Electric car batteries with auto-healing properties could extend lifespan and boost range
Self-Healing Batteries Developed by EU-Funded PHOENIX Project Aim to Extend Battery Life and Reduce Demand for New Battery Metals
The EU-funded PHOENIX project is developing self-healing lithium-ion batteries with the goal of extending battery life, improving safety, and reducing the demand for new battery metals.
The project, led by Yves Stauffer, an engineer at the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology, is focused on identifying which technologies deliver enough benefit to justify the cost of electric vehicles (EVs).
The self-healing batteries use advanced sensors and triggers inside the battery to continuously monitor parameters beyond basic voltage and temperature. These sensors provide early warnings of battery degradation or faults, such as battery expansion, heat distribution, and detection of hazardous gases like hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
When damage or degradation is detected, the batteries activate self-healing processes to prolong their functionality. These processes can include applying heat to promote chemical re-bonding inside the battery materials, physically compressing the battery to restore structure, or using magnetic fields to break up dendrite formations. Dendrites are metallic microstructures that grow during charging and can cause short circuits and failure.
By doubling the lifetime of the batteries, these self-healing properties help keep EVs running longer without battery replacement. This reduction in the frequency of manufacturing new batteries lessens the consumption of raw materials and metals required for battery production, which lessens their environmental impact and supply chain pressure.
In addition, the PHOENIX project aims to increase the range of EVs and reduce the size of batteries by developing next-generation batteries with higher energy density. This means that EVs can travel further on a single charge while using less space for the battery.
Scientists from several European countries are collaborating to design sensors that detect changes within a lithium-ion battery as it ages and trigger the battery's self-healing when needed. This collaboration is crucial in developing a reliable and efficient self-healing battery system.
Most EVs rely on lithium-ion batteries, which contain valuable metals like lithium, nickel, and copper. The PHOENIX project's goal is to reduce the need for new battery metals, which will help alleviate supply chain pressure and reduce the environmental impact of battery production.
The efforts of the PHOENIX project are timely, as EU legislation requires all new cars and vans sold from 2035 onwards to generate zero emissions. As EV sales in Europe continue to surge, with a 20% increase in February 2025 compared to the same month in 2024, the development of self-healing batteries will be crucial in meeting the demand for electric vehicles.
Ziegler, another member of the PHOENIX project, expresses excitement about prolonging battery lifetime and working on EVs. Sufu, a battery chemist at CSEM and part of the PHOENIX project, is working on using thermal treatment to restore unique chemical bonding.
In summary, PHOENIX batteries use a combination of smarter sensing, early damage detection, and internal repair triggered on demand to enhance durability and safety, which in turn decreases the need for new batteries and raw materials over a product’s lifetime. This development offers a win-win for both consumers and the environment by extending the life of EVs and reducing their carbon footprint.
[1] For more information, please visit the PHOENIX project's website at https://www.phoenix-h2020.eu/
The PHOENIX project, with its focus on self-healing lithium-ion batteries, also aims to explore the potential of advanced technology to increase the energy density of next-generation batteries.
By implementing self-healing properties in batteries, science and technology can work together to reduce the consumption of valuable metals like lithium, nickel, and copper, and contribute to a more sustainable future for electric vehicle production.
