Hassel and Marianne Ledbetter MatSE Colloquium - "Reinventing batteries for a sustainable future"

Sustainable transportation, integration of renewable electricity into grids and powering AI computing centers call for innovation of next generation of batteries which are energy dense, durable, safe and scalable. To address these opportunities, my lab has been conducted research over the past 20 years on reinventing batteries through nano and materials science innovation. Our progress on developing silicon anodes, lithium metal anodes and sulfur cathodes could enable 2-4 times higher energy density than the existing lithium ion batteries. Our development of aqueous electrolyte-based batteries offers potential game-changing solutions for stationary energy storage. To understand the fundamentals of batteries, we need new tools and I will highlight our pioneering development of cryo electron microscopy and cryo XPS. I will also discuss the translation of lab innovations to markets.