The European Neutron Source, Institut Laue Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble-France, has been at the forefront of neutron science for more than 50 years. Around 1500 researchers from a user base of 12000 carry-out experiments every year on 40 state of the art neutron instruments fed by the high-flux neutron source.
Neutrons, whether by scattering or absorption, interact strongly with lighter elements such as Lithium and Hydrogen. In addition, neutrons offer scattering and contrast from heavier elements (e.g. most metals) which is highly complementary with other analytical probes, such as X-rays. This, coupled with our high, steady state neutron flux and advanced instrumentation, has incited battery researchers to utilise various techniques at the ILL (Neutron Diffraction and Reflectometry, Small Angle Neutron Scattering, Neutron Spectroscopy and Imaging), often in operando using recently developed custom electrochemical cells and the in-house preparation laboratory, to obtain unique results. The ILL therefore has a proven track record in cutting-edge battery research and our constantly upgraded suite of instruments permits access to unprecedented time and length scales at relatively high throughputs, whilst multimodal capabilities provide exciting, new insights by simultaneously combining X-ray and neutron measurements.
ILL is principally involved in WP5, and our immediate proximity to the CEA and ESRF forms an advanced battery characterisation hub unique in Europe. BIG-MAP partners, aided by ILL scientists, will be able to address a wide range of battery-related problems on our instruments such as electrode phase transformations, Li-ion migration in electrolytes and SEI analysis - in operando if necessary. In addition, ILL is responsible for the data analysis task WP 5.4, which also corresponds to our constant goal of providing users with best access to usable experimental results, and is involved in several other tasks.
