WashU Expert: 2023 will be the year of the battery

Major advances in battery technologies will bring us a big step closer this year to large-scale renewable energy goals, international energy independence and a big reduction in greenhouse gases, according to an expert from Washington University in St. Louis. “One of the major challenges to a fully renewable-energy future of wind and solar power is energy storage,” said Michael Wysession, a professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St.

The Race is On: Nevada is in the Driver’s Seat for Burgeoning Lithium Industry. UNLV economic geologist talks lithium battery supply chain, green energy, and self-sustainability

The ‘Lithium-Ion Battery State’ may not have the same ring to it as ‘Battle-Born’ or ‘Silver State,’ but the reality is that Nevada could soon be a leader in the lithium battery supply chain – potentially giving the U.S. an edge in the arms race for the in-demand metal that’s the key to powering everything from your cell phone to electric vehicles.

Editors’ Choice—Quantification of the Impact of Chemo-Mechanical Degradation on the Performance and Cycling Stability of NCM-Based Cathodes in Solid-State Li-Ion Batteries

The use of solid electrolytes in lithium batteries promises to increase their power and energy density, but several challenges still need to be overcome. One critical issue is capacity-fading, commonly ascribed to various degradation reactions in the composite cathode. Chemical,…

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.

MTU engineers examine lithium battery defects

Lithium dendrites cause poor performance and even explosions in batteries with flammable liquid electrolytes. How these dendrites grow, even with a solid electrolytes, is still a mystery, but materials engineers at MTU and Oak Ridge study the conditions that enable dendrites and how to stop them.