MASTERING ION TRANSPORT IN LIQUIDS, SOLIDS AND INTERFACES FOR BATTERIES BEYOND LI-ION

Rechargeable Li-ion batteries form the main source of indispensable mobile power in our daily lives, from cell phones to electric mowers. More pressing is that the widespread integration of renewable, intermittent energy sources such as wind or solar is dependent upon the development of efficient large-scale energy storage systems for load-levelling the electric grid. As vital to everyday life, the wide-spread adoption of electric vehicles, along with new needs for powerful drones and home or medical robots hinge on the availability of intermediate scale, safe, low-cost energy storage batteries. In this context, it is widely acknowledged that traditional Li-ion batteries are starting to approach their limits.

This talk will present a perspective on the challenges, and opportunities for future strategies for electrochemical energy storage. Such step-changes require tailor-designed materials for the electrodes and electrolytes that will be the subject of the presentation, along with our unfolding understanding of the underlying materials and electrochemistry.

Speaker: Linda Nazar, University of Waterloo