Multifunctional Next Generation Energy Storage

Rechargeablebatteries have been considered as the most promising disruptive technology in alleviatingreliance on fossil fuels for transportation and power generation, allowing oursocieties’ transition to a sustainable energy future. State-of-the-art lithium-ionbatteries have been established as a dominant technology in daily life, poweringsmall devices such as smart watches and tablets. However, there are nextgeneration options that have the potential to have better performance, greatersafety, and lower cost than current lithium-ion systems. In addition, futuretechnologies will benefit from the efficiency advantages of multifunctionaltechnologies. For example, a battery that can be integrated into a structuralcomponent of a vehicle eliminates the need to design and install bothcomponents independently, saving both materials and weight. In this project, wepropose a new collaboration between experts from Chemical Engineering,Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry, to develop high-performance, low-cost,and multifunctional next generation batteries that are suitable to work underbroad working temperatures, and for a diversity of applications. Torealize such a breakthrough, research will pursue appropriate electrolytes and anode/cathodematerials structures. The research groups will collaborate to develop new typesof metal oxide cathode materials, non-corrosive and non-flammable electrolyteswhich possesses a large working potential window and a wide working temperature,ordered porous carbon/metal oxide composites, and integrate these materialsinto flexible/bendable designs, allowing the resulting batteries to be used inbroad applications.