On the Road to Better Solid-State Batteries

A team from Berkeley Lab and Florida State University has designed a new blueprint for solid-state batteries that are less dependent on specific chemical elements. Their work could advance efficient, affordable solid-state batteries for electric cars.

Nanoengineers Develop a Predictive Database for Materials

Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering have developed an AI algorithm that predicts the structure and dynamic properties of any material—whether existing or new—almost instantaneously. Known as M3GNet, the algorithm was used to develop matterverse.ai, a database of more than 31 million yet-to-be-synthesized materials with properties predicted by machine learning algorithms. Matterverse.ai facilitates the discovery of new technological materials with exceptional properties.

Rensselaer Researchers Propose an Affordable and Sustainable Alternative to Lithium-Ion Batteries

Concerns regarding scarcity, high prices, and safety regarding the long-term use of lithium-ion batteries has prompted a team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to propose a greener, more efficient, and less expensive energy storage alternative.

How to Make Lithium-ion Batteries Invincible

Berkeley Lab scientists have made significant progress in developing battery cathodes using a new class of materials that provide batteries with the same if not higher energy density than conventional lithium-ion batteries but can be made of inexpensive and abundant metals. Known as DRX, which stands for disordered rocksalts with excess lithium, this novel family of materials was invented less than 10 years ago and allows cathodes to be made without nickel or cobalt.

Creating Higher Energy Density Lithium-Ion Batteries for Renewable Energy Applications

Lithium-ion batteries that function as high-performance power sources for renewable applications, such as electric vehicles and consumer electronics, require electrodes that deliver high energy density without compromising cell lifetimes. In the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A, researchers investigate the origins of degradation in high energy density LIB cathode materials and develop strategies for mitigating those degradation mechanisms and improving LIB performance.

Fluorine recycling for lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries contain salts rich in fluorine, which decompose in humid air to toxic, highly corrosive hydrogen fluoride. The hazardous nature of this substance makes recycling more difficult and more expensive. A research project entitled “Fluoribat” is now being launched at Empa to solve this problem. This could help to make the life cycle of a rechargeable battery less expensive and at the same time safer.

West Virginia researchers use neutrons to study materials for power plant improvements

Researchers from West Virginia University are using neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to study novel materials called high entropy oxides, or HEOs. Their goal is to collect insights into how the atoms in the HEOs bind together and whether the materials can be used to develop useful applications to improve power plant operations.

CFN User Spotlight: Nik Singh Seeks Better Battery Materials

Since 2011, Nikhilendra (Nik) Singh has been a senior scientist in the Materials Research Department at the Toyota Research Institute of North America. His quest to find alternatives to lithium-ion batteries has brought him to Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN).

Charging Up the Development of Lithium-Ion Batteries

On October 9, the Nobel committee recognized work in developing lithium-ion batteries. These batteries have enabled a huge number of advances, including mobile phones and plug-in electric vehicles. The DOE Office of Science is proud to have supported research by Drs. Whittingham and Goodenough and to have funded research by many scientists who have built upon their innovations.