The main objectives of the Electrochemical Processes Unit are to develop new devices for electrochemical energy storage and for environmental applications in the field of the water-energy nexus. The energy storage systems developed by our unit are designed to facilitate the manageability of renewable energies, to make buildings more sustainable and to promote the electrification of transport. At the water-energy nexus, new concepts are developed for the selective capture and separation of salts, metal ions and other dissolved species in natural or waste water. The Unit’s research programme focuses on how new materials, designs and modes of operation can improve the performance of these systems, facilitate their deployment, extend their lifetime and simplify their reuse or recycling.
Research lines
- Development of supercapacitors with improved performance maintaining power density, cycle life and charge-discharge efficiency. Multifunctional capacitors; structural, flexible, or transparent.
- Design and scale-up capacitive deionization processes to produce fresh water from highsalinity natural or waste water. Investigation of faradaic concepts/materials to be applied in water treatment targeting to improve the production of fresh water. Search for faradaic materials for selective ion capture and separation.
- Design and build flow batteries with novel chemistries to improve the technology in two ways: (1) increasing energy density and (2) reducing costs per kWh stored.
- Research on materials and designs to develop rechargeable metal-air batteries.
- Research on materials and components to improve their performance, sustainability and recyclability.
- Establishment of new testing methodologies for batteries, supercapacitors and other electrochemical devices.
Facilities
The infrastructure of the Electrochemical Processes Unit includes two laboratories and a pilot plant equipped with a variety of instruments and equipment that facilitate a range of capabilities from fundamental research and modelling of chemical composites and materials, to rapid prototyping and pilot-scale testing.
