Short Course at ECS meetings Designing better materials for rechargeable batteries requires understanding of the many physical processes that determine their performance. The aim of the course is to provide a foundation for understanding key materials science and engineering issues underpinning the behaviors of electrode and electrolyte materials for rechargeable batteries. With the relevant examples, the course will further illustrate how the direction integration of first principles computation with advanced experimental characterization can accelerate the pace of discovering and optimizing...
Continue reading

Batteries made of lemons and oranges have been gracing grade school laboratories for years. In addition to fruit-based batteries, now you can make a battery using spit. The new paper-based bacteria-powered battery can be activated with a single drop of saliva, generating enough power to power an LED light for around 20 minutes. “The battery includes specialized bacterial cells, called exoelectrogens, which have the ability to harvest electrons externally to the outside electrode,” Seokheun Choi, co-author of the new study,…
Continue reading

The first ever ECS Battery Student Slam symposium took place at 231st ECS Meeting in New Orleans, providing young researchers a new experience in presenting oral presentations at ECS meetings. After the success of the inaugural symposium, the Battery Student Slam is set to make its second appearance at the upcoming 232nd ECS Meeting in National Harbor, MD, October 1-5. “We’re trying to create a symposium format that’s student-friendly,” says Brett Lucht, lead organizer of the symposium at the 231st…
Continue reading

In an effort to expand South Australia’s renewable energy supply, the state has looked to business magnate Elon Musk to build the world’s largest lithium-ion battery. The goal of the project is to deliver a grid-scale battery with the ability to stabilize intermittency issues in the area as well as reduce energy prices. An energy grid is the central component of energy generation and usage. By changing the type of energy that powers that grid in moving from fossil fuels…
Continue reading

Short Course at ECS meetings This course covers the application of thermal analysis techniques to the design and development of batteries and battery materials. The requirements for portable, rechargeable energy sources are demanding. New and innovative battery materials are required to support the broadening role rechargeable cells play in our everyday life. Thermal Analysis techniques such as Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) are fundamental aids in designing materials for high performance and safety. Li-ion cells have also...
Continue reading

Researchers from Argonne National Laboratory and Oregon State University have developed new cathode architecture for lithium-sulfur batteries. The team, led by ECS member Khalil Amine, incorporated graphene and sulfide nanoparticles to improve electrical conductivity in the promising lithium-sulfur batteries. Lithium-sulfur batteries hold major promise as researchers explore the range of energy storage technologies. With an extremely high theoretical energy density, these batteries have the potential to store up to five times as much energy as today’s best lithium-ion battery. But…
Continue reading

In an effort to increase security on airplanes, the U.S. government is considering expanding a ban on lithium-ion based devices from cabins of commercial flights, opting instead for passengers to transport laptops and other electronic devices in their checked luggage in the cargo department. However, statistics from the Federal Aviation Administration suggest that storing those devices in the cargo area could increase the risk of fires. The FAA reports that batteries were responsible for nine airline fires in 2014. The…
Continue reading

In its first “Science for Solving Society’s Problems Challenge,” ECS partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to leverage the brainpower of the many scientists in electrochemistry and solid state science and technology that regularly attend ECS meetings. From this project, seven presentations were selected, with a total of $360,000 awarded to pursue research projects addressing world sanitation problems. The powerPAD, a collaboration among Neus Sabaté, Juan Pablo Esquivel, and Erik Kjeang, was one of the projects selected to…
Continue reading