Three weeks after announcing a partnership aimed at developing sodium ion cells for solar applications, Sheffield based Faradion will share £1.3million of Government funding from a competition aimed at cutting vehicle emissions. Joining Faradion in the latest project are Scottish company AGM Batteries and WMG, from the University of Warwick.
At the beginning of March 2016, Faradion, Moixa Technology and WMG announced plans to develop sodium-ion cells as a low cost alternative to lithium-ion batteries for solar energy storage, with the work part funded by Innovate UK.
Announced in the recent budget, the Government is making £38.2m available to fund innovative ways to reduce vehicle emissions. The funding combines £30m from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and £8.2m from Innovate UK. According to the Government, projects will begin to unveil working prototypes by 2018 and the results could feature in passenger cars from 2020.
Roland Meister, head of transport at Innovate UK said: “This £38m of Government support means that more than 130 innovative organisations now have the chance to get their ideas off the drawing board and, potentially, into the cars and trucks of the future.”
In the earlier announcement, Faradion said it will bring its knowledge of sodium-ion battery technology to the partnership, will provide photovoltaic design, build and test expertise. WMG, meanwhile, will provide large scale prototype manufacturing and electrode coating capabilities.
Francis Massin, CEO of Faradion, said: “This partnership with Moixa and WMG offers a great opportunity, not just for Faradion, but also for global CO2 reduction.”
Pic: A 48 cell battery pack design by Williams Advanced Engineering, featuring Faradion’s 3Ahr Na-ion cells.
Author
Graham Pitcher
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk