This exploration delves into the electrification of the world by bridging chemistry and electricity for the purposes of energy conversion and storage. This course goes beyond mere understanding; it aims to impart a mastery of the principles that power our world. Our journey commences with an introduction to electrochemical cells, exploring the origin of potential and its capacity to drive current through a circuit. We will explore a variety of battery materials and discuss the mechanisms of energy storage within them, employing various non-destructive electrochemical techniques such as Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Chronoamperometry (CA), Chronopotentiometry (CP), Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV), Galvanostatic Charge Discharge (GCD), Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), and Galvanostatic Intermittent Titration Technique (GITT). For instance, I will elucidate the charging and discharging processes of a battery using analogies from everyday life. In the second part of the course, how the battery technology is applied to EV will be discussed. In this part, cell manufacturing process, cell modelling approaches, cell diagnostics, BMS, and battery recycling would be discussed.
Market demands on this course:
Battery demand for vehicles is steadily growing due to the upcoming battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Currently, global sales of BEV and PHEV cars are outperforming sales of HEVs(hybrid electric vehicles). To meet the demand in the area of batteries, the requirement for critical materials for battery use is on a steady rise. For example, in 2022, demand for Li exceeded the supply. According to a report from the International Energy Agency, in 2022 alone, 60% of lithium, 30% of cobalt, and 10% of nickel out of the total production went only to EV batteries. Therefore, it is important to develop advanced battery technologies to reduce the dependence on these critical materials to improve resilience and energy security.
Why should anyone take this course?
This course gives a comprehensive view of materials, characterisation, and how it is applied to battery and battery integration with vehicles. This would be useful for engineers who are working on the battery characterisation and maintenance side of the auto industry and grid energy storage sector. Besides, it would help researchers to understand the underlying principle and chemistry of battery materials enabling them to venture to new and advanced battery materials development.
Mode of Course: 36 hours of recorded videos and 12 hours of online live interactive sessions with the faculty
Modules Covered:
Module 1 : Battery Cell Materials
Module 2: Cell Technology Applications in Industry
Course Start Date:December 6, 2024
Course End Date:February 28, 2025
Mode: Pre recorded Videos & Assignments will be released on Fridays and Online Live session on Saturdays.
Last date of Registration: November 25, 2024
Profile of the Instructor(s)
Prof. Kothandaraman Ramanujam has completed his B.Sc in Chemistry (Gold Medalist) from Sri Vasavi
College, affiliated with Bharatiyar University. He obtained his M.Sc in Applied Chemistry from Anna
University in 2000. He was introduced to the field of Materials Electrochemistry by Prof. Ashok Kumar
Shukla at the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, and he obtained his
Ph.D. in 2006. Subsequently, he completed two postdoctoral stints at Michigan State University, East
Lansing (2007-2009) and the National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa (2009-2011). He is currently
a Professor in the Department of Chemistry-IIT Madras. He was a visiting faculty at the Energy,
Environment & Chemical Engineering Department of Washington University, St. Louis, in 2019. He has been a guest editor in the J. Electrochemical Society and J. Photochemistry and Photobiology.
He is a recipient of the CRSI Bronze Medal 2023 from the Chemical Research Society of India and the
Amara Raja Award 2021 from the Electrochemical Society of India. He is a recipient of Bronze Medal-
2023 from Society of Materials Chemistry, BARC, India
He is the current vice president of the Society for Advancement of Electrochemical Science and
Technology-Karaikudi and the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry-BARC. He is a Fellow of the
Academy of Sciences-Chennai and the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has received the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Australia Award Fellowship to collaborate with the University of Sydney on
“Accelerating the clean energy transition in partnership with India”. From IIT Madras, he has received
the “Trend Setter Grant Award” and the CSR Game Changer Award-2023. He conducted several
outreach activities to promote electrochemistry through the Electrochemical Society (New Jersey)-IIT
Madras Student Chapter, which was recognized as the Global Chapter of Excellence by ECS-USA in
2023.
He has published over 150 articles, transferred two technologies to Industry, and holds 1 US patent and 4
Indian Patents. He has focused his research on fundamental electrochemical science and translated it into
applied science, contributing to realizing India-centric solutions for the ever-growing needs of energy
storage and conversion.
Dr. Raghunathan is a Chemical Engineer, with a B.Tech from IIT Madras and a PhD from West Virginia University. He has over 30 years of experience in industrial R&D, with the last 17 years at General Motors R&D in India and USA, focusing on battery cell technology. He is a GM Technical Fellow, with 20 journal publications and 30+ patents and Trade Secrets. He retired from GM in 2022 and moved back to Bangalore. Currently, he is a consultant/advisor for several companies working on cell technology, battery modelling software, and battery reuse. He is a Professor of Practice at IIT Madras and advises Department of Science and Technology (DST) on EV batteries.
Module 1 : Battery Cell Materials
Module Description :
This Module covers the basics of electrochemistry and how to use it to understand the batteries. Some analogy from commonly known examples will be used to introduce the advanced concepts like over potential and associated energy loss in batteries, which leads to thermal runaway situations. Besides, the phenomenon responsible for energy storage, such as intercalation, alloying and conversion will be discussed with examples of anode and cathode materials used in the current state of the art Li-ion battery. Besides electrical characterisation pertain to the anode, cathode and whole cell would be discussed in details, particularly non-destructive techniques to understand the state of health and state of charge of battery.
Faculty In Charge:
Prof. Kothandaraman Ramanujam, Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras.
Topics Covered:
Electrochemical cells
(a) Converting rate of reaction into current density
(b) Converting potential of a reaction into Gibbs free energy
(c) Faraday constant ( in C, and Ah)
(d) Capacitor: Non-faradic current
(e) Metal-solution interface
(f) Galvanic potential
(g) Electrochemical series
(h) Galvanic and electrolytic cells
(i) Nernst equation
Voltage loss (overpotential) and Kinetics
(a) Overpotential (activation, ohmic and concentration)
(b) Rate law treatment to obtain Butler Volmer Kinetics
(c) Tafel kinetics
(d) Faraday’s laws and coulombic efficiency
Battery Materials
(a) Primary and secondary batteries
(b) Li/Li-ion battery
(c) Anode materials
(d) Cathode materials
(e) Electrolytes (Non-aqueous)
(f) Solid electrolyte interface
(g) Cathode electrolyte interface
(h) Energy Storage Mechanism (Intercalation, conversion and alloying)
(i) Irreversible capacity loss
Electrochemical Techniques
(a) Cyclic voltammetry
(b) Chrono amperometry
(c) Chrono potentiometry
(d) Differential pulse voltammetry
(e) Galvanostatic charge-discharge
(f) dQ/dV vs. Capacity plot
(g) Impedance spectroscopy, a non-destructive technique
(h) Galvanostatic intermittent titration
(i) Symmetric cell for critical current density analysis
(j) Li+ transport number calculation
Learning Outcomes :
Role of electrodes, electrolytes and their interface
Importance of solid electrolyte interface in preventing capacity loss in a cell
What happens with the anode and cathode materials while charging and discharging?
To design an anode or cathode material
How mass gets transported from one electrode to another electrode during charge-discharge, leading to energy storage and discharge
Strategies to avoid dendritic growth which leads to premature failure of the battery and thermal runaway situations.
Electrochemical methods available to characterize battery materials and what information one gets out of such characterizations.
Application of this Module:
Electric vehicles
Battery cell manufacturing
Grid Energy Storage
Module 2: Battery Cell Technology Development and Application in Electric Vehicle
Module Description :
This module focusses on cell technologies that are employed in EVs today in India and globally. It provides a perspective from the automakers’ (application) point of view: the battery technology selection criteria, implementation into the vehicles, and the challenges they face in ensuring safe and trouble-free experience for the customers, and the tools/processes they commonly use. It also describes the battery ecosystem in India and identifies imperatives for successful EV adoption, calling out indigenous cell manufacturing as a critical need.
Faculty In Charge:
Dr. Raghunathan, Professor of Practice at IIT Madras
Topics Covered :
Cells in a Vehicle, Battery Metrics.
Basic Definition
Anatomy of a cell, Internal Processes
Cell Materials & Cell Chemistry
Current & Near Term
Long Term
Cell Requirements & Specification
Cell Technology Roadmap
Cell Manufacturing Process
Cell Design & Sizing
Cell Cost
Battery Performance Challenges
Cell Power & Fact charge
Battery life & Cell Degradation
Battery safety & Thermal runaway
Cell Modelling approaches
Cell diagnostics
Integration into Vehicles
Pack design & Internal Management
BMS
Battery reuse and Recycling
EV adoption in India – Challenges & Recommmendations
Wrap Up
Learning outcomes of this module:
● Importance of battery technology and how it is applied in EVs
● Familiarity with tools and processes related to batteries and how to apply them
● Future technology trends
● Awareness of the entire battery ecosystem in India and related challenges
Application of the Module:
Electric Vehicles
Battery cell manufacturing
Eligibility Criteria
A Bachelor’s Degree in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is required.
Certification
The Certificate criteria for this course is as follows:
Total % will be calculated from all 3 categories
( Assignments, Quizzes and Attendance of Live sessions)
Fees paid are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Course Policy
Please refer HERE to read about policies on Admission, Pricing, Payment and Attendance.
Video feedback from previous Cohort
Testimonials from previous Cohort
As a battery cell engineer, there are certain aspects we got to know during the course. For example, material analysis in cells, cell manufacturing, and cell testing and validation. The course also covers the thermal aspects of a battery.
– Khushboo Gupta, Engineer, Hero MotoCorp
Basically, we understand the battery pack as a whole. I did not have any knowledge about chemistry as I am a mechanical engineer. The professors helped me with the chemistry aspects, which gave a background about what exactly it is.
-Megavarman A, Advanced Application Engineer, 3M
A vast variety of information was given to us about the chemistry of the cells, how they are manufactured, and how to sustain them. Prof. Kothandaraman and Dr. Raghunathan both explained in a detailed way with examples on how the cells are manufactured and how safety is ensured.
-Kevin Nesamani, Senior Engineer, Hero MotoCorp
What I felt great about this course is that this is basically a marriage between chemistry and applications. Basically, a mechanical engineer can relate, a material science engineer can relate, and people at any stream who interact with customers can understand their requirements better.
Dr. Gopakumar, Sr. General Manager, 3M
In this journey, this program really helped me. Before doing this course, the battery was a black box for me. Now I know what’s happening inside it, how to take care of it, and understand its behaviour. This course has really helped me, and I would recommend professionals like me to enroll in this course.
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