Research and educational activities in this topic area will focus on energy materials and battery storage systems to bridge the gap between electric vehicles and traditional fossil-fuel-based vehicles.
The focus will be particularly on lifespan and reliability, the convenience of charging (refueling), speed, safety, cost, efficiency, knowledge, and the advancement of workforce talent. The Cell Chemistry and Materials group will research advanced battery materials and cell technologies to obtain high energy densities (>300 miles range) that can be fully charged within 15 min, cost-effective (<$30 K, 300 miles), long lifetime (>12 years, >150 K miles), and safe to operate in a wide temperature range. For smart grids and second-life use of battery packs to be viable, cell technologies will need to support more than 5000 cycles of charging and discharging.