The Journal of The Electrochemical Society, in collaboration with Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI), UL Research Institutes, is publishing a focus issue titled Journey of Lithium-Ion: Performance, Safety, and Lifespan. The Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI)—one of five UL Research Institutes—conducts fundamental scientific research to understand the safety and performance of energy technologies.
In recent years, renewable energy technologies have emerged as one of the highest priority solutions to climate change. But they also present very real risks; for example, key chemicals inside lithium-ion batteries pose life-threatening harm if they aren’t manufactured, stored, and recycled correctly. Our scientists explore the safety and performance limits of storage batteries and other renewable energy technologies and investigate how we can overcome those limits safely. Through our discovery-driven research, we innovate, test, model, and lay the foundation for electrochemical energy storage that is reliable and safe.
Our scientific research helps everyone in the energy storage and battery value chain──from cell and battery manufacturers to suppliers, original equipment manufacturers, recyclers, shippers, and consumers──understand the various safety issues associated with batteries in various applications, including electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems. Knowledge and awareness about potential hazards associated with cell and battery materials, components, and end-user devices and systems helps in minimizing risks and promotes adoption of best practices to improve safety.
As our team works to advance safer energy storage through science, close collaboration with experts and like-minded partners in electrochemical safety research is essential if we are to address pressing global safety challenges and make progress toward a safer, more sustainable world.
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are a popular choice of rechargeable battery for use in many applications like portable electronics, automobiles, marine, space, as well as stationary grid storage applications for providing high energy and high power. This battery chemistry was first found to be promising in the 1950s but became a viable commercial option in the 1990s. Three decades later, this chemistry is still being optimized with discoveries in cathode and anode materials, electrolytes, and separator technologies, as well as with design engineering that helps with making cells provide higher energy and power densities. The Journey of Lithium-Ion: Performance, Safety, and Lifespan focus issue brings together facts on the advances around LIB chemistry.
This focus issue covers aspects ranging from discovery of this chemistry and the wide and varied nature of components such as cathodes, anodes, and electrolytes available today to where this chemistry is heading in the near and distant future. It also covers the safety aspects of the existing cell and battery designs and provides a perspective on what improvements can be made to the design of the cells and batteries to reduce the risks associated with their use.
Review, critical review, perspective, methods, communication, and original research articles are welcomed.
Accepting Submissions: June 16, 2023 | Submission Deadline: October 13, 2023
Guest Editors
Judy Jeevarajan, Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI), UL Research Institutes, U.S. | Judy.Jeevarajan@ul.org
Partha Mukherjee, Purdue University, U.S.| mukher28@purdue.edu | pmukherjee@purdue.edu
Technical Editor
Doron Aurbach, Bar-Ilan University, Israel | Doron.Aurbach@biu.ac.il
Editor-in-Chief
Robert Savinell, Case Western Reserve University, U.S. | rfs2@case.edu
Articles are published in a standard issue of the journal as they are accepted. If selected at submission, accepted papers are published online in the ECS Digital Library on IOPscience within 24 hours of scheduling for publication. The version of record is published online within approximately 10 days of final acceptance.
Visit the ECS website for author submission instructions and requirements for each article type.
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