MINOBR №123042000120-3

(2023—2025)

Annotation

The goal of the project is to build a prototype of an organic battery operating over a wide temperature range, using the cathode materials previously developed in our research group together with specially selected anode materials.

To achieve this, the following tasks will be solved:

• Market analysis and matching of the target battery parameters to market needs: analysis of the institutional framework and regulatory acts, including resource- and energy-efficiency requirements and standards (Energy Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2035, Low-Carbon Development Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2050, Federal Law on the Limitation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Government Decree on utilization standards for waste from the use of goods); industry analysis, including potential competitors and key players, market volume, innovation and competitive strategies; determination of the key battery parameters in accordance with market needs; development of market-entry scenarios for the new product and justification of an effective strategy taking into account economic and environmental feasibility.
• Formulation of requirements for the design and materials of a battery capable of capturing part of the lithium-ion battery market. Synchronization of economic and materials-science views on battery materials that are simultaneously accessible for synthesis and promising for practical use.
• Synthesis of redox-conducting polymers that meet the basic economic requirements. Initially, polymers with TEMPO-based active groups and quinone fragments are expected to be used, but the plan may be adjusted based on the results of the first, analytical, stage of the project.
• Fabrication of the cathode and the anode by a new technology using sulfonated carbon nanomaterials, which provides the electrode characteristics proposed by the project authors on the basis of the underlying marketing study.
• Assembly and testing of battery prototypes based on CR 2032 coin cells. Selection and optimization of the active-material content in the cathode/anode in order to obtain a product satisfying the requirements of commercial efficiency and environmental safety.
• Scaling up. Development of the technology for joining the electrodes to each other, interleaving them with a separator, welding the current collectors and sealing the casing for the fabrication of batteries in a flexible pouch.

The team includes specialists and students with experience in fundamental electrochemistry (O. Levin, E. Alekseeva, A. Vereshchagin), in the development and testing of electrochemical power sources (O. Levin, E. Alekseeva, E. Beletskii), in organic and polymer synthesis (D. Lukyanov), as well as students and postgraduates in Chemistry (Yu. V. Novoselova, A. Yu. Kalnin). Economic, environmental and marketing issues related to the development of the feasibility study and business plan, the marketing survey, the comparison of the product with international analogues, the determination of potential demand and the main target audience, risk assessment and so on will be addressed by specialists of the Department of Enterprise Economics and Entrepreneurship of the Faculty of Economics of St Petersburg University (I. A. Arenkov, M. A. Vetrova, S. A. Smirnov, M. K. Tsenzharik), who have the necessary competences and experience.

Expected results

The main result of the project is a prototype of an organic battery that operates over a wide temperature range and is built on redox-conducting polymers with TEMPO-based active groups and quinone fragments, as well as on electrodes fabricated by a new technology using sulfonated carbon nanomaterials.

The target battery parameters and the requirements for its design and materials will be defined on the basis of market analysis, of the institutional and regulatory framework for resource and energy efficiency, of industry analysis, and of market-entry scenarios for the new product. Prototypes will be assembled and tested in CR 2032 coin cells, with selection and optimization of the active-material content in the cathode and the anode according to the requirements of commercial efficiency and environmental safety.

A separate result will be the development of the scaling-up technology: joining the electrodes to each other, interleaving them with a separator, welding the current collectors and sealing the casing for the fabrication of batteries in a flexible pouch.