Batteries: Now and future

Increasing demand for batteries with applications in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and the grid present opportunities and challenges for rechargeable batteries. In this March seminar hosted by the MIT Energy Initiative, Yi Cui of Stanford University analyzed the nature of energy storage and the existing technology, and presented the promising future batteries, which can have significantly higher energy density, lower cost, better safety, and longer life. Novel battery chemistries and materials are key for a revolutionary change. This talk was presented on March 8, 2016 as part of the IHS Markit Seminar Series. About the speaker: Yi Cui is an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He received his Ph.D in Chemistry at Harvard University (2002) and his B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Science and Technology of China (1998). He was a Miller Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley before joining Stanford University as an Assistant Professor in 2005. His current research is on nanomaterials design for energy and the environment and two-dimensional materials. Yi Cui is an Associate Editor of Nano Letters. He is a co-director of the Bay Area Photovoltaic Consortium of the US Department of Energy. He is a highly prolific materials scientist and has published ~310 research papers, filed more than 40 patent applications and has given ~300 plenary/keynote/invited talks. In 2014, he was ranked number 1 in Materials Science by Thomson Reuters as “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.” He has received numerous awards including MRS Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Nanoscience (2015), Resonate Award for Sustainability (2015), Inaugural Nano Energy Award (2014), Blavatnik National Award Finalist (2014), Wilson Prize (2011), the Sloan Research Fellowship (2010), KAUST Investigator Award (2008), ONR Young Investigator Award (2008), MDV Innovators Award (2007), and the Technology Review World Top Young Innovator Award (2004). He has founded Amprius Inc. (2008) to commercialize breakthrough high-energy battery technology and co-founded 4C Air Inc. (2015) to commercialize the PM2.5 filtration technology from his lab. ___ The MIT Energy Initiative is MIT’s hub for energy research, education, and outreach. Learn more at http://energy.mit.edu.