Advanced Battery Research for a Future with Sustainable Energy, Mobility, and Water

为了实现集团的使命，实现可持续能源、移动性和水的未来，我们研究高能锂离子电池（LIB），开发长寿命锂金属电池（LMB），并创造出革命性的高能效水淡化设备，即所谓的“脱盐电池”（DSB）。先进的锂离子电池（LIB）-电池电动汽车（BEV）的大众市场采用主要受到电池组成本的阻碍，今天仍然占BEV成本的50%左右。为了降低电池成本，我们将使用成本较低的材料，通过充电到更高的电压来提高电池能量，并延长电池寿命。具体而言，我们将构建世界上第一台多通道在线电化学质谱仪（multi-OEMS），用于实时量化电池中产生的气体。我们将使用这种独特的工具来准确地量化-第一次-新型无钴阴极的气体释放，这阻止了它们在商业电池中的使用。锂金属电池（LMB）-锂金属阳极作为一种将可充电电池的能量密度提高约50%的技术，受到行业的广泛关注。在所谓的“全固态电池”中采用聚合物或陶瓷电解质与锂金属阳极的组合受到可制造性和成本的阻碍。我们追求一种安全、高能LMB的替代路线：先进的液体电解质与无阳极电池的结合，不需要过量的锂，因为所有的锂在寿命开始时都储存在阴极材料中。这种“高风险，高回报”的研究问题可能会导致超远程BEV，电动卡车和飞机电池能量密度的突破。海水淡化电池（DSB）-目前还没有节能的海水淡化技术来应对日益严重的淡水短缺问题。在我们的实验室中，我们将联合收割机电池技术与对环境主题的浓厚兴趣相结合，因此我们将证明将盐离子嵌入晶体主体结构中-这是锂离子电池领域众所周知的概念，但在水脱盐方面是新的-可以成为淡水生产的突破性技术。这种“电池脱盐”方法可以实现比现有电容去离子高3倍以上的除盐能力，就像锂离子电池可以存储比电容器多得多的能量。这项研究将使高素质的人才进入重要的水净化工业部门。我们对先进电池研究的关注本质上有助于跨学科研究，并欢迎来自各种背景和性别的学生。我们的三个主题领域（LIB，LMB和DSB）都要求电化学卓越，但反过来又为三个不同的社会挑战提供解决方案：清洁能源，移动性和水。

"Advanced Battery Research for a Future with Sustainable Energy, Mobility, and Water" We research high-energy lithium-ion batteries (LIB), develop long-lived lithium metal batteries (LMB) and create revolutionary devices for energy-efficient water desalination, so-called "desalination batteries" (DSB) in order to fulfill our group's mission to bring us closer to a future with sustainable energy, mobility, and water. Advanced lithium-ion batteries (LIB) - The mass market adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is mostly hindered by the battery pack cost, which today still makes for ~50% of the BEV cost. To bring down battery cost we will use lower cost materials, raise the cell energy by charging to higher voltages, and extend battery lifetime. Specifically, we will construct the world's first multi-channel on-line electrochemical mass spectrometer (multi-OEMS) for real-time quantification of gases generated in battery cells. We will employ this unique tool to accurately quantify - for the first time - the gas release of novel Co-free cathodes, which prevents their use in commercial cells. Lithium metal batteries (LMB) - The lithium metal anode receives considerable attention from industry as a technology to increase the energy density of rechargeable batteries by ~50%. Employing polymer or ceramic electrolytes in combination with a lithium metal anode in so-called "all-solid-state batteries" is hindered by manufacturability and cost. We pursue an alternative route towards safe, high-energy LMBs: The combination of advanced liquid electrolytes with anode-free cells that require no excess lithium since all lithium is stored in the cathode material at beginning of life. This "high risk, high reward" research problem can lead to a breakthrough in battery energy density for ultra-long range BEVs, electric trucks and aircraft. Desalination batteries (DSB) - There is currently no energy-efficient desalination technology to fight the growing problem of freshwater scarcity. In our lab we combine battery knowhow with a keen interest in environmental topics, so we will demonstrate that intercalation of salt ions into crystalline host structures - a concept well known from the lithium-ion battery field, but new in water desalination - can be a groundbreaking technology for freshwater production. This "battery desalination" approach can achieve more than 3x higher capacity for salt removal than established capacitive deionization, much like a lithium-ion battery that can store a lot more energy than a capacitor. This research will allow highly qualified personnel to enter the important water purity industrial sector. Our focus on advanced battery research inherently lends itself to interdisciplinary research and welcomes students from all backgrounds and gender. Our three topic areas (LIB, LMB, and DSB) all demand excellence in electrochemistry, but in turn offer solutions to three distinct societal challenges: clean energy, mobility and water.