Anyone who has had an old mobile phone or laptop has experienced that after a few years, the battery quickly runs out of power. But what actually happens inside the battery when it starts to degrade? We only know part of the answer, but now a new research project at DTU will make it possible to look directly into the battery to understand how it degrades.
Professor Luise Theil Kuhn from DTU Energy, together with DTU Physics, is leading the project, which will build a so-called neutron microscope and is funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
"The challenge is that there is no good microscope for looking inside batteries. But we want to change that," says Luise Theil Kuhn.
"We have a lot of simulations of what goes on inside a battery, but it is extremely difficult to measure in 3D and in real time while it is happening. This has been a technological showstopper, but our neutron microscope will be able to confirm whether the models we have are correct," she adds.
Neutrons form images
Neutrons are neutral particles that can penetrate materials where light and X-rays give up.
In fact, it takes two metres of concrete to stop neutrons. This means that researchers can see inside entire components – such as batteries or electrolysis cells – while they are running and without opening them up. This is crucial to understanding why materials degrade over time and how we can develop more durable and safer energy technologies.
"The neutrons are your image formers. Just as you have X-rays at the dentist that can show you what your teeth look like, here it is the neutrons that create the image that shows you what the inside of the battery cell looks like while it is running," says Luise Theil Kuhn.
