On Thursday, December 19, the ECS Canada Section hosts its fall 2019 Meeting:

Current Challenges and Recent Advances in Electrochemical Technologies for a Sustainable Society

The preliminary program is available here. More information is available at the Section website.

Keynote presentations

“Autonomous Light Management in Flexible Electrochromic Thin Films Integrating High Performance Silicon Solar Microcells”
Ralph G. Nuzzo
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

“The European VOLUMETRIQ Project: Driving Forward Automotive Fuel Cells”
Deborah Jones
Université de Montpellier, France

The meeting includes additional invited speakers from international and domestic institutions, award presentations, and a poster section. (more…)

Deadline for submitting abstracts
December 2, 2019
Submit today!

Topic Close-up #7

Symposium B02: Carbon Nanostructures in Medicine and Biology

Symposium focus:

Nanocarbons have unique electronic, optical, and structural properties that enable new applications in biology and medicine. These may include but are not limited to assays, imaging tools, sensors, and therapeutics. The session covers areas including the development of new materials, characterization, uses/demonstration of pharmacology or effects in vitro and in vivo, plant biology applications, and clinical uses.

Nanocarbons Division SES Research Young Investigator Awardee and Keynote Speaker: Prof. Markita Landry, Assistant Professor, University of California at Berkeley

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In “The Lightsaber Battery,” author Richard Rogers asks if recent electric vehicle battery research makes a lightsaber battery possible. After reviewing Star Wars technology and the current state of battery technology, his conclusion is a conditional yes! However, the final stage of light saber development depends on a Kyber crystal which amplifies and channels the cosmic energy of the Force. Unfortunately, a crystal like that hasn’t been discovered in our universe yet.

Star Wars fans and electric battery developers do not despair! The need for longer-lasting electric vehicle batteries has raised cycle life goals similar to the lightsaber’s requirements—and electrochemists are rising to the challenge! That galaxy “far, far away” is coming closer and closer. (more…)

To compete globally in key energy sectors through the 21st century and beyond, the U.S. must accelerate the discovery and development of novel materials. The I05 symposium at the 236th ECS Meeting, “Accelerated Discovery and Development of Energy Materials,” is a unique opportunity for researchers and stakeholders from electrochemistry and materials research to meet, network, and initiate new collaborations in highly impactful research and development. The electrochemical research community focuses on important energy applications such as generation, storage, distribution, and utilization. The materials research community focuses on computational and experimental methodologies for accelerated materials discovery and development, and advancing multiple sectors. While rapid scientific advances are occurring independently in both fields, bringing world leaders from the two fields together is an extraordinary opportunity to achieve materials breakthroughs with the potential to revolutionize the U.S. energy sectors. (more…)

ECS’s Detroit Section is proud to present guest speaker Fabio Albano at its October 10 section meeting. He will speak on:

“Best of Both Worlds: A Marriage of Two Battery Technologies”

Fabio Albano
Vice President of Technology
NantEnergy, Inc. (formerly Fluidic Energy)
Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

When:
Thursday, 10 October, 2019

Schedule:
17:30h | Reception
18:30h | Dinner
19:30h | Speaker (more…)

Deadline for submitting abstracts
December 2, 2019
Submit today!

Topic Close-up #5

Symposium D01: Dielectrics for Nanosystems 8: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and Manufacturing

Symposium focus:

The eighth edition of the Dielectrics for Nanosystems symposium, sponsored by the Dielectric Science and Technology Division, will be held at the 237th ECS meeting. The symposium, which started at the 206th ECS Meeting in Hawaii in 2004, is being held after a gap of four years. It will outline the role of dielectrics in research areas of advanced nanosystems involving electronic, optical, magnetic, mechanical, biological, and chemical systems, including sensing devices and energy sources. (more…)

Elon Musk promised—and Jeff Dahn delivered! With the publishing of a ground-breaking paper in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society (JES), Dahn announced to the world that Tesla may soon have a battery that makes their robot taxis and long-haul electric trucks viable. Dahn and his research group is Tesla’s battery research partner. Dahn says “… that cells of this type should be able to power an electric vehicle for over one million miles and last at least two decades in grid energy storage.”

According to Doron Aurbach, JES batteries and energy storage technical editor, “This comprehensive article is expected to be impactful in the field of batteries and energy storage. It is a very systematic study by one of the most renowned and prestigious electrochemistry groups in the world. It was a pleasure for me as a technical editor to handle this paper. It substantiates all the statements about the truly high quality and importance of JES, one of the leading and most prestigious journals in electrochemistry. JES provides an excellent service to the global electrochemistry community—and thousands of ECS members—regardless of ‘impact factors.’” As of today, Dahn’s JES article has received over 31,563 abstract views, over 17,000 articles downloads, and quotes in news outlets around the world. (more…)

Jeff Dahn

More efficient, longer-lasting batteries are needed to ensure the future of the electric vehicle market. Thanks to Jeff R. Dahn and his Dalhousie University research team, a “million-mile battery” may soon be a reality. Dahn is Tesla’s battery research partner. In “A Wide Range of Testing Results on an Excellent Lithium-Ion Cell Chemistry to be used as Benchmarks for New Battery Technologies,” Dahn describes a new Li-ion battery cell with a single crystal NMC cathode and an advanced electrolyte. The new battery should power an electric vehicle for one million miles and last at least 20 years in grid energy storage—making Tesla’s electric-powered semi-autonomous driving cars and trucks viable.

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Energy storage is crucial for the successful transition to renewable energy. Yet lithium-ion batteries have major limitations. Demand for lithium has increased exponentially, but production has not kept pace. Extracting lithium by brine mining is a long, costly, energy-intensive, and dangerous process with significant environmental impact. Access is difficult as most lithium mines are in South America.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras developed a rechargeable iron ion battery to replace lithium. It uses mild steel as the anode and can store a high amount of energy. The iron battery withstood 150 cycles of charging and discharging under controlled conditions. After 50 cycles, the battery had 54 percent capacity retention. (more…)