Lithium-Ion Battery Research “Flowers”
Scientists improved the performance of a battery electrode material with a unique flower-shaped nanostructure.
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Energy Storage
New Technique Extends Next-Generation Lithium Metal Batteries
Columbia Engineering researchers have found that alkali metal additives, such as potassium ions, can prevent lithium microstructure proliferation during battery use. They used a combination of microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and computational modeling to discover that adding small amounts of potassium salt to a conventional lithium battery electrolyte produces unique chemistry at the lithium/electrolyte interface, and modulates degradation during battery operation, preventing the growth of microstructures and leading to safer, longer lasting batteries.
Berkeley Lab Names Noël Bakhtian to Lead New Energy Storage Center
Berkeley Lab has appointed Noël Bakhtian, previously a senior policy adviser in the White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) and currently director of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) at Idaho National Laboratory, as its inaugural director of the Berkeley Lab Energy Storage Center.
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Coming Down the Pike: Long-Haul Trucks Powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells
The Department of Energy has announced several major investments to take hydrogen fuel cells to the next level, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is set to play a leading role in providing the scientific expertise to help realize DOE’s ambitious goals.
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Faster, more efficient energy storage could stem from holistic study of layered materials
A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a novel, integrated approach to track energy-transporting ions within an ultra-thin material, which could unlock its energy storage potential leading toward faster charging, longer lasting devices.
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Toward an Ultrahigh Energy Density Capacitor
Researchers at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have demonstrated that a common material can be processed into a top-performing energy storage material. Their discovery could improve the efficiency, reliability, and robustness of personal electronics, wearable technologies, and car audio systems.
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Wayne State receives DOE grant to develop catalysts for renewable energy generation
This research will focus on the development of efficient electrochemical systems for energy generation and storage. The proposed work will have a significant impact on the development of efficient energy conversion systems.
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Safer, longer-lasting energy storage requires focus on interface of advanced materials
More studies at the interface of battery materials, along with increased knowledge of the processes at work, are unleashing a surge of knowledge needed to more quickly address the demand for longer-lasting portable electronics, electric vehicles and stationary energy storage for the electric grid.
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Finding Balance Between Green Energy Storage, Harvesting
Generating power through wind or solar energy is dependent on the abundance of the right weather conditions, making finding the optimal strategy for storage crucial to the future of sustainable energy usage. Research published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy identifies key indicators that will help achieve balance between green energy storage capacity and harvesting capability and determine the energy potential of a region.
Read morePeering into Functioning Batteries with Sooyeon Hwang
Using electron microscopes, Hwang—a materials scientist at Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)—characterizes the structure and chemistry of operating battery electrode materials.
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Esther Takeuchi on Batteries
In the First-Person Science series, scientists describe how they made significant discoveries over years of research. Esther Takeuchi is a professor at Stony Brook University and the director of the Center for Mesoscale Transport Properties, a Department of Energy Office of Science Energy Frontier Research Center.
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Making a Material World Better, Faster Now: Q&A With Materials Project Director Kristin Persson
Berkeley Lab’s Kristin Persson shares her thoughts on what inspired her to launch the Materials Project online database, the future of materials research and machine learning, and how she found her own way into a STEM career.
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