The Faraday Institution’s Multi-scale Modelling (MSM) project is a programme led by Imperial College London, and involving eight other universities and 30+ industry partners. Through the project, world-leading battery experts are building a critical bridge between science and engineering. The project is delivering a portfolio of world-leading research, methodology development and modelling tools that are strategically and commercially important to industry.

Two cutting-edge, physics-based simulators have been developed through the MSM initiative – PyBaMM and DandeLiion.

PyBaMM (Python Battery Mathematical Modelling) is an open, collaborative, ‘plug & play’ framework for physics-based battery models. The PyBaMM simulator solves physics-based electrochemical differential algebraic equation models by using state-of-the-art automatic differentiation and numerical solvers.

DandeLiion is an ultra-high-capacity battery modelling simulator for large simulations – electrochemical models of planar lithium-ion cells and thermal-electrochemical models of three-dimensional composite pouch cells.

About:Energy, a joint spin out from Imperial College London and the University of Birmingham, has been set up to help commercialise the battery modelling capability developed by MSM. It aims to facilitate the use of battery modelling by UK industry, increasing the speed of battery prototype development and giving the organisations it works with a competitive advantage.

Collectively, these initiatives comprise a holistic response to the urgent demand for improvements to battery performance, longevity, sustainability and safety from industry and society.