Energy Storage

CEI researchers are pushing the envelope on batteries that can store much more energy than current lithium-ion cells. The goal is to develop breakthrough, but low-cost, materials and battery designs that can fully utilize new high-performing materials. Our researchers are also exploring high-density lithium-negative electrodes along with a variety of next-generation positive-electrode materials. Every advance in clean energy materials requires new knowledge and improvements in battery operations and control. Safely getting the longest life and highest performance out of each material is a critical part of our research.

• Reducing electric vehicle range anxiety with machine learning models incorporating human behavior (preprint, March 2025)
• Assessing cathode–electrolyte interphases in batteries (Nature Energy, October 2024)
• High-viscosity phase inversion separators for freestanding and direct-on-electrode manufacturing in lithium-ion batteries (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, August 2024)
• Controlling the crystal packing and morphology of metal-organic macrocycles through side-chain modification (ACS Materials Letters, June 2024)
• Controlled large-area lithium deposition to reduce swelling of high-energy lithium metal pouch cells in liquid electrolytes (Nature Energy, March 2024)
• Two-dimensional patterning of mesoscale fibers using acoustophoresis (Materials & Design, October 2023)
• The TWh challenge: Next-generation batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles (Next Energy, March 2023)
• Future energy infrastructure, energy platform and energy storage (Nano Energy, December 2022)
• Are three-dimensional batteries beneficial? Analyzing historical data to elucidate performance advantages (ACS Energy Letters, November 2022)
• Should storage-centric tariffs be extended to commercial flexible demand? (2022 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting)
• High-throughput and data driven strategies for the design of deep-eutectic solvent electrolytes (Molecular Systems Design & Engineering, May 2022)
• The quest for stable potassium-ion battery chemistry (Advanced Materials, October 2021)
• All solid thick oxide cathodes based on low temperature sintering for high energy solid batteries (Energy Environ. Sci., July 2021)
• Evaluation of solar-powered battery systems for individuals using electricity-dependent medical devices in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria (Disaster Med Public Health Prep, June 2021)
• Multifunctional, self-healing polyelectrolyte gels for long-cycle-life, high-capacity sulfur cathodes in Li-S Batteries (OSTI FY2020 Final Report)
• Scalable continuous flow metal-organic framework (MOF) synthesis using supercritical CO₂ (ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, June 2020)
• Challenges in lithium metal anodes for solid-state batteries (ACS Energy Letters, February 2020)
• Laboratory-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy on a working pouch cell battery at industrially-relevant charging rates (Journal of the Electrochemical Society, July 2019)
• Kinetic surface control for improved magnesium-electrolyte interfaces for magnesium ion batteries (Energy Storage Materials, July 2019)
• Water‐lubricated intercalation in V₂O₅·nH₂O for high‐capacity and high‐rate aqueous rechargeable zinc batteries (Advanced Materials, November 2017)

• Lithium-ion batteries
• Flow batteries
• Electrolytes