As a century-old manufacturer, ARMOR GROUP has been able to constantly renew itself throughout its history by betting on innovation, particularly through the support of doctoral students. ARMOR Battery Films, the group's business dedicated to energy storage through the design of coated current collectors for batteries, is financing and supporting the research project of Clément Meyssonnier, an electrochemical engineer and doctoral student at the Jean Rouxel Materials Institute in Nantes, for three years.
Each year ARMOR GROUP invests more than €40M in industrial equipment and R&D. An expert in chemical formulation and high-precision coating, the company uses its historical know-how to develop innovative activities dedicated to the industries of the future, such as current collectors for batteries.
"As a pioneer in the manufacture of carbon paper in France, ARMOR GROUP has never ceased to be driven by the energy of innovation throughout its existence. It is through our constant investment in research and development that we have been able to ensure our growth and strengthen our position as market leader. At ARMOR GROUP, we put our expertise directly at the service of innovation and the production of essential components that contribute to meeting society's challenges," comments Hubert de Boisredon, Chairman and CEO of ARMOR GROUP.
Clément Meyssonnier's CIFRE thesis, which is being carried out within ARMOR Battery Films' R&D teams, is thus focused on the study, understanding and generalisation of new knowledge aimed at formulating a high-performance coated current collector adapted to silicon-based electrodes. The objective is to improve the overall performance of batteries.
The objectives of the thesis are multiple:
. To identify and master the materials, processes and designs of the silicon electrode in order to be able to determine the current limits for which a coated current collector would perform better.
. To generate knowledge related to the characterisation of electrochemical performance to enable the contribution of the interface between the electrode and the current collector to battery performance to be qualified and quantified, particularly with an interfacial coating on the collector.
. Identify the optimal conditions required at the interface between the electrode and the current collector with the possibility of studying different types of coatings of varying composition and texture.
"My research focuses mainly on the interface between the electrode and the current collector of new generations of lithium-ion batteries with a silicon-based negative electrode. I am delighted to be able to carry out my thesis within the R&D teams of ARMOR Battery Films, whose coating technology is very innovative" concludes Clément Meyssonnier.
Watch Clément Meyssonnier's entry in the "My thesis in 180 seconds" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fId1VUZSic) competition, extract from the Pays de la Loire 2023 final (from 54'17 to 57'50)
