SIBERIA is a "young talent research project" led by SINTEF. The core concept involves an affordable battery customized for stationary storage in Nordic climates. Good performance at low temperatures can minimize or even eliminate the need for active thermal management. Combined with aqueous processing and fluorine-free constituents, this minimises the environmental impact at all lifecycle stages.
The project's core focus is the development of entirely new electrolytes based on a blend of different solvent classes with fluorine-free weakly coordinating sodium salts. Due to their limited commercial availability, these salts will largely be synthesized internally within the project. The developed electrolytes will be thoroughly characterized for their electrochemical performance and compatibility with environmentally friendly iron-based Prussian blue cathodes, at temperatures as low as -20 °C.
The project will conclude with the demonstration and full characterization of long-life cells operating according to charge/discharge profiles suitable for stationary storage applications in Nordic environments. The concept's efficiency will be determined through a life cycle analysis (LCA) conducted in parallel with the experimental work.
