Public Funding for Sention Technologies Limited

The project will be formed of a collaborative team lead by Sention and supported by the National Physical Laboratory and ASTUTE. The partners will undertake a range of activities to validate and support Sention's technology development programme, resulting in substantially improved insights to the company. Sention envisage the techniques developed in this programme will result in improved battery monitoring capabilities which can be deployed at all scales from cell and component manufacture through to cell integration and end-of-life monitoring. The work undertaken by the NPL will provide invaluable independent verification of the techniques deployed by Sention whilst enabling an improved fundamental understanding of the waveforms obtained using the companies technology. This will strengthen the offering provided to customers and has the potential to significantly impact the waste produced in cell and battery pack manufacture. ASTUTE will provide expert modelling capabilities which will enable Sention explore the impact of modifications to the cell condition and geometry, providing opportunities to conduct virtual sensitivity analysis and explore the confidence intervals associated with measurements. This modelling capability will also allow Sention to support future product development through the rapid generation and analysis of data.

There is a clear need to develop innovative tools to increase the throughput and reliability of battery manufacturing facilities in the UK and beyond. Over the next 10 years battery production volumes are expected to increase by at least 10-fold; however, at present, the reel-to-reel manufacturing process remains similar to that developed over 20 years ago. This approach has historically had scrappage rates of between 5-10% resulting in substantial wastage in material and energy throughout the process. Our approach utilises advanced acoustic methods to ensure the reliability of components and cells along the production line. This allows us to identify defects and non-idealities at the earliest possible opportunity reducing waste and maximising the throughput of the production process. This approach enables diagnostic monitoring of both the manufacture of components and cells to minimise the wastage associated with the manufacturing process by providing reliable characterisation at early stages to guide control or QA/QC strategies.