The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced $209 million in funding for 26 new laboratory projects focusing on electric vehicles, advanced batteries, and connected vehicles. DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory introduced Li-Bridge, a new public-private partnership to bridge gaps in the domestic lithium battery supply chain. Advanced lithium-based batteries play an integral role in 21st century technologies such as electric vehicles, stationary grid storage, and defense applications that are critical to securing a clean energy future. The projects support goals to make the United States a global leader in electric vehicle and battery innovation; advance the development of these technologies to save families money; lower carbon pollution; and create high-quality jobs. (more…)

The Development of Ultra-Thin Highly Conductive Glass Separators for Next Generation Solid-State Batteries

The ECS New England Section presents a free webinar on October 26, 2021, with Dr. Steve Visco (CEO & CTO, PolyPlus Battery Company) during the section’s regular Zoom meeting. The talk is co-hosted with the Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy (NUCRET). 

Speaker: Steve Visco
PolyPlus Battery Company
Date: October 26, 2021
Schedule
1830h ET                    Check in, Social
1835-1915h ET           Talk by Dr. Steve Visco
1915h ET                    Q&A, Discussion
1930h ET                    Adjourn
Price: Free 

Amy C. Marschilok, Ph.D.
Co-Director, Institute for Electrochemically Stored Energy
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
Adjunct Faculty, Materials Science and Chemical Engineering
Stony Brook University, U.S.

Energy Storage Division Manager and Scientist, Interdisciplinary Science Department
Brookhaven National Laboratory, U.S.

Date: August 25, 2021
Time: 1300h EDT
Sponsor: Hiden Analytical

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Veronica Augustyn
Associate Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
University Faculty Scholar
North Carolina State University, U.S.

Date: August 18, 2021
Time: 1000h EDT
Sponsor: Hiden Analytical

Ming Tang
Associate Professor
Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering
Rice University, U.S.

Date: July 28, 2021
Time: 1000h ET
Sponsor: Hiden Analytical

During battery (dis)charging, lithium (de)intercalation in electrodes is usually spatially non-uniform across multiple length scales. Such a phenomenon is a major impediment to battery performance and life as it causes energy under-utilization and induces over-(dis)charging, etc. While reaction heterogeneity is often attributed to mass transport limitation, this talk highlights the important roles of thermodynamic factors including elastic energy and phase transformations, the understanding of which is important for the development of mitigation strategies. Through combined modeling and characterization, how stress could destabilize the lithium (de)lithiation front in single crystalline and polycrystalline intercalation compounds is elucidated. Also, a fundamental driving force for dendrite growth on the lithium metal anode during electrodeposition is provided. Stress relief thus offers a promising approach to improving reaction uniformity at the particle level. At the cell level, the reaction distribution that within the porous electrode is strongly influenced by how the electrode’s equilibrium potential varies with the state of charge, is discovered. Two types of prototypical reaction behavior emerge from common electrode materials with significant impact on the thick electrode performance. This finding leads to an efficient analytical model for optimizing battery configurations in place of common battery cell simulations. (more…)