Quebec researchers use Canadian Light Source in Sask. to improve batteries

A team of researchers from McGill and L’Université du Québec à Montréal used the Canadian Light Source to study how to improve lithium batteries. (Courtesy: Jeremy Dawkins)

Researchers from McGill University and L’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) are using the Canadian Light Source (CLS) to develop a better battery.

They want to find the configuration of materials that combines both high capacity with fast recharging properties.

“Usually you only get one of those two,” said Jeremy Dawkins, former PhD student at McGill University. “Either my battery’s going to charge fast, or it’s going to store a lot of energy. And that’s a problem, because you need both.”

Using the CLS in Saskatoon to see the inner workings of a battery in use, they tested different configurations to find out what was happening with the lithium ions.

Researchers found a layered, sandwich-type configuration that they believe is more effective than conventional batteries.

“Under these high energy X-rays, we were able to quantify where the lithium was while operating the cell,” Dawkins told CTV News. “And from there, we were able to draw conclusions as to why this system that we developed is actually working better than the kind of conventional systems.”

Dawkins says one of the challenges with batteries is that they tend to lose performance in the cold. This is due to the slowdown of the lithium’s ability to transfer to the graphite at the negative electrode.

“The rate at which the lithium can move goes down because the temperature is low,” said Dawkins. “So now instead of going into the active material, it sits on the surface and forms metallic lithium. That’s called lithium plating.

While Dawkins says they haven’t tested it yet, their battery configuration could reduce the power loss caused by extreme cold temperatures.

“In theory, this configuration that we’ve developed should perform better at lower temperatures,” he said. “It won’t completely solve the issue, but it should be better than conventional cells based on our preliminary results that we’ve collected at the CLS.”

EV car users say with more fast-charging stations popping up, it’s getting easier for people to recharge their batteries.

But, with the growing popularity of EV cars, innovations like this are welcome.

“I think combining the two makes sense,” said Tyler Krause, President of the Tesla Owners Club of Saskatchewan. “I’d like to see this get scaled up into an actual EV application. We could see that in the coming years, who knows?”

Krause says he’s also interested to see whether this new battery configuration has better resistance to degradation over time.

“I’d really be looking forward to seeing and finding out if that new battery chemistry, that layered battery type also offers better degradation or performance in the long-term.”

While Dawkins has recently graduated and entered the auto industry, he says the results of this study has opened doors for researchers to further explore battery innovations.