Battery Imaging Library Launches Open Access Database With 4.5TB of Data

Researchers have launched the world’s first open-access Battery Imaging Library, housing over 4.5 terabytes of experimental data from synchrotrons and national laboratories worldwide. Developed by an international team across 18 institutions, the online repository aims to accelerate energy storage safety, computational modeling, and machine learning research.

Experimental research into energy storage has long suffered from a quiet bottleneck: while laboratories worldwide generate vast troves of high-resolution scan data, those files routinely stay locked away on private hard drives. A new open-access initiative is changing that dynamic by releasing more than 4.5 terabytes of experimental results into the public domain.

Synchrotron Scanning and Neutron Imaging at Diamond Light Source and ISIS

The library’s contents stem from advanced imaging techniques capable of peering inside operational energy storage cells without destroying them. Researchers at Diamond Light Source utilized the facility’s flagship high-energy X-ray imaging and diffraction beamline, known as I12-JEEP. That instrumentation enabled both static and dynamic micro-computed tomography scans of commercial cylindrical lithium-ion, LiFeS2, and alkaline batteries, capturing their internal morphological structures as well as physical changes unfolding over time.

“The I12-JEEP beamline offers unique capabilities for probing and investigating the internal morphological structure of batteries. We are delighted that these dynamic X-ray micro CT datasets are now freely available through the Battery Imaging Library so that scientists worldwide can use them to develop safer and more efficient energy storage devices.”

Prof Genoveva Burca, Principal Beamline Scientist at I12

Complementing the X-ray data, researchers at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source employed the IMAT neutron imaging beamline to gather neutron computed tomography measurements. Neutron imaging remains comparatively rare within the broader energy storage community, yet it offers essential contrast for lightweight components that traditional X-rays struggle to isolate. By capturing lithium-based electrolytes and tracking the precise distribution of lithium species inside cells, the neutron data fills critical analytical gaps that enable scientists to get the full picture required for their analysis.

Building a Usable Repository and Fueling Artificial Intelligence Models

Managing several terabytes of multi-length-scale data required a dedicated digital architecture to prevent the repository from becoming as inaccessible as the private hard drives it aims to replace. Ronan Docherty, a doctoral researcher at Imperial College London’s Centre for Doctoral Training for the Advanced Characterisation of Materials, built a custom website allowing users to browse raw files and reconstructed images across 13 distinct imaging modalities.

Battery Imaging Library Launches Open Access Database With 4.5TB of Data — Photo: Innovationnewsnetwork

“A major challenge with existing experimental datasets is simply finding what you need. We developed the library’s website to solve this problem, allowing users to browse the different modalities and quickly access the specific data relevant to their research.”

Ronan Docherty, PhD student at Imperial College London

Beyond human researchers validating computational models, the project targets machine learning development. Dr Sam Cooper, a professor at Imperial College London, noted that open data is critical for training the AI models that will accelerate the next generation of scientific discovery. Dr Antony Vamvakeros, a Royal Society Industry Fellow at Imperial College London and research lead at Finden Ltd who coordinated the international effort, added that teams can use the repository to train self-supervised neural networks dedicated to data denoising, super-resolution, and multi-modal data fusion.

Harwell Collaboration and Future Research Horizons

The library’s organizational hub sits on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, where Finden Ltd operates alongside Diamond Light Source and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source. The initiative reflects a growing push within the scientific community to shift cultural norms away from data hoarding and toward shared digital infrastructure. Alongside its utility for advanced computational design, the collection provides practical workflows and standardized datasets intended for academic training and professional education across the energy storage sector.