BATTERIES, FUEL CELLS, AND SUPERCAPACITOR TECHNOLOGIES - 2020/1

Module Overview

Batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitor are important electrochemical devices used as the power sources for a range of applications such as electric cars, power backup, portable electronic devices (e.g. laptops, e-pads, and mobile phones), etc. Many major cities around the world has set to ban the use of diesel and petrol cars in close future to reduce the illegal levels of air pollutions. Along this, the low efficiency associated with the current energy conversion techniques based on fossil fuels (e.g. combustion engines and gas turbines) has caused a great interests in using the alternative power sources. In this module, the students will learn the principles of modern electrochemical energy technologies and their applications in portable electronics, vehicle propulsion, and grid storage. Starting from the thermodynamic principles of electrochemical reactions and energy conversion, a knowledge in depth of selection, design, and applications of batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors will be covered in this module.

Module provider

Chemical and Process Engineering

Module Leader

AMINI HORRI Bahman (Chm Proc Eng)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

Academic background in Engineering and Science (Chemistry and Physics)

Module content

Indicative content includes:

Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Electrochemical Energy Storage and Power Sources

Introduction to electrochemical energy storage; thermodynamic aspects; electrochemical cell, electrochemical series of metals, and equilibrium cell voltage; overpotential and cell resistance; charging and discharging, effect of concentration, temperature, and pressure on cell performance; cell characteristic curves and EIS

Chapter 2: Batteries Technology and Engineering

Theoretical background, type of batteries, selection and design; performance characteristics and evaluations; applications; charging/discharging; modeling of batteries

Chapter 3: Supercapacitors Technology and Applications

Fundamentals of electric capacitors; dielectric polarization mechanisms and materials; supercapacitor design, fabrication, and operation; characterisation, performance, and applications of supercapacitors; coupling with batteries and fuel cells

Chapter 4: Fuel Cells Engineering and Technology Development

Basic principles and thermodynamics of fuel cells; type of fuel cells; electrocatalysis of fuel, characterisation and performance analysis; fuel cell technology, systems, and design aspects; applications and economical evaluations

Chapter 5: Electric Vehicles

Technology of electric vehicles , types of batteries for electric vehicles; vehicle requirements and battery design, battery control and management, battery efficiency, performance, and degradation;

Chapter 6: Hybrid Systems

Introduction to hybrid electric vehicles, concept of hybrid electric drive trains and design, fuel cell battery-coupled hybrid electric buses and trains

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N.A.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate

• Understanding of engineering aspects and technological principles of electrochemical energy storage systems and power systems


• Capability to evaluate the performance and energy efficiency of the electrochemical energy systems through characteristic curves


• Applying the quantitative analysis methods for sizing and estimating the power requirements for advanced energy systems such as electric vehicles and hybrid systems

• Coursework – 40%, 15 hrs (LOs  1, 2, 3, 4)             


• Examination – 60%, 2 hrs   (LOs 1, 2, 3)

• N.A.

• Formative verbal feedback is given during in-class problem solving and discussion sessions.


• Formative feedback on coursework is given verbally and available on SurreyLearn to provide feedback on understanding of the electrochemical energy systems and respective problem formulation and solution.

Module aims

• • Provide an overview of the common electrochemical energy storage/conversion systems and their efficiency analyse as power storage/generation technology
• • Develop the basic understanding of the theory and practice of batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors as the major electrochemical power sources
• • Develop the students’ knowledge to analyse and design the electrochemical energy storage/conversion processes with figuring out the overal performance and efficiency of the energy systems
• • Provide the advanced knowledge and practical skills required for a professional career in the electrochemical energy industry espeially the research and development centres focusing on advanced alternative energy technologies

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

1. Introduce thermodynamic principles and technical aspects of the major electrochemical energy storage and power sources.


2. Represent different class of the electrochemical systems such as batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors by providing the relevant characteristics curves and quantitative analysis methods for estimating the systems efficiencies and performances through examples, problems, and exercises especially for emerging technologies such as electric vehicles and hybrid systems. The module will be delivered through lectures and in-class problem solving, as well as group discussions within the class.

• 3 hours lecture per week x 11 weeks


• 2 hours revision lectures

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ENGM288

Other information

None.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.