Abstract:
Electrochemical energy storage especially lithium-based battery technology enables electrification of the transportation sector and significantly improved stationary grid storage, hence is critical to developing clean-energy economy in the US. Today’s batteries are, however, mostly manufactured outside the US. Developing IP-retaining next-generation battery materials and technologies provides a unique opportunity to establish a strong domestic manufacturing footing. Identifying and addressing material challenges at industry-relevant scales and validation of new battery chemistries under realistic conditions critically determine the timeliness and success of materials development, manufacturing, and technology translation from academic research to industry applications in the US. There remains to be a large gap between academic research, materials scale-up/manufacturing, and device level performance optimization.
This talk will review the challenges, opportunities, and approaches for accelerating R&D and manufacturing processes of next generation materials and battery technologies. I will highlight the importance of interdisciplinary research in electrochemical energy storage and emphasize the necessity to identify and address scientific challenges at relevant scales/conditions. Two specific examples will be discussed: (1) an integrated electrochemistry and engineering approach to utilize lithium metal anode and enable high-energy rechargeable lithium metal battery, (2) the study of single crystal Ni-rich cathode for Li-ion and Li metal batteries. Scaling up single crystal cathode will be used as an example to shed some light on the importance of integrated science and engineering methodology for battery materials development and manufacturing.
Biography:
Dr. Jie Xiao is currently a Battelle Fellow and she leads Battery Materials & System Group (75+ staff members) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). She is also a PNNL-University of Washington distinguished faculty fellow. Dr. Xiao’s research spans from fundamental research, battery materials scaleup and manufacturing to cell fabrication and engineering for vehicle electrification and grid energy storage. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal papers and been named top 1% Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher since 2017. She holds seventeen patents in the area of energy storage area and seven of them have been licensed to industry. She is the recipient of a few awards such as US Department of Energy’s E. O. Lawrence Award, Battelle Distinguished Inventor and Fellow of The Electrochemical Society etc.