Nanomaterials for large-scale and low-cost energy storage

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In order to meet the Paris Agreement's target of limiting temperature increases due to global warming to 1.5°C, we must completely eliminate global CO2 emissions by 2050. Significantly expanding wind and solar energy generation is a central way to do so, but the intermittency of these energy sources poses a challenge: underproduction at night means that fossil-fuel energy generators must continue to operate, and overproduction during the day results in large quantities of energy being discarded. These factors limit the economic viability of increasing the capacity of renewable energy sources. Large-scale energy storage promises to be a viable solution to this problem and replacing the existing combustion engine transportation fleet with electric vehicles will cut an additional 14% of global CO2 emissions. However, developing high-capacity energy storage scalable to global levels requires new cost-efficient materials and eliminating the reliance on scarce and costly metals. The proposed research aims to find new material compositions that will improve battery performance and reduce their cost. Specifically, we will work on developing improved, cobalt-free cathodes and anodes for the current generation of batteries, as well as new battery architectures using solid-state electrolytes and non-lithium ions. The goal is to achieve a two-fold reduction in cost, increased energy density, faster charging speed, and enhanced safety. Solution-based synthetic methods will allow for a high-throughput combinatorial search that will be corroborated by extensive materials and device characterization. We will supplement the experiments by machine learning algorithms for data analysis and design of experiments to further boost the speed of materials discovery. Complementary computational models will provide insights into structural properties and chemical reactions at the atomic level. The proposed research will place Canada at an economic advantage in the emerging green economy. The global market for energy storage is expected to increase from USD 30B in 2017 to USD 140B by 2026. The increase will primarily be driven by electric vehicles and grid storage for solar energy. The proposed program will train students at the forefront of high-impact research, including device design, materials synthesis and characterization, and in close collaboration with leading international experts. It will also provide students with a hands-on involvement in the use of computational techniques, particularly, machine learning, which has become an essential tool in modern research and IT.