Overview
The aim of NECOBAUT Project is to develop a new concept of battery for automotive based on a new metal/air technology that overcomes the energy density limitation of the Li-ion battery used at present for Electrical Vehicles. Some metal/air cells were developed in the past, but did not give the demanded requirements for commercial use. Two decades of improvements in materials for electrodes, electrolytes and batteries and mainly in nanomaterials have helped for developing a battery that should fulfil the requirements of the car industry. The technology that is developed in the project addresses mainly the design and manufacturing of both electrodes of the battery: the negative electrode composed by the selected metal, and the air cathode with the catalyst supported on a carbonaceous material. Air is necessary for running the battery and allows having a very light battery, which is essential for the automotive industry. Another important advantage is the low cost of the materials used for manufacturing the battery: the selected metal, carbon support electrode and potassium hydroxide as electrolyte. All these materials are recyclable.
WP 1: Project Management
WP 2: Automotive Battery Specifications
WP 3: Nanomaterials for cell components
WP 4: Development of individual cell components
WP 5: Modelling and Simulation
WP 6: Cell design and testing
WP 7: Study of scale-up, LCA and safety issues
WP 8: Validation of new battery concept for automotive application
WP 9: Dissemination and Exploitation
WP 10: Scientific coordination
Funding
Results
- Development of electrodes based on nanomaterials with improved specific surface area and controlled microporous structure
- Synthesis of new effective bifunctional catalysts for the air electrode.
- Optimisation of cell design for optimum performance and durability
- Assessment of the safety and environmental impact of the metal-air battery cell.
- Validation of cell behaviour under working conditions provided by the automotive industry