Battery Lab

The Battery Lab is located on the ground floor of Building T2, adjacent to the Elettra experimental hall. The laboratory was established to serve the needs of the users and the broader scientific community by providing a dedicated synchrotron-based facility for battery research.
Elettra’s Battery Lab is equipped with all the essential instrumentation required for preparation and evaluation of electrode materials, offering users and collaborators a comprehensive support platform for their experiments.

Equipment
In addition to standard chemistry equipment (fume hoods, balances, hot plates, etc.), the Battery Lab provides the necessary instruments for the reliable assembly and characterization of coin cells and other battery formats.

• Battery electrodes preparation

A mini tape-casting coater equipped with a bottom vacuum chuck, heatable up to 100 ºC, is available in the Battery Lab and is specially designed to produce uniform coatings of a wide range of electrode materials. In addition, a compact precision disc cutter (available in 15, 19, 20 and 24 mm diameter) is provided for accurately punching circular discs from battery electrodes and separator films.

• Battery Assembly

Two Argon-filled Gloveboxes are available in the Battery Lab for the preparation and handling air- and moisture-sensitive materials such as lithium, sodium, or reactive electrode components. The controlled inert environment (typically <1 ppm O₂ and H₂O) prevents parasitic reactions, oxidation, or hydrolysis that could compromise the chemical stability of active materials and electrolytes.
Two digital pressure-controlled electric crimpers are also installed inside the gloveboxes, ensuring reliable and reproducible cell assembly prior to beamline experiments.

• Electrochemical characterization

Three Biologic® SP-150e potentiostats are available in the Battery Lab, enabling parallel electrochemical work both in the lab and at the beamline during beamtime experiments. Their portability allows users to perform preliminary characterization in, such as charge/discharge cycling test, while simultaneously operating experiments directly at the beamtime, thereby maximizing efficiency and making the best use of allocated beamtimes. 

INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTION