The Opportunity in the Invisible: Integrating Theory, Synthesis, Characterization and System Validation for the Battery of Tomorrow

The more we known about batteries, the less we take them for granted. The significant research and development of electrochemical energy storage systems have allowed for practical and theoretical descriptions of ionic transport in liquids, solids and across interfaces. Advanced in-situ and in-operando characterization techniques have helped us to gain understanding of fundamental processes in battery materials or battery devices revealing intricate connections between those processes and electrochemical performance.

We are now tasked with an even taller order than just understanding a battery: we have to make a battery so well that we can take it for granted and it becomes "invisible". The performance gains enabled by the above understanding has created consumer batteries that surpass current power and energy densities metrics while lasting longer, all at lower cost.

To meet this challenge and maximize the current opportunity within batteries we must come together as a community to integrate our knowledge across the entire community from Theory to Realization to Safety. This Batteries GRC will focus on the big challenges and opportunities we have today utilizing all the information we have at hand and identifying the pathway forward. This requires the identification of still existing knowledge gaps, the transfer of information across different time and length scales, and the alignment with theory. This will be done by looking at state-of-the-art in-situ and in-operando characterization techniques featuring new and upcoming techniques which can help close knowledge gaps. At the same time, we will focus on theoretical perspectives on multiple length scales. In addition, strategies to improve existing battery concepts will be discussed in the context of new materials and material designs as well as new energy storage concepts.

A daily poster session will give opportunities for scientific discussion and a Gordon Research Seminar preceding the meeting will give students and Postdocs the chance to present their view on big challenges and opportunities and advances in battery research.