction batteries, produced in sufficient quantities for detailed industrial evaluation in target applications.
ERA is investing in new equipment and facilities at the Energy Innovation Centre in order to drive the development, integration and adoption of new, innovative battery technologies. ERA’s investment supports the following:
Cell materials and characterisation: A programme of tests takes place on commercially available battery technologies from cell to pack level, from ageing tests to thermal testing, abuse and vibration testing. The team regularly tear down commercial battery packs to identify failure mechanisms which need to be addressed in next generation battery pack designs.
Modelling and simulation: The Energy Innovation Centre allows prediction of battery performance across a wide range of conditions and applications. They are intended for use at vehicle level through to component level to gain an understanding of basic electrochemical phenomena affecting ageing.