Release notes 25.1 (#238)

Added release notes for PyBaMM 25.1

---------

Co-authored-by: Saransh Chopra <[email protected]>

content/about/index.md

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ donations and how you can support, please see the [Donate](/donate/) page.
 [Ionworks](https://ionworks.com/) is a company founded by members of the PyBaMM core development team to ensure [PyBaMM's long-term success](https://ionworks.com/blog/our-relationship-with-pybamm).
 Ionworks provides support and custom feature development for PyBaMM, as well as software to make modeling easier and faster.
 For companies who want to leverage the power, flexibility, and openness of the Python ecosystem for their battery simulation needs, Ionworks is the go-to partner.
-[Contact Ionworks](https://ionworks.com/contact-us) to find out more.
+[Contact Ionworks](https://ionworks.com/) to find out more.
 
 {{< figure >}}
 src = '/images/logos/ionworks-logo.png'

content/community.md

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ For general inquiries, other than topics listed above, you can contact us by ema
 [Ionworks](https://ionworks.com/) is a company founded by members of the PyBaMM core development team to ensure [PyBaMM's long-term success](https://ionworks.com/blog/our-relationship-with-pybamm).
 Ionworks provides support and custom feature development for PyBaMM, as well as software to make modeling easier and faster.
 For companies who want to leverage the power, flexibility, and openness of the Python ecosystem for their battery simulation needs, Ionworks is the go-to partner.
-[Contact Ionworks](https://ionworks.com/contact-us) to find out more.
+[Contact Ionworks](https://ionworks.com/) to find out more.
 
 ## Governance
 

content/learn.md

@@ -50,4 +50,4 @@ We regularly hold PyBaMM workshops. You can find a list of the workshops we have
 
 ## Get help
 
-You can get help by posting questions on the [PyBaMM Slack channels](https://pybamm.org/slack/) or preferably in [GitHub discussions](https://github.com/pybamm-team/PyBaMM/discussions). You can also get paid support from [Ionworks](https://ionworks.com/contact-us).
+You can get help by posting questions on the [PyBaMM Slack channels](https://pybamm.org/slack/) or preferably in [GitHub discussions](https://github.com/pybamm-team/PyBaMM/discussions). You can also get paid support from [Ionworks](https://ionworks.com/).

content/news/2025/01/15/pybamm-25.1.md

@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+---
+title: PyBaMM 25.1 has been released!
+summary: PyBaMM version 25.1 has now been released with several new features and improvements.
+date: 2025-01-15
+shortcutDepth: 1
+---
+
+PyBaMM 25.1 has now been released! We would like to thank all the [contributors](https://pybamm.org/teams/) who made this release possible.
+
+The full list of changes can be found in the [CHANGELOG](https://pybamm.org/changelog/) file, but here we provide a deeper overview of the main features of this release.
+
+## Increased compatibility of submodels
+_Implemented by [Alec Bills (Ionworks)](https://github.com/aabills) and [Simon O'Kane](https://github.com/DrSOKane)_
+
+Several submodels have been updated to enhance the compatibility with other submodels. The new compatibilities are:
+
+* SEI models with particle size distributions.
+* Composite electrodes with particle size distributions.
+* Porosity change with composite electrodes.
+
+This means that almost all submodels are cross-compatible!
+
+## SEI models are now for a single layer only
+_Implemented by [Valentin Sulzer (Ionworks)](https://github.com/valentinsulzer)_
+
+All SEI models in PyBaMM are now defined for a single layer SEI, and the double layer SEI models have been removed. Note that by double layer we mean an SEI with inner and outer SEI layers, not the interface capacitance double layer. This change should make SEI models easier to understand and compare.
+
+## Two new SEI models
+_Implemented by [Kawa Manmi (University of Warwick)](https://github.com/kawaMANMI)_
+
+Two new SEI models have been added to PyBaMM: the `"tunnelling limited"` model (from [Tang et al (2012)](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/2.025211jes)) and the `"VonKolzenberg2020"` model (from [Von Kolzenberg et al (2020)](https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202000867)). These models can be enabled by passing the relevant `"SEI"` in the model options dictionary. Note that additional parameters are required for this model, and the parameter set dictionary needs to be updated manually.
+
+## Improved `search` method in PyBaMM dictionaries
+_Implemented by [Medha Bhardwaj (IIIT Lucknow)](https://github.com/medha-14)_
+
+The `search` method in PyBaMM dictionaries, for example in a `ParameterValues` or a `model.variables` dictionary, has been enhanced so it can take lists of strings. This allows for more flexibility when searching for variables or parameters in a dictionary. For example, if we want to search for all variables related to potentials in the negative electrode, we can now do
+
+```python3
+model.variables.search(["negative", "potential"])
+```
+
+## Geometric parameters as input parameters
+_Implemented by [Alec Bills (Ionworks)](https://github.com/aabills)_
+PyBaMM now includes `SymbolicUniform1DSubMesh`, which allows for the definition of geometric parameters as input parameters without need to rebuild the model. The mesh is internally defined to be defined between 0 and 1, and the discretised operators take care of the contribution of the domain lengths.
+
+This mesh does not work straight out of the box with default models, but it can be used in custom-built models.
+
+## Improved distribution and packaging for PyPI and conda-forge
+_Implemented by [Eric Kratz (Ionworks)](https://github.com/kratman)_
+
+The C/C++ solvers included in PyBaMM (e.g. `IDAKLUSolver`) have been moved to a standalone package called [`pybammsolvers`](https://pypi.org/project/pybammsolvers/). This change makes PyBaMM a pure Python package, simplifying significantly the installation process from source (including Windows), which benefits PyBaMM developers and contributors.
+
+_Implemented by [Saransh Chopra (ARC, University College London RSE)](https://github.com/Saransh-cpp)_
+
+The conda-forge distribution has been migrated to a `noarch` recipe, making it platform independent. Additionally, a new conda-forge package, `pybamm-base`, has been developed to enable installing PyBaMM only with required dependencies. The `pybamm` package on conda-forge has been updated to include all the available optional dependencies (equivalent to `pybamm[all,jax]` on PyPI). Similar to the PyPI change, these changes simplify the installation process for both users and developers.
+## State variables are always included as output variables
+_Implemented by [Martin Robinson (Oxford RSE)](https://github.com/martinjrobins)_
+
+The state variables of a PyBaMM model are now automatically included as output variables, if they are not already present. This makes the process of building custom models more robust avoiding, for example, errors with the `set_initial_conditions_from` method when output variables were not correctly defined.
+
+## Support for BPX 0.5.0
+_Implemented by [Eric Kratz (Ionworks)](https://github.com/kratman)_
+
+PyBaMM now supports [BPX](https://github.com/FaradayInstitution/BPX) 0.5.0, which was released in December 2024. This version of BPX uses Pydantic v2.