Batteries & Supercaps www.batteries-supercaps.org Review doi.org/10.1002/batt.202200224 Lithium-ion battery (LIB) manufacturing requires a pilot stage that optimizes its characteristics. However, this process is costly and time-consuming. One way to overcome this is to use a set of computational models that act as a digital twin of the pilot line, exchanging information in real-time that can be compared with measurements to correct parameters. Here we discuss the parameters involved in each step of LIB manufacturing, show available computational modeling approaches, and discuss details about practical implementation in terms of software. Then, we analyze these parameters regarding their criticality for modeling set-up and validation, measurement accuracy, and rapidity. Presenting this in an understandable format allows identifying missing aspects, remaining challenges, and opportunities for the emergence of pilot lines integrating digital twins. Finally, we present the challenges of managing the data produced by these models. As a snapshot of the state-of-theart, this work is an initial step towards digitalizing battery manufacturing pilot lines, paving the way toward autonomous optimization.

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Lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) have triggered the transition from internal combustion engine cars to electric vehicles, and are also making inroads into the grid storage sector, but the future quantity of batteries necessary poses several challenges in terms of raw material availability and sustainability. For this reason, many alternative chemistries are being proposed, such as substituting lithium with other more abundant elements, like sodium, or shifting from inorganic to organic‐based active materials, all of which require the development and testing of new chemistries. The electrode properties are not only a function of the chemistry, but also of the electrode manufacturing and resulting microstructure. In this work, we applied a three‐dimensional computational workflow, initially developed in the context of inorganic‐based electrodes for LIBs, to simulate the manufacturing of sodium‐ion battery anodes using an in‐house synthesized organic‐based active material. This computational workflow accounts for the slurry, its drying, and electrode calendering steps, and was validated by comparing simulated and experimental properties of the slurry and electrode. In addition, the calendering step was studied computationally to identify optimal electrode compressions, and the trend observed was confirmed experimentally through galvanostatic cycling in half‐cell configuration. The positive results shown here are an important demonstration of the chemistry neutrality of our manufacturing models, paving the way towards their application to both commercial and novel chemistries.

Inorganic precipitation reactions can self-organize a multitude of complex macroscopic patterns. The striking precipitate tubes in chemical gardens are a classic example which recently have been studied in the context of spatially confined, thin layers. Here, we introduce stationary, spatially periodic perturbations to this type of pattern formation by using computerized milling procedures for the production of nonplanar Hele-Shaw cells. The injection of NiCl2 solutions into NaOH-filled cells forms precipitate patterns that include lobes, deformed circles, worms, and filaments. Of these structure types, lobes and deformed circles respond most strongly to the introduced height variations, whereas filamentsthe closest analog of chemical garden tubesare essentially unresponsive. The effect of the perturbations also strongly depends on the density difference between the injected and displaced fluids and involves preferred penetration directions for lowered regions. Our experimental technique and observations could be of relevance to research on fluid flow and precipitation reactions in sedimentary rock with inhomogeneous porosities.

Mesoporous titania thin film (MTTF)-based electrodes are vastly popular due to their versatility and their potential use as sensors, catalysts, and photovoltaic devices. For these applications, understanding of diffusion through the pores along the thickness of the films is critical. Cyclic voltammetry with the use of a freely diffusing redox probe is a promising and simple strategy for the characterization of this kind of modified electrodes. However, the application of a mesoporous insulating material on a flat electrode greatly modifies the diffusion regimes in the vicinity of the reaction zone. This makes the use of traditional tools for data interpretation, such as the Randles−S ̌evcǐ ́k equation, insufficient. In this work, the application of a model previously developed for partially covered electrodes (Matsuda et al., J. Electroanal. Chem. 1979, 101 (1), 29−38) is proposed to interpret experimental results. An excellent agreement between experimental and simulated voltammograms was achieved for MTTFs with different pore sizes and pore arrays. This analysis can be attributed to a lack of uniformity along the films related to differences in pore-to-pore connectivity within their thickness. At the same time, it is revealed that pore and neck sizes are determinant for diffusion within these materials. Thus, two dimensions govern the electrochemical results: nanopore sizes and arrays and microregions with different connectivities along the MTTF.