energy

Lower-income communities across the United States have long been much slower to adopt solar power than their affluent neighbors, even when local and federal agencies offer tax breaks and other financial incentives.But, commercial and industrial rooftops, such as those atop retail buildings and factories, offer a big opportunity to reduce what researchers call the “solar equity gap,” according to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-024-01485-y" data-extlink="" target="_blank">a new study</a>, published in Nature Energy and led by researchers at Stanford University.“The solar equity gap is a serious problem in disadvantaged communities, in part because of income inequalities, but also because residential solar isn’t usually practical for people who don’t own their homes,” said <a href="https://profiles.stanford.edu/ram-rajagopal" data-extlink="" target="_blank">Ram Rajagopal</a>, senior author of the study and associate professor of <a href="https://cee.stanford.edu/" data-extlink="" target="_blank">civil and environmental engineering</a> and of <a href="https://ee.stanford.edu/" data-extlink="" target="_blank">electrical engineering</a> at Stanford. “This new study shows that commercial and industrial properties have the capacity to host solar resources to fill in part of that gap.”<h2>Untapped resources</h2>First, the bad news. The researchers found that non-residential rooftops generate 38% less electricity in disadvantaged communities than in wealthier ones. That gap, which is mainly because of lower deployment in poorer areas, has widened over the past two decades. Nevertheless, this gap is significantly lower than that of residential solar in these neighborhoods.The good news, the researchers say, is that non-residential buildings have large unused capacity to produce solar power for their own benefit and to supply the communities around them. In low-income communities, commercial enterprises may be more responsive to government incentives for solar power than households are. <a href="https://engineering.stanford.edu/magazine/solar-panels-are-largely-confined-wealthy-americans" target="_blank">An earlier study</a> by the same researchers found that residential customers in disadvantaged communities, who may have fewer financial resources and often don’t own their homes, show less response to tax breaks and other financial inducements.“Using Stanford’s <a href="https://deepsolar.web.app/" data-extlink="" target="_blank">DeepSolar</a> database, we estimated that solar arrays on non-residential buildings could meet more than a fifth of annual residential electricity demand in almost two-thirds of disadvantaged communities,” said <a href="https://de.linkedin.com/in/moritz-wussow-35082453?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F" data-extlink="" target="_blank">Moritz Wussow</a>, the study’s lead author.“Also, the raw cost of that power would be less in many communities than the residential rates that local electric utilities charge,” said Wussow, who was a visiting student researcher in Rajagopal’s lab group in 2022 and 2023.To quantify the distribution of non-residential solar power installations, the researchers used satellite images and artificial intelligence to identify the number and size of rooftop solar arrays in 72,739 census tracts across the United States. About one-third of those tracts are deemed disadvantaged by the U.S. government.The team tracked non-residential solar deployment as well as the amount of unused rooftops that would be good candidates for solar installation from 2006 through 2016 and then again for 2022. They then calculated the average annual cost of producing solar electricity in each area, based on the amount of local sun exposure and other variables. The costs ranged from about 6.4 cents per kilowatt-hour in sun-drenched New Mexico to almost 11 cents in Alaska. But those costs were lower than residential electricity rates in many of those areas – even in many northern states.<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-zanocco-582a031a" data-extlink="" target="_blank">Chad Zanocco</a>, a co-author of the new study and a postdoctoral fellow in civil and environmental engineering, noted that getting the power to residential areas would include other costs, such as battery storage and the construction of microgrids.“We estimate that battery storage would increase total system costs by about 50%, but even that would be practical in almost two-thirds of the disadvantaged communities we studied,” Zanocco said.<h2>Economies of scale</h2>If commercial and industrial solar arrays can feed their surplus electricity into local power grids, the researchers write, lower-income residents could gain access through community subscriptions rather than by building their own rooftop panels. Commercial and industrial sites also offer greater economies of scale, compared to individual household solar panels. Another big advantage is that non-residential power customers could also be highly sensitive to tax incentives and other government inducements, leading to greater adoption.Further lowering barriers, the researchers noted, is the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 which has provided billions of dollars for states and local communities for clean-energy infrastructure. That money has already reduced the cost of new microgrids.“Beyond reducing carbon emissions and slowing climate change, increased access to solar power would offer tangible local benefits to lower-income communities,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhecheng-wang-96287b132/" data-extlink="" target="_blank">Zhecheng Wang</a>, a co-author and a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.“This would promote local clean and low-cost energy generation, which would also increase the resilience from outages and reduce the pollution caused by fossil fuel power plants – many of which are located in low-income areas.”Additional Stanford co-authors on the paper are:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajanieprabha" data-extlink="" target="_blank">Rajanie Prabha</a>, a PhD student in Civil &amp; Environmental Engineering;&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.stanford.edu/june-flora" data-extlink="" target="_blank">June Flora</a>, a senior research scholar in Civil &amp; Environmental Engineering, and in Stanford’s School of Medicine; and&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.stanford.edu/arun-majumdar" data-extlink="" target="_blank">Arun Majumdar</a>, dean of Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, professor in the departments of Energy Science &amp; Engineering, of Mechanical Engineering, and of Photon Science at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and senior fellow at the Precourt Institute and Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Civil &amp; Environmental Engineering is a joint department of the&nbsp;<a href="https://engineering.stanford.edu/" target="_blank">Stanford School of Engineering</a>&nbsp;and the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.is.uni-freiburg.de/mitarbeiter-en/team/dirk-neumann" data-extlink="" target="_blank">Dirk Neumann</a>, a professor of information systems research at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg, Germany, is also a co-author. Ram Rajagopal is also co-director of the Bits &amp; Watts Initiative at the&nbsp;<a href="http://energy.stanford.edu/" data-extlink="" target="_blank">Precourt Institute for Energy</a>, which is part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://sustainability.stanford.edu/" data-extlink="" target="_blank">Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability</a>.

What measures can be taken to reduce the "solar equity gap"? | Image courtesy of Hans Wilschut

A new study finds that factory and warehouse rooftops offer a big untapped opportunity to help disadvantaged communities bridge the solar energy divide.

Stanford-led research shows how commercial rooftop solar power could bring affordable clean energy to low-income homes

As electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing expands, so too does the demand for the materials that are essential to their production. Today’s EVs employ several battery technologies with different combinations of materials. Around the world, governments are developing policies to ensure that these materials are readily available and to mitigate supply chain disruption risks.In a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46418-1.epdf?sharing_token=4_W4TX-XN5hf4pPgys28ENRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0PnOf5EcsU7quxpqwJX9Xvx1Kknep4kdCq_oWx29xEFTtXCjwgDK1nPtYAm1mMCWM14HjSs6N-aU6tNprpaHHnVJjkVY3-GfWzbWhoDa3vv-COI28ukJIlSa6QTFEIpTSQ%3D" rel="noopener" target="_blank">recent publication in Nature Communications</a>, a team of researchers from the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University provides analysis of the relationship between electric vehicle battery chemistry and supply chain vulnerability for four critical minerals—lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese—across particular countries that are key contributors to production. The primary lithium ion battery chemistries used in EVs today are lithium iron phosphate (LFP), nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), and nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA), which each depend on varying amounts of these minerals. The authors, Anthony Cheng, <a href="https://engineering.cmu.edu/directory/bios/fuchs-erica.html" target="_blank">Erica Fuchs</a>, <a href="https://engineering.cmu.edu/directory/bios/karplus-valerie.html" target="_blank">Valerie Karplus</a>, and <a href="https://engineering.cmu.edu/directory/bios/michalek-jeremy.html" target="_blank">Jeremy Michalek</a>, find that effectively reducing vulnerabilities to disruption related to any particular country may require addressing multiple layers of upstream supply relationships.<blockquote>We need to anticipate new potential supply chain vulnerabilities so that we can act strategically to mitigate risk.<cite>Jeremy Michalek, Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy</cite></blockquote>“In the 1970s, several global oil supply disruptions sent shock waves through the economy, with motorists waiting in long lines to fill up,” says Michalek, a professor of engineering and public policy and mechanical engineering and who also serves as director of <a href="https://www.cmu.edu/cit/veg/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Carnegie Mellon’s Vehicle Electrification Group</a>. “As we shift away from gasoline toward electric vehicles, we need to anticipate new potential supply chain vulnerabilities so that we can act strategically to mitigate risk.”By mapping the supply chains of the four critical materials, calculating a vulnerability index, and using a network flow optimization to bound uncertainties, the study finds that production at multiple supply chain steps is highly concentrated in single countries. In particular, production at multiple stages of the supply chain across battery technologies occurs in China, primarily due to its role in materials refining and cathode production.“Our approach provides a new measure of energy security as we move beyond fossil fuels,” says Karplus, a professor of engineering and public policy and associate director of the <a href="https://www.cmu.edu/energy/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation</a>.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1712184833930-0319-em-ev-supply-chain.png" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">A Sankey diagram for global flows of lithium that available data suggest are involved in battery material supply chains.&nbsp;Source:&nbsp;Nature CommunicationsA supply chain disruption centered in one country could occur for any number of reasons, ranging from geopolitical strategy to political or economic instability, a natural disaster, or another pandemic. Last year, China restricted exports of graphite, another key material used in batteries. Countries that make EVs, like the U.S., have an interest in diversifying supply chains to reduce disruption risks such as this.Additionally, the research finds that the levels of vulnerability vary based on the lithium-ion battery chemistry. For example, the LFP chemistry may currently be more vulnerable to supply disruptions in China, but NMC chemistries depend on more critical materials, resulting in more pathways for disruptions from other countries to affect the supply chain, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo or South Africa.As efforts are made to diversify the supply chain and incentivize domestic production, the authors note that a comprehensive approach must be considered beyond battery cell and pack production, including minerals extraction, processing, and component production.“The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act provides major incentives to diversify the supply chain and build more batteries in the U.S.,” says Michalek. “We’re actively working to analyze how this policy may incentivize changes in different parts of the supply chain and in battery technology.”The findings in this research can be useful to policymakers as they seek to identify specific bottlenecks, key relationships, and potential levers for reduction of supply chain vulnerabilities.

A recent study analyzes the relationship between electric vehicle battery chemistry and supply chain vulnerability for four critical minerals—lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese—across particular countries that are key contributors to production.

Anticipating and reducing EV battery supply disruptions

Powerful, safe and environmentally friendly – sodium-ion batteries have many advantages over conventional batteries. Since they do not contain critical raw materials such as lithium or cobalt, they could also make applications such as stationary energy storage and electromobility much cheaper. However, there is currently a lack of the necessary energy storage materials for production. The start-up Litona, founded at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), wants to produce them on an industrial scale. From April 22nd to 26th, 2024, Litona will be presenting itself at the KIT stand at “Energy Solutions” (Hall 13, Stand C76) at the Hannover Messe.&nbsp;Prussian White, a “chemical relative” of the well-known dye Prussian Blue, is essentially based on sodium, iron and manganese. “As an energy storage material, it can be used on the cathode, i.e. the positive pole of a sodium-ion battery,” says Sebastian Büchele from the Institute for Applied Materials at KIT and founder of Litona. “Such batteries are cheap and all the raw materials they contain are widely available. I am convinced that we will soon be able to use them on a mass scale in electric vehicles and grid storage.” The question, however, is who produces them. The European industry is facing a major problem here. “It is currently difficult even for research institutions to obtain Prussian White in sufficient quantities. Hardly any company in Europe produces it,” reports the scientist. “Research and transfer of future-oriented sodium-ion technology will be extremely slowed down.”<h2 id="isPasted">Prussian White for mass production</h2>Since Büchele also wanted to research sodium ion technology, he decided to synthesize Prussian white himself. This work at KIT not only resulted in a high-quality cathode material, but also an innovative process for its production. With the aim of serving a larger market, he founded the start-up Litona together with the chemist Tom Bötticher. “Competitors had problems scaling the production of Prussian White analogues,” says Büchele. “We believe we have solved this. We have also developed methods to further enhance our material.”<h2>Opportunity for European industry</h2>To validate the scaling steps and optimize the material for use in next-generation batteries, Litona used KIT's infrastructure. In the meantime, the two founders are already working on setting up their own state-of-the-art production facility. “We consciously chose Germany as a location,” emphasizes co-founder Bötticher. “We believe in the potential of European battery production. When it comes to lithium-ion batteries, Asia has been ahead in recent years. Sodium-ion technology is now a huge opportunity for a new beginning in Europe. We don’t just want to watch.”<h2>Litona at the Hannover Messe 2024</h2>The start-up Litona will be presenting itself at this year's Hannover Messe from April 22nd to 26th at the KIT stand at “Energy Solutions” (Hall 13, Stand C76).<hr><h2>About Litona</h2>Litona was founded in August 2023 with the aim of supplying the European industry with sodium-ion energy storage materials. However, the young company does not want to rule out developing its own sodium-ion batteries in the future. The founders are currently in discussions with well-known investors from the deep tech scene.&nbsp;Further information:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.litona-batteries.de/" target="_blank">https://www.litona-batteries.de/</a>

Litona founder Sebastian Büchele shows a bottle of the energy storage material Preußisch Weiß for sodium-ion batteries. (Photo: Markus Breig, KIT)

Litona, a spin-off from KIT, produces the cathode material Prussian White for next-generation batteries

Battery material for the sodium-ion revolution

In this episode, we discuss a breakthrough from an EPFL researcher which promises to finally make hydrogen a feasible source of energy by extracting it efficiently from ammonia. 

Podcast: How Hydrogen Will Replace Batteries

Several technologies have suddenly come into the spotlight in measures against global warming. Typical examples of these technologies include solar and wind power generation, electric vehicles (EVs), power semiconductors, and fuel cells. Among these technologies, batteries have been viewed as important and widely used for some time. However, batteries are an electrical component whose importance has risen to another level in recent years (Fig. 1).<h2>Larger-Capacity, Higher-Voltage, and Longer-Life Batteries Are Sought for EVs and Energy Storage Systems (ESSs)</h2>Batteries, long used in toys, flashlights and other devices, are now an indispensable source of power for notebooks, smartphones, and other mobile devices. However, devices and equipment that were previously used by burning fossil fuels are now being electrified. Moreover, the use of renewable energy is being promoted. Against this backdrop, new usage scenarios for batteries are rapidly expanding. A strong desire has now emerged for batteries with greater performance, reliability, and safety than ever before.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1711015890630-bms-img0001.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Fig. 1: Batteries Are Becoming Increasingly Important as a Technology That Boosts the Achievement of Carbon NeutralityFor example, extremely advanced batteries are sought when electrifying the means of mobility that have conventionally used powerful engines as sources of power and heat such as EVs, electric ships, and airplanes. Those batteries need to meet all advanced requirements including a larger capacity to lengthen the continuous use time, higher input/output to enable rapid charging/discharging from small to large power, a longer cycle life with no deterioration over a long time even when repeatedly charged/discharged, and improved safety to allow use even under various temperatures, vibrations, shocks, and other environmental conditions.However, even with the batteries used in new scenarios like such EVs, the basic structure and materials used are not that different from conventional batteries used in smartphones. Lithium ion secondary batteries, the most user-friendly batteries from various perspectives including capacity, output, and life span, are being used without major improvements.The operating voltage of each lithium ion secondary battery cell (the smallest element of a battery) is approximately 4 V when fully charged and approximately 2 V when discharged. The operating voltage is also similar in batteries for smartphones. Moreover, the capacity realized by one cell is approximately 26 Ah for those installed in the latest EVs. The capacity of batteries for smartphones is approximately 3 Ah. Certainly, that means they are a little large. Nevertheless, we can still say they are small considering that they are used to power heavy machines like EVs.&nbsp;In fact, EV motors are driven at a high-voltage power of 400 V to 800 V. The capacity of the batteries that must be installed in EVs to obtain a practical traveling range is large at 50 kWh or more. Combining 1,000 or more cells and then arranging them in a series or parallel realizes the specifications of batteries for EVs. Batteries that have been given a higher voltage and larger capacity by combining a certain number of cells are called modules. Furthermore, a collection of multiple modules is referred to as a pack.It is necessary to resolve certain issues to adopt this method of combining small cells to make large batteries.In general, there are individual differences in the capacity, input/output, and other characteristics of each cell. Those differences arise from variations in materials and manufacturing. When cells are charged/discharged repeatedly, individual differences also arise in their strength against stress from the environment such as charging/discharging. Therefore, the individual differences of each cell tend to become larger. These individual differences have a major impact on the life span, output, and other characteristics of modules comprising many cells and the pack overall. That is because the characteristics of the module or pack will conform to the characteristics of the cell with the weakest performance and stress resistance among those used. Generally, there are fluctuations (referred to as "stress strength") in the temperature of the environment surrounding each cell and the voltage and current during charging/discharging. Therefore, the less resistant the cell, the higher the degree of deterioration. In particular, if the capacity is reduced, the power fails, or another problem arises due to over-charging (over-discharging), overheating, and internal short circuits, it may become impossible to control or drive the vehicle. That may even lead to an accident.<h2>What Is a Battery Management System – a Key System to Effectively Use Batteries?</h2>Against this background, it is necessary to set up an operating environment where it is possible to minimize the deterioration of each cell to maintain the performance of the modules comprising a combination of multiple cells and the packs and ensure the safe use of them over a longer period. A Battery Management System (BMS) is the control system that plays the role of closely monitoring and controlling the operation and status of each cell to achieve that purpose.The operation and status of each cell is constantly monitored with high precision and high resolution in a BMS. Sensors that detect the voltage, current, temperature, leakage, and other factors are used to monitor the operation and status of cells. The system controls the charging/discharging to compensate for slight inconsistences and imbalances in individual cells or modules. This maintains the balance so that the characteristics are as uniform as possible. As a result, the operating life span and performance of the modules and packs are maximized while ensuring their safety (Fig. 2).<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1711015915237-bms-img0002_en.png" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Fig. 2: Cell Balancing - the Main Function of a BMSThe software control in the microcomputer then checks the collected data against the usage range determined from the battery specifications and design to perform operations like the following: (1) charging/discharging control to prevent over-charging and over-discharging, which impairs safety by causing cells to deteriorate, (2) charging/discharging control to prevent dangerous over-current, (3) management of the temperature to enable safe and smooth operation, (4) calculation of the state of charge (SOC), and (5) equalization of the cell voltage to maximize the traveling range and life span (referred to as "cell balancing"). Furthermore, if over-charging, overheating, or another abnormality is detected, the BMS sends alerts to the other in-vehicle systems and informs the control circuits that have the function to disconnect the output power to prevent accidents from occurring.There are two methods to the cell balancing function, which is an important function of a BMS. One is the passive method, in which a discharge switch is used to forcibly discharge cells with a high voltage and to convert the difference in capacity with cells with a low voltage into heat to equivalize the voltage. The other is the active method. In the active method, current is exchanged between adjacent cells with an unbalanced capacity and voltage to equalize the charging status of the cells. It is necessary to employ the active method to fully utilize the battery's potential without spare.The performance of a BMS is determined by the diversity and precision of its embedded control functions. However, an important condition to realize this is a high level of precision in the sensors that detect the operation and status of the cells and in the many electronic components used in BMS circuits (Fig. 3). In addition, a large number of cells must be monitored. Therefore, the BMS circuit configuration itself is becoming more complex. This means smaller and lighter sensors and components are being sought.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1711015936852-bms-img0003.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Fig. 3: Components Used in BMS Circuits (Source: Application guides "BMS (Battery management system)")<h2 id="isPasted">Wireless BMSs: Installed with Many Wireless Modules</h2>Conventional BMSs predict the operation and status of each cell by checking the data collected with the sensors against the rules and control range input in advance. Consideration is now being given to introducing technology that predicts the operation and status of each cell with even greater precision by allowing artificial intelligence (AI) to learn the trends in electrochemical phenomena in batteries. It is expected that utilization of this technology called "AI BMS" will enable the prediction of cell performance during rapid charging and the early detection of cell deterioration.&nbsp;In addition, attention has been focusing in recent years on the introduction of wireless BMSs (wBMSs). This is a wireless version of the control line that connects the modules and the BMS, making it possible to reduce the number of cables between the modules. This reduces the weight and makes it easier to wire to difficult-to-access locations. It seems it is possible to reduce the length of the cables by approximately 10 m per vehicle as well as the number of connectors, transformers, and other components associated with the wire connections when this technology is applied to a BMS for EVs. Furthermore, installing cells in that empty space will also make it possible to increase the battery capacity. Nevertheless, the risk of failure increases due to instability in the signal transmission line environment compared to a wired connection.A movement is already emerging to apply wBMSs to EVs and large energy storage systems (ESSs). It is essential to apply highly reliable and low-latency wireless technology to realize wBMSs. Semiconductor manufacturers that develop wireless ICs often propose the use of wireless technology with their own standards. Nevertheless, many of them use 2.4 GHz ISM band radio. It is likely that many small and highly reliable wireless modules will be used in EV and ESS batteries. The applications to which wBMSs can be applied will continue to expand in the future as wireless modules evolve.<hr id="isPasted"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1711016070057-1711016070057.png" class="fr-fic fr-dii">If you have any questions based on this article that you would like to discuss with an expert at Murata, don't hesitate to reach out. There's an entire team ready to support you with your question.<a href="https://www.murata.com/en-eu/contactform?&Detail=Wevolver%20request" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="button-main-action">GET IN TOUCH</a>

Several technologies have suddenly come into the spotlight in measures against global warming. Typical examples of these technologies include solar and wind power generation, electric vehicles (EVs), power semiconductors, and fuel cells. 

Optimizing Battery Performance: Advanced Management Systems for Enhanced Safety, Efficiency, and Utilization

Battery Type: Electrochemistry, Capacity, and Energy DensityConsider the application and device form factor when choosing the battery. Coin cell batteries are compact and suitable for low-power devices with minimal energy needs but have limited capacity and are non-rechargeable. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) or lithium-polymer (Li-poly) batteries offer higher capacity, rechargability, and longer lifespans, making them suitable for devices with higher power demands and longer lifecycles. Customized batteries may be necessary for devices with unconventional form factors.Capacity, measured in mAh or Wh, refers to the amount of charge a battery can store, while energy density relates to the amount of energy stored per unit volume or weight. Selecting a battery with sufficient capacity and energy density ensures extended device operation without frequent battery replacements.Voltage and Discharge CharacteristicsEnsure the battery voltage aligns with the device's voltage requirements over its entire lifespan. Understand the discharge rate influenced by the application's use, such as data transmission frequency, intensity, and duration. These factors impact battery characteristics, including discharge rate and voltage drop over time, ultimately affecting power consumption and runtime.TemperatureTemperature significantly affects battery performance. Extreme temperatures can impact capacity, discharge rate, and lifespan. Select a battery with an operating temperature range suitable for the device's environmental conditions.Battery and Device Shelf LifeConsider battery conditions, such as self-discharge, both before integration into the IoT device and once integrated. Aging and self-discharge affect performance, so understanding these parameters during product development and post-market deployment is crucial.Cost and LifespanEvaluate upfront cost and total cost of ownership over the battery's lifespan. Assess the battery's expected lifespan and balance it with the device's operational duration to optimize cost-effectiveness.By considering these factors, developers can choose the right battery for their IoT devices, ensuring optimal performance, longevity, and cost-effectiveness. Relying solely on data sheets is not sufficient. Further tests need to be done due to the device-specific conditions and batteries. This will be adressed in the following blogpost. If you can’t wait, download the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.qoitech.com/whitepaper/powering-iot-devices/" target="_blank">white paper</a>.

Choosing the appropriate battery for IoT devices is critical to ensure optimal performance and longevity. There are several factors to consider when selecting a battery that aligns with the specific requirements of the application, allowing for reliable and long-lasting power supply.

Choosing the Right IoT Battery

With the U.S. government’s goal to reduce emissions from transportation as part of a net-zero climate goal by 2050, efficient and reliable batteries are a necessity. A collaborative team of researchers led by the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis is working toward that goal by developing an energy storage system that would have a much higher energy density than existing systems.With $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), Xianglin Li, associate professor of mechanical engineering &amp; materials science, will lead a multi-institutional team to develop a lithium-air (Li-air) battery with ionic liquids to deliver efficient, reliable and durable performance for high-energy and high-power applications. The Phase I, 18-month funding is part of $15 million ARPA-E awarded to 12 projects across 11 states to advance next-generation, high-energy storage solutions to speed electrifying the aviation, railroad and maritime transportation sectors.Funded through the Pioneering Railroad, Oceanic and Plane ELectrification with 1K energy storage systems (<a href="https://arpa-e.energy.gov/technologies/programs/propel-1k" target="_blank">PROPEL-1K</a>) program, projects aim to develop emission-free energy storage systems with “1K” technologies capable of achieving or exceeding 1,000-Watt-hour per kilogram (Wh/kg) and 1,000 Watt-hour per liter (Wh/L).“The current commercially available lithium-ion batteries have the specific energy of around 200 watt-hour per kilogram, and those would not work because 1,000 watt-hour per kilogram is beyond their thermodynamic limit,” Li said. “We need to increase that specific energy density by four to five times, so this is a very aggressive goal.”If successful, PROPEL-1K technologies would electrify regional flights traveling as far as 1,000 miles with up to 100 people, all North American railroads, and all vessels operating exclusively in U.S. territorial waters, the agency said.&nbsp;Li’s team’s concept would use pure lithium in the anode because it has the highest energy density. They will use a very thin separator with unique properties to transfer the lithium ion back and forth. The cathode must contain catalysts that make the electrochemical reaction of oxygen reduction and evolution reactions happen quickly and efficiently.“All of these components must be put together almost perfectly, because that 1,000 watt-hour per kilogram is near the limit of any energy storage technology,” Li said. “That's why we have a large team with complementary experts on different parts of this whole system. My team will lead the overall design of the system and focus on the cathode where the oxygen reaction would occur.”For the proposed Li-air flow battery, the team will use a unique electrolyte: ionic liquids with high oxygen solubility, low viscosity, ultra-low volatility and high ionic conductivity. The team will also customize catalysts and lithium metal protection membranes to enhance battery performance while reducing power consumption during electrolyte circulation. Preliminary experimental results have shown a tenfold increase in capacity by using a circulating electrolyte.“Commercial batteries use organic electrolytes, but because our Li-air cell is an open system, that electrolyte would evaporate over time,” Li said. “Ionic liquid is a salt that acts like a liquid but does not evaporate and can flow at room temperature.”Co-principal investigators on the project include Peng Bai, associate professor, and Vijay Ramani, the Roma B. &amp; Raymond H. Wittcoff Distinguished University Professor, both in the Department of Energy, Environmental &amp; Chemical Engineering in McKelvey Engineering; Mark Shiflett, Foundation Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas; Ivan Vlassiouk, senior research staff at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory; James Saraidaridis, principal research engineer at Raytheon Technologies Research Center; and Sherry Quinn, electrochemist at Powerit. Together, they will work to develop a prototype that may be further developed and taken to market.The team also will conduct an economic analysis of its Li-air flow battery systems to the aviation, railroad and maritime transportation sectors to highlight the importance of advancing energy storage technologies beyond the current Li-ion battery technology.

With $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), Xianglin Li, associate professor of mechanical engineering & materials science, will lead a multi-institutional team to develop a lithium-air (Li-Air) battery with ionic liquids to deliver efficient, reliable and durable performance for high-energy and high-power applications. (Credit: iStock photo)

With the U.S. government’s goal to reduce emissions from transportation as part of a net-zero climate goal by 2050, efficient and reliable batteries are a necessity.

Efficient lithium-air battery under development to speed electrification of vehicles

According to the Global EV Outlook from IEA, the EV stock reaches 145 million in 2030, accounting for 7% of the road vehicle fleet. However, one of the main challenges facing EVs is the battery, which determines the performance, range, safety, and cost of the vehicle. The battery enclosure is the protective structure that houses the battery cells and modules. The article explores different materials and design considerations for enclosures to optimize and supercharge EV performance. &nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr">Steel vs. Aluminium vs. Carbon Fiber</h2>Steel is a traditional material that offers high strength and durability. However, steel is heavy and prone to corrosion, which can reduce the energy efficiency and lifespan of the battery. In addition, steel has high thermal conductivity, which affects the battery performance and safety. Aluminum, in contrast, is preferred due to its lightweight and high strength-to-weight ratio. It is also more resistant to corrosion than steel.Sounds like aluminum wins in every way, no material is without its challenges, however. There is also the poor impact performance of metal materials. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), a newer and more innovative composite material, offers lightweight, anti-impact, durable and flexible performance. However, it is also more expansive. Moreover,<a href="https://www.sae.org/news/2021/01/novel-materials-approach-to-ev-battery-box-design" target="_blank">&nbsp;its thermal expansion mismatch with the battery cells</a>, which makes it still a cautious choice.<h2 dir="ltr">Design to Improve Cooling Efficiency</h2>Other than material selection, the factors such as structure optimization, thermal management system, etc., are also crucial. The modular design with multiple cooling channels and the use of cooling fins and heat sinks can enhance the cooling efficiency of the battery pack. Therefore, the surface area for heat transfer increased, allowing air or liquid to flow through the channels. If the heat, generated by battery cells during operation, is not dissipated properly, can reduce the lifespan of the battery, and even cause safety hazards.<h2 dir="ltr">Multi-layered Housing Structure</h2>Another important aspect of the battery pack housing design is the protection against mechanical and thermal shocks. A multi-layered housing structure consisting of an outer layer of aluminum or steel, a middle layer of insulation material, and an inner layer of polymer film can balance the pros and cons of different materials.This structure protects against physical damage to the battery cells from external impacts or vibrations, and protects against thermal runaway, which can occur when the battery overheats and triggers a chain reaction leading to a fire or explosion. The insulation layer prevents heat from spreading to adjacent cells and absorbs impact energy, while the polymer film acts as a barrier to prevent oxygen from entering the battery and fueling the combustion.<h2 dir="ltr">On-demand Manufacturing Accelerates Your Enclosure Development</h2>Before launching battery packs to the market, you need to conduct many prototyping verifications. RPWORLD is happy to support alongside your auto part development with 20-years’ experience and expertise. Choose RPWORLD, you will get:<ul><li dir="ltr">Fast delivery in as little as 7 days to help you ahead of competitions.</li><li dir="ltr">One-stop manufacturing including CNC machining, injection molding and more to bring your design to life under one roof.</li><li dir="ltr">Design optimization and manufacturability advice to mitigate production risks.</li><li>00+ high-performance engineering materials to suite your different needs.</li></ul>

According to the Global EV Outlook from IEA, the EV stock reaches 145 million in 2030, accounting for 7% of the road vehicle fleet. However, one of the main challenges facing EVs is the battery, which determines the performance, range, safety, and cost of the vehicle.

Supercharge EV's Performance with Optimized Battery Enclosures

In the blink of an eye, the unruly, superheated plasma that drives a fusion reaction can lose its stability and escape the strong magnetic fields confining it within the donut-shaped fusion reactor. These getaways frequently spell the end of the reaction, posing a core challenge to developing fusion as a non-polluting, virtually limitless energy source.But a Princeton-led team composed of engineers, physicists, and data scientists from the University and the U.S. Department of Energy’s <a href="https://www.pppl.gov/" target="_blank">Princeton Plasma Physics La</a><a href="https://www.pppl.gov/" target="_blank">boratory</a> (PPPL) have harnessed the power of artificial intelligence to predict — and then avoid — the formation of a specific plasma problem in real time.In experiments at the <a href="https://www.ga.com/magnetic-fusion/diii-d" target="_blank">DIII-D National Fusion Facility</a> in San Diego, the researchers demonstrated their model, trained only on past experimental data, could forecast potential plasma instabilities known as tearing mode instabilities up to 300 milliseconds in advance. While that leaves no more than enough time for a slow blink in humans, it was plenty of time for the AI controller to change certain operating parameters to avoid what would have developed into a tear within the plasma’s magnetic field lines, upsetting its equilibrium and opening the door for a reaction-ending escape.“By learning from past experiments, rather than incorporating information from physics-based models, the AI could develop a final control policy that supported a stable, high-powered plasma regime in real time, at a real reactor,” said research leader <a href="https://engineering.princeton.edu/faculty/egemen-kolemen" target="_blank">Egemen Kolemen</a>, associate professor of <a href="https://mae.princeton.edu/" target="_blank">mechanical and aerospace engineering</a> and the <a href="https://acee.princeton.edu/" target="_blank">Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment</a>, as well as staff research physicist at PPPL.The research opens the door for more dynamic control of a fusion reaction than current approaches, and it provides a foundation for using artificial intelligence to solve a broad range of plasma instabilities, which have long been obstacles to achieving a sustained fusion reaction. The team published <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07024-9" target="_blank">their findings</a> in Nature on February 21.“Previous studies have generally focused on either suppressing or mitigating the effects of these tearing instabilities after they occur in the plasma,” said first author <a href="https://physics.cau.ac.kr/BM/bm_1_view.php?idx=76" target="_blank">Jaemin Seo</a>, an assistant professor of physics at Chung-Ang University in South Korea who performed much of the work while a postdoctoral researcher in Kolemen’s group. “But our approach allows us to predict and avoid those instabilities before they ever appear.”<h2>Superheated plasma swirling in a donut-shaped device</h2>Fusion takes place when two atoms — usually light atoms like hydrogen — come together to form one heavier atom, releasing a large amount of energy in the process. The process powers the Sun, and, by extension, makes life on Earth possible.However, getting the two atoms to fuse is tricky, as it takes massive amounts of pressure and energy for the two atoms to overcome their mutual repulsion.Fortunately for the Sun, its massive gravitational pull and extremely high pressures at its core allow fusion reactions to proceed. To replicate a similar process on the Earth, scientists instead use extremely hot plasma and extremely strong magnets.In donut-shaped devices known as tokamaks — sometimes referred to as “stars in jars” — magnetic fields struggle to contain plasmas that reach above 100 million degrees Celsius, hotter than the center of the Sun.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1709522056008-magnetic_tearing_v3_simplified-copy.webp" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The researchers harnessed the power of AI to predict and avoid the formation of a tearing instability (left), which could quickly result in plasma disruption and the termination of the fusion reaction. (Courtesy of the researchers).While there are many types of plasma instabilities that can terminate the reaction, the Princeton team concentrated on solving tearing mode instabilities, a disturbance in which the magnetic field lines within a plasma actually break and create an opportunity for the plasma’s subsequent escape.“Tearing mode instabilities are one of the major causes of plasma disruption, and they will become even more prominent as we try to run fusion reactions at the high powers required to produce enough energy,” said Seo. “They are an important challenge for us to solve.”<h2>Fusing artificial intelligence and plasma physics</h2>Since tearing mode instabilities can form and derail a fusion reaction in milliseconds, the researchers turned to artificial intelligence for its ability to quickly process and act in response to new data.But the process to develop an effective AI controller was not as simple as trying out a few things on a tokamak, where time is limited, and the stakes are high.Co-author&nbsp;<a href="https://mae.princeton.edu/people/research-staff/jalalvand" target="_blank">Azarakhsh Jalalvand</a>, a research scholar in Kolemen’s group, compared teaching an algorithm to run a fusion reaction in a tokamak to teaching someone how to fly a plane.“You wouldn’t teach someone by handing them a set of keys and telling them to try their best,” Jalalvand said. “Instead, you’d have them practice on a very intricate flight simulator until they’ve learned enough to try out the real thing.”Like developing a flight simulator, the Princeton team used data from past experiments at the DIII-D tokamak to construct a deep neural network capable of predicting the likelihood of a future tearing instability based on real-time plasma characteristics.They used that neural network to train a reinforcement learning algorithm. Like a pilot trainee, the reinforcement learning algorithm could try out different strategies for controlling plasma, learning through trial and error which strategies worked and which did not within the safety of a simulated environment.“We don’t teach the reinforcement learning model all of the complex physics of a fusion reaction,” Jalalvand said. “We tell it what the goal is — to maintain a high-powered reaction — what to avoid — a tearing mode instability — and the knobs it can turn to achieve those outcomes. Over time, it learns the optimal pathway for achieving the goal of high power while avoiding the punishment of an instability.”While the model went through countless simulated fusion experiments, trying to find ways to maintain high power levels while avoiding instabilities, co-author&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pppl.gov/people/sangkyeun-kim" target="_blank">SangKyeun Kim</a> could observe and refine its actions.“In the background, we can see the intentions of the model,” said Kim, a staff research scientist at PPPL and former postdoctoral researcher in Kolemen’s group. “Some of the changes that the model wants are too rapid, so we work to smooth and calm the model. As humans, we arbitrate between what the AI wants to do and what the tokamak can accommodate.”Once they were confident in the AI controller’s abilities, they tested it during an actual fusion experiment at the D-III D tokamak, observing as the controller made real-time changes to certain tokamak parameters to avoid the onset of an instability. These parameters included changing the shape of the plasma and the strength of the beams inputting power into the reaction.“Being able to predict instabilities ahead of time can make it easier to run these reactions than current approaches, which are more passive,” said Kim. “We no longer have to wait for the instabilities to occur and then take quick corrective action before the plasma becomes disrupted.”<h2>Powering into the future</h2>While the researchers said the work is a promising proof-of-concept demonstrating how artificial intelligence can effectively control fusion reactions, it is only one of many next steps already ongoing in Kolemen’s group to advance the field of fusion research.The first step is to get more evidence of the AI controller in action at the DIII-D tokamak, and then expand the controller to function at other tokamaks.“We have strong evidence that the controller works quite well at DIII-D, but we need more data to show that it can work in a number of different situations,” said first author Seo. “We want to work toward something more universal.”A second line of research involves expanding the algorithm to handle many different control problems at the same time. While the current model uses a limited number of diagnostics to avoid one specific type of instability, the researchers could provide data on other types of instabilities and give access to more knobs for the AI controller to tune.“You could imagine one large reward function that turns many different knobs to simultaneously control for several types of instabilities,” said co-author&nbsp;<a href="https://mae.princeton.edu/people/graduate-students/shousha" target="_blank">Ricardo Shousha</a>, a postdoc at PPPL and former graduate student in Kolemen’s group who provided support for the experiments at DIII-D.And on the route to developing better AI controllers for fusion reactions, researchers might also gain more understanding of the underlying physics. By studying the AI controller’s decisions as it attempts to contain the plasma, which can be radically different than what traditional approaches might prescribe, artificial intelligence may be not only a tool to control fusion reactions but also a teaching resource.“Eventually, it may be more than just a one-way interaction of scientists developing and deploying these AI models,” said Kolemen. “By studying them in more detail, they may have certain things that they can teach us too.”<hr>The paper, “<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07024-9" target="_blank">Avoiding fusion plasma tearing instability with deep reinforcement learning</a>,” was published February 21 in Nature. In addition to Kolemen, Seo, Jalalvand, Kim, and Shousha, co-authors include Rory Conlin, Andrew Rothstein, Joseph Abbate and Josiah Wai of Princeton University, as well as Keith Erickson of PPPL.The work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, as well as the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). The authors also acknowledge the use of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, a Department of Energy Office of Science user facility.

In the blink of an eye, the unruly, superheated plasma that drives a fusion reaction can lose its stability and escape the strong magnetic fields confining it within the donut-shaped fusion reactor. 

Engineers use AI to wrangle fusion power for the grid

By leveraging the inherent energy storage properties of an emerging technology known as enhanced geothermal, the research team found that flexible geothermal power combined with cost declines in drilling technology could lead to over 100 gigawatts’ worth of geothermal projects in the western U.S. — a capacity greater than that of the existing U.S. nuclear fleet. Such an innovation would transform geothermal energy from its niche status on the grid today into a major component of a decarbonized future. The researchers <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-023-01437-y" target="_blank">published their analysis</a> January 15 in Nature Energy.“People generally think of geothermal as this always-on, baseload energy source, but we’ve shown that there’s a lot of extra value to be had in operating these plants in a different way,” said research leader <a href="https://engineering.princeton.edu/faculty/jesse-jenkins" target="_blank">Jesse Jenkins</a>, assistant professor of <a href="https://mae.princeton.edu/" target="_blank">mechanical and aerospace engineering</a> and the <a href="https://acee.princeton.edu/" target="_blank">Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment</a>.Since the early 20th century, people have been harnessing the earth’s heat to produce electricity, but these conventional geothermal power plants require a specific set of conditions: hot, permeable rocks close to the earth’s surface, and some sort of fluid to transport heat up from underground. These requirements have limited traditional geothermal energy to only a handful of favorable locations in the western United States and Hawaii — places with naturally occurring geysers, volcanoes, and hot springs. Consequently, geothermal plants generated only <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/geothermal/use-of-geothermal-energy.php" target="_blank">0.4% of the total electricity</a> in the U.S. in 2022.Yet advances in drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies have unlocked the enhanced geothermal approach, which removes the need for permeable rocks and greatly expands access to the heat that already exists far beneath our feet.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1709337323262-fervo_horizontal-drilling_crop.png" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">A diagram illustrating the enhanced geothermal approach employed by Fervo Energy. Fluid is first injected at the injection well, flows through engineered fractures in subsurface rock, picking up heat along the way, and then returns to the surface via production wells to generate electricity. The process creates a self-contained underground radiator that can function as a type of energy storage system (courtesy of Fervo Energy).In the approach, engineers dig two or more boreholes into impermeable rock that extend thousands of feet below the earth’s surface, then drill similar distances horizontally, and subsequently create fracture networks in the horizontal sections to connect those holes deep underground. Afterward, they inject a fluid into one borehole, which heats up as it travels through the fractures. That heated fluid can be pulled up through the other wells and subsequently used to generate electricity.“Enhanced geothermal is much less geographically dependent than conventional geothermal, which is really only possible in a small number of ideal spots,” said Wilson Ricks, first author of the study and a graduate student in mechanical and aerospace engineering. “With enhanced geothermal, you can open up wide swathes of the country — wherever you can dig down and find hot rocks close to the earth’s surface.”<h3>Adding value through flexibility</h3>Efforts to develop and scale enhanced geothermal energy have historically focused on lowering the costs associated with drilling and other equipment. The U.S. Department of Energy unveiled an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/geothermal/enhanced-geothermal-shot" target="_blank">Enhanced Geothermal Shot</a> in 2022, for example, which calls for a 90% cost reduction of enhanced geothermal technologies by 2035.But in their research, the team found an alternate avenue to make geothermal power more market-competitive: flexibility.By operating enhanced geothermal power plants flexibly — using the inherent energy storage capabilities offered by enhanced geothermal reservoirs to generate more or less energy as needed — the team found that the value of geothermal energy dramatically increased because it could complement and compensate for intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind.“Wind and solar are now the cheapest sources of clean energy, but their downfall is their variability and weather dependency,” said Jenkins. “You can earn a lot of additional revenue if you can find a way to shift your clean energy generation to times without wind and solar.”Fortunately for enhanced geothermal, it can do just that.As Ricks explained, the impermeable rock required for enhanced geothermal also functions as a self-contained underground reservoir for heated fluid that acts like a giant energy storage system.Analogous to how a conventional battery can be charged and discharged to store and release energy, operators can change how fast they inject and extract fluid into the enhanced geothermal system to shift between energy production and energy storage. To “charge” the system, engineers would simply inject more fluid underground than they pull out, filling up the reservoir with heated fluid and building up pressure. And when clean energy is most needed, this heated, pressurized fluid can be discharged to the earth’s surface to generate electricity.“Because enhanced geothermal comes with its own variation of energy storage, you’re able to shift how you operate the plant to generate as much power as possible at the times when it’s most valuable to the grid,” said Ricks. “That added flexibility allows enhanced geothermal to avoid generating energy when wind and solar are active and electricity prices are extremely low, something many alternative energy sources struggle to do.”<h3>Flexibility in practice</h3>Adding flexible operations to enhanced geothermal made the technology more valuable and increased its optimal installed capacity in every scenario, even without further cost declines in drilling technologies. In fact, scenarios that assumed flexible operations were similarly impactful to the deployment of geothermal as scenarios that only assumed lower drilling costs. Combining flexible operations&nbsp;and&nbsp;cost declines, the team found that geothermal energy could add up to over a third of the installed clean energy capacity in the western U.S.Moreover, adding flexibility to an otherwise baseload geothermal plant would only require a few changes at the aboveground facility. Engineers would have to overbuild the capacity of the power station to accommodate for the times when the plant is discharging as much heated fluid to the surface as possible, and they would need infrastructure to store additional fluid for the “charging” periods, when more fluid is being injected than produced.But below ground, the baseload and flexible systems would look nearly identical.“That’s one of the real advantages here: the core technology — in terms of the wells and the subsurface engineering — doesn’t change. Once you’ve built the wells, the subsurface system is inherently flexible,” said co-author Jack Norbeck, chief technology officer and co-founder of Fervo Energy, a startup focused on developing enhanced geothermal resources.In field testing at its commercial&nbsp;<a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/03/07/1069437/this-geothermal-startup-showed-its-wells-can-be-used-like-a-giant-underground-battery/" target="_blank">Project Red</a> plant in Nevada, Fervo Energy has demonstrated energy storage capabilities exceeding five days. When translating that field data into physical models, Norbeck said there were scenarios in which the system could achieve over 10 days of energy storage.“When you consider that many people are currently quantifying long-duration energy storage as anything over eight to ten hours, that’s very exciting to be already demonstrating something above five days,” Norbeck said.While initial field tests have validated many projections, Norbeck said work is still needed to demonstrate the robustness of flexible operations over many charge/discharge cycles and to characterize certain system properties like roundtrip efficiency. He added that flexible geothermal power will also require innovations to contract structures, since purchasing agreements for geothermal energy often assume that plants will operate as a baseload energy source.With support from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.arpa-e.energy.gov/technologies/projects/fervoflex-long-duration-reservoir-energy-storage-and-load-following" target="_blank">Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E)</a>, Fervo Energy and Princeton’s ZERO Lab will continue their collaboration to explore these advanced geothermal techniques in the field and in computer models, answering key questions about the potential role of geothermal energy, as well as the necessary steps for achieving that role.“In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306261922002537" target="_blank">earlier work</a>, we’ve looked at the value of adding flexible operations to a single, first-of-its-kind enhanced geothermal plant, and in this work, we’ve answered the broader question of how flexible geothermal might fit into a future decarbonized energy system,” Ricks said. “The next step is to look at the intermediate timescale to understand how enhanced geothermal can get from the nascent technology it is today to become the clean energy heavy hitter we’ve shown it can be.”<hr>The paper, “<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-023-01437-y" target="_blank">The role of flexible geothermal power in decarbonized electricity systems</a>,” was published January 15 in Nature Energy. In addition to Jenkins, Ricks, and Norbeck, co-authors include Katharine Voller and Gerame Galban of Fervo Energy. The work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Small Business Innovation Research program, ARPA-E, and Princeton University’s Zero-carbon Technology Consortium.

A drilling rig at Fervo Energy's Project Red enhanced geothermal pilot project in Nevada (photograph courtesy of Fervo Energy).

Many consider geothermal to be an around-the-clock clean energy resource, but according to a Princeton-led study in collaboration with startup Fervo Energy, operating new geothermal plants flexibly could provide the best value for the grid.

Flexible geothermal power approach combines clean energy with a built-in "battery"

<h2 id="isPasted">How Nanotechnology Is Inspiring the Next Generation of Batteries</h2>Rechargeable batteries are an important part of many modern-day technologies. Researchers, manufacturers and end-user companies are always looking to improve the efficiencies of batteries, making them safer, smaller, and more lightweight to fit in the requirements of new technologies—that is, the consumer desire to have higher-powered, smaller, and more lightweight electronic devices. Conventional fabrication methods, electrochemistries, and materials will take batteries technologies only so far, so a lot of interest in recent years has been around using nanomaterials within the electrodes.Nothing is wrong with current battery technologies—as showcased by the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which honored the scientists behind the Li-ion battery—but change is inevitable. Without an ever-changing electronics industry, technological advances made in the past few decades would not have been possible.While lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are ubiquitous nowadays, their efficiencies aren’t overly impressive. They are much safer than other batteries while still having a good energy density, so there is room for improvement. Other types of batteries are gaining traction at both fundamental and commercial levels, but a drive to improve the already-established Li-ion batteries by incorporating nanomaterials into them has begun.<h2>Why Nanomaterials?</h2>The switch to trialing nanomaterials over bulkier materials is for many of the same reasons that other industries have made the switch (or have looked to make the switch). A number of properties can be harvested for a small amount of nanomaterials being included in a device (or within another material).Not all nanomaterials are suitable for batteries, as some nanomaterials are inherently insulating in nature. Rather, it is the conductive nanomaterials that are of use in battery systems, such as those of solid-state nature, or those which are incredibly thin (for example, some 2D materials). Luckily, the use of nanomaterials in electrodes is not a completely new invention. It is merely a natural progression to make systems more effective without altering the internal workings of the technology. While the inclusion of nanomaterials might slightly alter the specific mechanisms of how the ions move into the electrodes (because of different-sized/geometry atomic holes) via different architectures, the general operational mechanism of the batteries remains the same. This means that any safety or efficiency issues that arise can be pinpointed much easier than trying to develop a new type of battery from scratch. Sometimes, improving the status quo is better than trying to develop something completely novel.Many of the nanomaterials trialed have high electrical conductivity, and with this comes a high charge carrier mobility. These properties stem from nanomaterials having a very active surface–and a very high surface area–compared to bulkier materials. In some cases, the active surface is the whole nanomaterial (2D materials). Given that nanomaterials are inherently thin, they are a lot more flexible–even the inorganic materials–than bulk materials, meaning that they are more useful for the batteries used in flexible and wearable technologies (Figure 1).<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1709117096314-Flexible+Graphene+Image.webp" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Figure 1: The inherently thin nature of nanomaterials, as shown in this graphene sheet, means they are more flexible than bulk materials and thereby more suitable for batteries used in flexible and wearable technologies. (Source: BONNINSTUDIO/Shutterstock.com)Despite their small size, a lot of nanomaterials are very stable and are resistant to high temperatures, harsh chemicals, and high physical stresses. While this can’t be said for all nanomaterials, enough of them are stable and conductive enough for battery electrodes. One disadvantage of nanomaterials is their higher cost because of the more complex fabrication methods required to make them. However, because only a small amount is needed for the same (or better) properties than bulkier materials, the cost is a lot less than many people believe. The small addition of nanomaterials also means that less waste is often produced, and the batteries are more lightweight than when bulk materials are used.<h2>Graphene is the Front-Runner</h2>Of all the nanomaterials being trialed, graphene is the front-runner and is found in more prototypes than any other type of nanomaterial. A number of companies now commercially manufacture graphene batteries for different industrial sectors. Reportedly, some big cellphone manufacturers might use graphene batteries in some next-generation phones in the near future (graphene is already used in the cooling systems of some phones).Graphene exhibits some of the best recorded-values of almost all the properties that nanomaterials can exhibit, meaning that making compromises between the beneficial properties of different materials can often be negated by using graphene. Additionally, given that many batteries already use graphite—many graphene layers stacked on top of each other—it is a much more natural progression than other materials, and systems have been developed that use graphite-graphene electrodes.Graphene has one of the highest electrical conductivity and charge carrier mobilities known in the materials world. Moreover, it has an incredibly high tensile strength and flexibility (more than most nanomaterials and bulk materials), as well as being stable to high temperatures and harsh chemicals. The culmination of properties means that it can be used in a number of environments without its performance being affected, which is important when the batteries and the technologies they are in can get very hot internally, never mind the external heat they can be exposed to. Single-layer graphene is optically transparent, so it has the potential for being used to create transparent electrodes and transparent conductive films that could be used in batteries of the future that need to be invisible to the user.Aside from the properties being more suited to batteries than most other nanomaterials, the industry is in a much better place to cope with huge demands should it arrive. Because the properties and potential for graphene is well-understood, the industry has been preparing and growing in size around the world and graphene can now be produced at scale in a number of different forms. The raw material side is more scalable than other nanomaterials, making it a much more viable commercial option.<h2>Conclusion</h2>There is a drive in modern-day society for more efficient and smaller batteries, regardless of whether the application is consumer phones or remote monitoring equipment. Companies are starting to trial nanomaterials in battery systems because they bring about performance benefits and can make the batteries smaller, while not significantly increasing cost because only a small amount is required. A number of companies manufacture graphene batteries, but while graphene batteries are available for the industrial markets, it might take some time for the high-tech consumer markets (phones, tablets, etc.) to adopt graphene (or other nanomaterials) on a large-scale because the status quo is well-tested and any changes in these markets can take a long time to come to fruition.

Rechargeable batteries are an important part of many modern-day technologies. Researchers, manufacturers and end-user companies are always looking to improve the efficiencies of batteries, making them safer, smaller, and more lightweight to fit in the requirements of new technologies

Nanotechnology Is Inspiring Next-Gen Batteries

Research and industry worldwide are working on the commercialization of perovskite photovoltaics.&nbsp;Most research laboratories focus on solvent-based manufacturing processes because they are versatile and easy to use.&nbsp;However, established photovoltaic companies today rely almost exclusively on vacuum processes to deposit high-quality thin films.&nbsp;An international consortium led by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, USA) has analyzed this critical discrepancy between laboratory and industry.&nbsp;They emphasize: Industrially proven vacuum processes could, with certain improvements, contribute to the rapid commercialization of perovskite solar cells.&nbsp;The results appeared in&nbsp;Energy &amp; Environmental Science (DOI:&nbsp;<a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/ee/d3ee03273f" target="_blank">10.1039/d3ee03273f</a> ).Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells have undergone rapid development in the past ten years: Efficiencies of more than 33 percent have been achieved in research.&nbsp;This means they are already better than conventional silicon-based solar cells.&nbsp;However, it is still not ready for the market.&nbsp;One of the hurdles is the unresolved question of which process can best be used to produce perovskite solar cells as a mass product.&nbsp;Solvent-based manufacturing processes that are used in laboratories worldwide are contrasted with vapor phase deposition processes in vacuum, which are still standard today in the production of thin films in photovoltaics or in the production of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). &nbsp; In a current comparative study, an international consortium of academic and industrial partners led by NREL and KIT revealed major differences in the scientific approach to these production processes.&nbsp;Tenure-track professor Ulrich W. Paetzold from the Institute of Microstructure Technology and the Light Technology Institute of KIT explains: “98 percent of all scientific studies in 2022 were published on solvent-based processes.&nbsp;Vacuum-based processes that have proven themselves in industry for decades and could significantly advance the commercialization of solar cells are neglected.”To explain: Solvent-based production uses inks in which organic and inorganic salts are dissolved in a solvent.&nbsp;These inks can then be deposited onto the surface of a substrate via various printing techniques.&nbsp;In contrast, vacuum-based manufacturing uses dry and solvent-free processes.&nbsp;The materials are sublimated in a vacuum with the addition of heat, i.e. transferred from the solid to the gaseous state and condensed on the substrate surface.&nbsp;In principle, it is also possible to combine both processes for the production of perovskite solar cells.<h2>Laboratory efficiencies and throughput are not everything when it comes to mass production</h2>In the study, the authors analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of both methods.&nbsp;The dominance of solvent-based production in research so far lies in its uncomplicated handling in laboratories, which is the reason for very good results in terms of efficiency under laboratory conditions and its low costs.&nbsp;In addition, there is the possible scalable roll-to-roll production, i.e. endless deposition between two rolls, similar to newspaper printing.In comparison, the vacuum-based production process causes slightly higher investment costs and, based on the processes used in research, is currently still behind in terms of deposition speed, i.e. production throughput.&nbsp;However, the authors show a variety of possible solutions and estimate that it is competitive taking into account real parameters such as electricity costs, production yield, material, decommissioning or recycling costs.&nbsp;Above all, the good repeatability of the deposition, the simple process control, the availability of industrial process equipment and the easy scaling of the deposition from small solar cell areas in the laboratory to application-relevant product areas make the process highly interesting for commercialization.&nbsp;“Vacuum-based production performs better than its reputation,” says Tobias Abzieh.&nbsp;It is therefore not surprising that the authors, in a first-ever published overview of commercialization activities in perovskite technology, were already able to demonstrate a lively interest in vacuum-based processes for the production of perovskite solar cells on the part of industry - despite the discrepancy in this regard on the method mainly used in research.In order for vacuum-based processes to fully exploit their scaling effects, the manufacturing method still needs to be further improved, according to the researchers. Among other things, further research must be carried out on the quality of the separation in order to further increase the efficiency. It is also important to significantly increase the speed of deposition. “Vacuum-based manufacturing processes are not only the industry’s first choice when it comes to bringing thin-film technologies to market maturity. Our analysis also shows that the processes are competitive with solvent-based approaches,” adds David More from NREL.<hr>Original publicationTobias Abzieh, David T. Moore, Marcel Roß, Steve Albrecht, Jared Silvia, Hairen Tan, Quentin Jeangros, Christophe Ballif, Maximilian T. Hoerantner, Beom-Soo Kim, Henk J. Bolink, Paul Pistor, Jan Christoph Goldschmidt, Yu -Hsien Chiang, Samuel D. Stranks, Juliane Borchert, Michael D. McGehee, Monica Morales-Masis, Jay B. Patel, Annalisa Bruno and Ulrich W. Paetzold: Vapor phase deposition of perovskite photovoltaics: short track to commercialization? Energy &amp; Environmental Science, 2024. DOI: 10.1039/d3ee03273f

Perovskite photovoltaics promise high levels of efficiency. Researchers from KIT and partners have now analyzed different production approaches. (Photo: Tobias Zieher)

Various production approaches in research and industry – comparative study explores paths to mass production

Perovskite Solar Cells: Vacuum Process Can Lead to Market Readiness

Energy is everywhere, affecting everything, all the time. And it can be manipulated and converted into the kind of energy that we depend on as a civilization. But transforming this ambient energy (the result of gyrating atoms and molecules) into something we can plug into and use when we need it requires specific materials.These energy materials — some natural, some manufactured, some a combination — facilitate the conversion or transmission of energy. They also play an essential role in how we store energy, how we reduce power consumption, and how we develop cleaner, efficient energy solutions.“Advanced materials and clean energy technologies are tightly connected, and at Georgia Tech we’ve been making major investments in people and facilities in batteries, solar energy, and hydrogen, for several decades,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://ae.gatech.edu/directory/person/timothy-charles-lieuwen" target="_blank">Tim Lieuwen</a>, the David S. Lewis Jr. Chair and professor of aerospace engineering, and executive director of Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute (<a href="https://research.gatech.edu/energy" target="_blank">SEI</a>).That research synergy is the underpinning of&nbsp;<a href="https://research.gatech.edu/energymaterials" target="_blank">Georgia Tech Energy Materials Day (March 27)</a>, a gathering of people from academia, government, and industry, co-hosted by SEI, the Institute for Materials (<a href="https://research.gatech.edu/materials" target="_blank">IMat</a>), and the Georgia Tech Advanced Battery Center. This event aims to build on the momentum created by&nbsp;<a href="https://research.gatech.edu/georgia-tech-battery-day-reveals-opportunities-energy-storage-research" target="_blank">Georgia Tech Battery Day</a>, held in March 2023, which drew more than 230 energy researchers and industry representatives.“We thought it would be a good idea to expand on the Battery Day idea and showcase a wide range of research and expertise in other areas, such as solar energy and clean fuels, in addition to what we’re doing in batteries and energy storage,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mse.gatech.edu/people/matthew-mcdowell" target="_blank">Matt McDowell</a>, associate professor in the George W.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.me.gatech.edu/" target="_blank">Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering</a> and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mse.gatech.edu/" target="_blank">School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)</a>, and co-director, with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mse.gatech.edu/people/gleb-yushin" target="_blank">Gleb Yushin</a>, of the Advanced Battery Center.Energy Materials Day will bring together experts from academia, government, and industry to discuss and accelerate research in three key areas: battery materials and technologies, photovoltaics and the grid, and materials for carbon-neutral fuel production, “all of which are crucial for driving the clean energy transition,” noted&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mse.gatech.edu/people/eric-vogel" target="_blank">Eric Vogel</a>, executive director of IMat and the Hightower Professor of Materials Science and Engineering.“Georgia Tech is leading the charge in research in these three areas,” he said. “And we’re excited to unite so many experts to spark the important discussions that will help us advance our nation’s path to net-zero emissions.”<h2>Building an Energy Hub</h2>Energy Materials Day is part of an ongoing, long-range effort to position Georgia Tech, and Georgia, as a go-to location for modern energy companies. So far, the message seems to be landing. Georgia has had more than $28 billion invested or announced in electric vehicle-related projects since 2020. And Georgia Tech was recently ranked by U.S. News &amp; World Report as the&nbsp;<a href="https://research.gatech.edu/georgia-tech-named-top-ranked-public-university-energy" target="_blank">top public university for energy research</a>.Georgia has become a major player in solar energy, also, with the announcement last year of a $2.5 billion plant being developed by Korean solar company Hanwha Qcells, taking advantage of President Biden’s climate policies. Qcells’ global chief technology officer, Danielle Merfeld, a member of SEI’s External Advisory Board, will be the keynote speaker for Energy Materials Day.“Growing these industry relationships, building trust through collaborations with industry — these have been strong motivations in our efforts to create a hub here in Atlanta,” said Yushin, professor in MSE and co-founder of Sila Nanotechnologies, a battery materials startup valued at more than $3 billion.McDowell and Yushin are leading the battery initiative for Energy Materials Day and they’ll be among 12 experts making presentations on battery materials and technologies, including six from Georgia Tech and four from industry. In addition to the formal sessions and presentations, there will also be an opportunity for networking.“I think Georgia Tech has a responsibility to help grow a manufacturing ecosystem,” McDowell said. “We have the research and educational experience and expertise that companies need, and we’re working to coordinate our efforts with industry.”<a href="https://research.gatech.edu/marta-hatzell" target="_blank">Marta Hatzell</a>, associate professor of mechanical engineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering, is leading the carbon-neutral fuel production portion of the event, while&nbsp;<a href="https://research.gatech.edu/juan-pablo-correa-baena" target="_blank">Juan-Pablo Correa-Baena</a>, assistant professor in MSE, is leading the photovoltaics initiative.They’ll be joined by a host of experts from Georgia Tech and institutes across the country, “some of the top thought leaders in their fields,” said Correa-Baena, whose lab has spent years optimizing a semiconductor material for solar energy conversion.“Over the past decade, we have been working to achieve high efficiencies in solar panels based on a new, low-cost material called halide perovskites,” he said. His lab recently discovered how to&nbsp;<a href="https://coe.gatech.edu/news/2023/12/researchers-find-they-can-stop-degradation-promising-solar-cell-materials" target="_blank">prevent the chemical interactions that can degrade it</a>. “It’s kind of a miracle material, and we want to increase its lifespan, make it more robust and commercially relevant.”While Correa-Baena is working to revolutionize solar energy, Hatzell’s lab is designing materials to clean up the manufacturing of clean fuels.“We’re interested in decarbonizing the industrial sector, through the production of carbon-neutral fuels,” said Hatzell, whose lab is designing new materials to make clean ammonia and hydrogen, both of which have the potential to play a major role in a carbon-free fuel system, without using fossil fuels as the feedstock. “We’re also working on a collaborative project focusing on assessing the economics of clean ammonia on a larger, global scale.”The hope for Energy Materials Day is that other collaborations will be fostered as industry’s needs and the research enterprise collide in one place — Georgia Tech’s Exhibition Hall — over one day. The event is part of what Yushin called “the snowball effect.”“You attract a new company to the region, and then another,” he said. “If we want to boost domestic production and supply chains, we must roll like a snowball gathering momentum. Education is a significant part of that effect. To build this new technology and new facilities for a new industry, you need trained, talented engineers. And we’ve got plenty of those. Georgia Tech can become the single point of contact, helping companies solve the technical challenges in a new age of clean energy.”

Energy materials facilitate the conversion or transmission of energy. They also play an essential role in how we store energy, reduce power consumption, and develop cleaner, efficient energy solutions.

Energy Materials: Driving the Clean Energy Transition

LPWAN networks aim to conserve energy by operating devices with minimal power consumption. However, battery utilization efficiency depends on factors such as device power consumption, network connectivity, transmission power, and data rate. Understanding and optimizing these factors are key to achieving desired battery performance and ensuring reliable and uninterrupted device functionality.Efficient battery management not only reduces the frequency of battery replacements but also enhances the sustainability of IoT deployments. This is especially important for applications that require long-term monitoring, such as environmental sensing, asset tracking, and smart agriculture. By extending battery life, organizations can reduce operational costs, minimize environmental impact, and improve the overall viability and scalability of their IoT solutions.<h3>Optimizing Battery Life of LPWAN IoT Devices</h3>Battery life is a critical consideration for the successful deployment of IoT devices with limited power resources. Understanding and managing factors that influence battery life are essential for optimizing power consumption and maximizing operational efficiency.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzA4NTA0NDAxMjM1LW90aWktYmF0dGVyeS1wZXJmb3JtYW5jZS0xMDI0eDc2OC5wbmciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><h3 id="isPasted">Device Power Consumption&nbsp;<iframe id="645c016f1f67f100087c4425" width="250" class="specs-iframe" height="440" src="https://wevolver.com/iframe/specs/otii-arc-pro?iframe=true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true">&nbsp;</iframe></h3>IoT device power consumption significantly affects battery life. Factors such as hardware architecture, sensor configurations, and firmware optimization play a crucial role. Leakage current from various components can cause energy loss. Firmware and software optimization are vital for enhancing battery efficiency. By employing efficient algorithms, minimizing unnecessary background tasks, and optimizing code execution, developers can reduce power consumption in the device's software stack.Implementing power management techniques can have a significant impact on battery life. These techniques may involve dynamically adjusting power levels based on network conditions, reducing power to peripheral components during idle periods, or optimizing data processing and filtering algorithms to minimize power consumption.<h3>Data Rate and Duty Cycle</h3>Data rate and duty cycle determine the frequency and duration of data transmission in LPWAN devices. Lower data rates and duty cycles reduce power consumption but result in longer transmission times. Striking the right balance between data rate, duty cycle, and application requirements is crucial for optimizing battery life while ensuring sufficient data throughput.<h3>Network Connectivity and Protocols</h3>The frequency of network connectivity and the size of message payloads transmitted by LPWAN IoT devices affect power consumption. Low power capabilities of the network, such as power save modes, spreading factor, and adaptive data rate mechanics of cellular and non-cellular LPWAN networks, can further enhance battery life. The choice of messaging protocol can have a negative impact on device longevity due to the level of transmission overhead and required quality of service (QoS). By finding the right balance between power efficiency and communication requirements, developers can maximize battery performance and extend the operational lifespan of their IoT devices.<h3>Sleep Mode and Wake-Up Interval</h3>Effectively utilizing sleep mode is a key strategy for conserving power in IoT devices. By defining appropriate wake-up intervals and adjusting sleep durations based on application requirements, developers can minimize power consumption during idle periods, leading to significant battery savings.<h3>Transmission Power and Range</h3>The transmission power level required for reliable communication affects battery life. Higher transmission power increases range but consumes more power. By optimizing transmission power settings based on the deployment environment and required range, battery life can be prolonged without compromising communication reliability.By considering and fine-tuning these factors, developers can make informed decisions to optimize power consumption and extend the battery life of IoT devices. In the following blogposts, we will delve deeper into strategies and techniques to choose the right battery and implement optimization measures for maximizing battery performance in LPWAN IoT deployments. If you can’t wait, download the <a href="https://www.qoitech.com/whitepaper/powering-iot-devices/" target="_blank">white paper</a>.

Battery performance is crucial for the successful operation of IoT devices, particularly in remote or inaccessible locations. They rely on battery power to sustain their operation over extended periods, and maximizing battery life directly impacts longevity, maintenance costs, and user experience.

Importance of IoT Battery Performance

As augmented and mixed reality experiences become more popular through various devices, advancements in battery technologies are needed to ensure that these crucial components are made smaller, yet maintain their functionality. One <a href="https://www.mse.engineering.cmu.edu/index.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Department of Materials Science and Engineering</a> alumnus is involved with developing the technologies needed to bring these products to market at Meta.As a battery system engineer, Ankur Gupta, BS’10, MS’10, takes an interdisciplinary approach rooted in his studies at CMU to working with the multiple teams of engineers involved in the development of devices such as the Quest 3 and Ray-Ban | Meta smart glasses.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzA4MDk3Njk5MzE2LTAyMDktZW0tZnV0dXJlLXZpc2lvbi5wbmciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">At one end of the spectrum, he works with cell engineers, often chemical and materials science engineers, who design the chemistry inside the cell. &nbsp;At the other end, Gupta coordinates with the product design team, typically mechanical engineers, who are creating the physical design of what the actual active material has to fit into. Gupta bridges the work of these two groups, drawing on the experiences he had as a student, taking their outputs and designing the battery management unit (BMU). The BMU in the Ray-Ban | Meta smart glasses is now the world’s smallest and has all the circuitry for protection, gauging, and charging.Gupta’s interest in electronic materials was nurtured through his work with <a href="https://engineering.cmu.edu/directory/bios/whitacre-jay.html" target="_blank">Jay Whitacre</a>, professor of materials science and engineering, on batteries and energy technologies. When Gupta first enrolled as a student in the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon, he had no idea what materials science was. His initial interest was in electrical engineering, though he was also curious about nanotechnology. In his first year, he took the introduction to materials science and engineering course, and he was immediately drawn in. Later in his studies, Whitacre encouraged Gupta to think through bringing concepts to mass production, taking into account the economic influences and incremental changes in materials technologies.“The idea of taking a concept and actually bringing it to mass production has stuck with me, both in my past role at Apple and now at Meta,” says Gupta, as he reflects on projects involving batteries for devices such as iPhones, Airpods, Apple Watches, and now the Quest 3 and Ray-Ban | Meta smart glasses.While he did eventually go on to pursue a graduate degree in electrical engineering, he attributes his continued education to his background in materials science.“The reason why I went back to electric engineering was because of my foundation in materials science, especially in batteries,” says Gupta. “I knew how batteries were made and how they worked, but I wanted to go beyond that.”Gupta credits Carnegie Mellon’s emphasis on interdisciplinary studies focused on next generation problems to fostering his interest in batteries, as well as his approach to his work.“Batteries in particular are extremely interdisciplinary. There’s the chemistry side with materials science, the mechanical side of physically making the cell, the electrical side of what to do with the energy that comes out of the cell, and the economic side of building a supply chain.”<blockquote>The idea of taking a concept and actually bringing it to mass production has stuck with me.<cite>Ankur Gupta<cite id="isPasted">, MSE'10</cite> </cite></blockquote>Gupta draws on his materials science foundation still in his career today, recalling insights from Professor <a href="https://engineering.cmu.edu/directory/bios/heard-robert.html" target="_blank">Robert Heard</a>, who encouraged students to dive deep into a problem and think about it “at an atomic scale.”“For battery packs, we have to really dive into the printed circuit board (PCB) materials. Even though it’s electrical engineering, it’s also materials science getting into what’s going on at the atomic level.”Gupta draws on his own personal experiences of using the smart glasses to capture a photo, rather than trying to find his phone, to illustrate the ability that AR could have for users to experience the world, rather than looking down at phones. As Meta moves forward with developments for the Quest line of products with the goal of eventually functioning as a replacement to a traditional laptop, refining batteries to meet product design and functionality needs will be imperative.“Some of the key steps involve being able to have a battery that can power all that a laptop can do, but in the size of a phone,” he says. “It takes a lot of engineering and innovation to compact all these features into a very small product.’The pathway to a career in industry was not always clear, as the role of materials science in similar companies is not always immediately recognized, but Gupta encourages current students to think outside traditional career pathways.“If you think that there’s a way for materials to impact a certain industry, there probably is,” he says. “Make connections, and you can find a way to show there is an avenue.”

Ankur Gupta (MSE’10) is working to develop the battery technologies needed to bring augmented and mixed reality products to market at Meta.

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