Cambridge EnerTech’s
Alternative Applications in Energy Storage
Meeting Evolving and Increasing Energy Storage Demands
March 27-28, 2019
As applications are evolving, energy storage demands are increasing. However, different energy storage applications have different sets of requirements (safety, size, weight, and cost) and must be considered during battery development and design. Is the
application better suited for high energy or high power? The answer then determines cell chemistry and cell architecture. The Alternative Applications in Energy Storage: Meeting Evolving and Increasing Energy Storage Demands conference explores the
latest trends in energy storage, from small-scale mobility applications (wearable) to autonomous applications (IoT) to large-scale industrial projects (grid).
Final Agenda
Wednesday, March 27
pALM BALLROOM
1:45 Plenary Keynote Session: Organizer's Remarks
1:50 Shep Wolsky Battery Innovator Award
2:00 PANEL DISCUSSION: What Innovations/Advancements Do OEMs Need to Enable Near-Term, Large-Scale Production?
Moderator:
Celina Mikolajczak, Director of Engineering, Energy Storage Systems, Uber
Panelists:
Mohamed Alamgir, PhD, Research Director, LG Chem
Timothy Arthur, PhD, Principal Scientist, Materials Research Department, Toyota Research Institute of North America
Micheal Austin, Vice President, BYD US Operations (BYD America-IT, BYD Motors, BYD Energy)
Craig Rigby, Vice President Technology, Power Solutions, Johnson Controls
Bob Taenaka, Technical Specialist, Battery System Development, Ford Motor Company
What do OEMs need for near term, large-scale innovation? Can the global battery R&D community deliver on what advancements OEMs need for large-scale production? Our distinguished panel will discuss what they need to innovate and what they anticipate
their future requirements will be. In addition, our panelists will discuss what innovation can be achieved to meet the OEMs requirements.
2:55 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
3:40 Organizer’s Opening Remarks
Mary Ann Brown, Executive Director, Conferences, Cambridge EnerTech
3:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Amy Marschilok, PhD, University Instructional Specialist, Research Associate Professor, Materials Science and Engineering & Research Professor, Chemistry, Stony Brook University; Joint Appointee, Brookhaven National Laboratory
3:50 An Argument for Basic Battery Science: Each Time an Application Demands a New Battery Chemistry to Achieve Previously Unrealized Functionality, a New Fundamental Understanding Is Required
Amy Marschilok,
PhD, University Instructional Specialist, Research Associate Professor, Materials Science and Engineering & Research Professor, Chemistry, Stony Brook University; Joint Appointee, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Battery science must be explored both fundamentally and with an understanding of application-specific demands, to achieve relevant and previously unrealized functionality of energy storage materials and to facilitate deliberate design of systems with
the desired characteristics. This presentation includes case studies to illustrate this point in several applications enabled by electrochemical energy storage solutions.
4:20 Longevity and Economics of Battery Power for Seismic Nodes
Timothy Betzner, PhD, Research
Scientist, Systems Division, Fairfield Geotechnologies
Autonomous seismic sensor nodes, alternatives for traditional geophysical exploration, rest on the seabed for weeks per deployment, recording earth echoes indicative of fossil fuels and minerals. Nodes contain up to 400 commercial lithium-ion cells, which,
over eight years, experience unique marine degradation conditions. Capacity testing, AutoLion simulation, and Weibull statistical modeling were combined with node manufacturing history to determine an economic battery replacement schedule.
4:50 Characterizing and Simulating Batteries for IoT Applications
Bradley Odhner,
Applications Engineer, Keithley Instruments, Tektronix
Battery simulation grants designers the ability to repeatably and reliably test their devices under realistic conditions, besides a simple cost savings in the battery budget. Simulating accurately often requires knowledge of how the battery will react
to a device’s unique current draw and low level continuous current drain. This talk explores the difficulties and solutions of battery simulation.
5:20 Dinner Tutorial Registration*
5:45 – 7:45 Dinner Tutorial*
7:45 Close of Day
Thursday, March 28
7:30 am Registration Open
7:45 Interactive Breakout Discussion Groups with Continental Breakfast
The breakouts are informal, moderated discussions with brainstorming and interactive problem solving, allowing participants from diverse backgrounds to exchange ideas and experiences and develop future collaborations around a focused topic. Each topic
is led by a moderator who ensures focused conversation around the key issues of that topic. Attendees choose to join a specific group. View list of topics here.
8:45 Session Break
9:00 Chairperson’s Remarks
Kevin Fok, Director, Operations, LG Chem Michigan, Inc.
9:05 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Towards Profitable Sustainability: The Liquid Metal Battery
Donald R. Sadoway, PhD, John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The liquid metal battery offers colossal current capability and long service lifetime at very low cost. The roundtrip efficiency is greater than 80% under daily 4 h discharge (C/4) with fade rates of 0.00009%/cycle, which means retention of >99%
of initial capacity after 10 years. There is much to be learned from the innovative process that led to the discovery of disruptive battery technology.
9:35 Battery Energy Storage Roadmap – Market and Technology since 2008
Michael Liu, Director, Energy Storage, BYD America Corp.
A quick overview on what in the stationary storage industry has evolved since 2018, what industry was looking for back then, and what was available back then. We use some typical examples of the time to provide an idea of how the technology has
improved and of increasing markets that are services.
10:05 Understanding and Formulations of Material Selection for Battery Pack Designs
Terence Kearns, Mr.
Business Development Manager, Business Development, WEVO-CHEMIE GmbH
WEVO Chemical Corporation, years of research and amassed data from customers, applications and industry stakeholders, has complied a simpler guide for material selection. Explain the key attributes and boundaries of each chemistry. Considerations
for processing and the consequent disparate influences. Formulated into an easy to understand engineering format.
10:35 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
11:20 Energy Storage System Deployment and Implementation
Kevin Fok, Director, Operations, LG Chem Michigan, Inc.
This presentation discusses the deployment of energy storage systems and recent trends based on current, in-field experiences. As energy storage systems continue to be installed not only in rural and remote locations, but also in crowded, urban
environments, additional considerations need to be factored in. For successful projects, it is critical to understand requirements in the rapidly growing and evolving energy storage market.
11:50 Solar Flow Batteries: Integrated Solar Energy Conversion and Redox Flow Battery Devices
Wenjie Li, Research Scientist,
Song Jin Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Practical solar energy utilization systems demand efficient solar energy conversion and inexpensive large-scale energy storage. Combining both functions into a single integrated device represents a more efficient, compact and cost-effective approach
to utilize solar energy. We have developed novel and highly efficient hybrid solar-charged storage devices that integrate regenerative solar cells and redox flow batteries (RFBs) that share the same pair of redox couples.
12:20 pm FEATURED PRESENTATION: Aqueous Sodium-Ion Batteries
Jay F. Whitacre, PhD, Professor, Materials Science and Engineering, Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University; Founder & Chief Scientist, Aquion Energy
This talk will explore the promise and inherent limitations associated with the inception and scale up of several different neutral pH, aqueous sodium-ion electrolyte battery chemistries. While there are appealing attributes to be considered,
techno-economic and supply chain analyses show that achieving solutions with sufficiently low cost is extremely challenging.
12:50 Walking Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing or Plated Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall Foyer
1:50 Dessert Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
2:20 Chairperson’s Remarks
James J. Watkins, PhD, Professor, Polymer Science and Engineering; Director, NSF Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing, Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
2:25 Thin Film Polymer Electrolytes in Lithium Batteries
Wyatt Tenhaeff,
PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester
Carefully engineering the surface chemistry of lithium-ion battery electrodes is necessary for the development of safe, stable, high-energy-density cells. The application of ultrathin film coatings is an important strategy used to mediate electrochemical
reactions. This talk describes work in our group using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization and initiated chemical vapor deposition to synthesize polymer thin film electrode coatings to study how polymer chemistry and film
morphology influence key electrode processes.
2:55 Scalable Fabrication of High-Power Lithium-Ion Microbatteries via Imprinting of 3D Electrodes Using Nanoparticle Inks
James J. Watkins,
PhD, Professor, Polymer Science and Engineering; Director, NSF Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing, Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Microbatteries based on 3D electrode architectures hold great promise but their practical realization is limited by strict material requirements and significant hierarchical processing complexities. We fabricated a fully integrated 3D lithium-ion
microbattery using sub-10 nm LiMn2O4/Li4Ti5O12 nanocrystals and a novel copolymer gel electrolyte that possess superior capacity retention (40% at 300 C) and high-power density (855.5 μWcm-2μm-1) comparable to some
of the best microsupercapacitors. The microelectrodes are fabricated by scalable solvent-assisted imprint lithography using nanoparticle inks and the battery cell is integrated vertically through layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly.
3:25 Batteries for Novel Medical Applications Based on Wafer-Level Processing
Robert Hahn, PhD,
Senior Scientist, Micro Energy Group, Fraunhofer IZM
Several emerging innovations in the medical and health sector require extremely miniaturized batteries and special form factors. A technology was developed that combines advanced silicon wafer-level packaging and microprint and dispense processes
to fabricate thousands of small batteries in parallel on a substrate. While standard lithium-ion electrode materials are used adaptions were made for the electrolyte to reduce the vapor pressure. Special fabrications technologies have been
developed like high-speed particle jetting for active materials and electrophoretic deposition for the simultaneous fabrication of separators.
3:55 Exploring Threefold Specific Energy in Novel Activated Carbons
Bettina Fuchs,
Dr. rer. nat., Postdoctoral Researcher, Fuel Cells Fundamentals, Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW)
We introduce novel activated carbons (AC) with capacities of 146 mAh/g @ 1C and 60 mAh/g @ 850 C load in aqueous-alkaline electrolytes. This outstanding electrochemical performance is linked to the surface chemistry and porosity of the novel ACs.
A high-power Ni(OH)2/AC fuel cell with 10 Wh/kg demonstrates their promising application potential.
4:25 Networking Refreshment Break
PALM BALLROOM
4:40 Closing Plenary Keynote Session: Organizer's Remarks
4:40 - 5:40pm PANEL DISCUSSION: Solving the Innovation Barrier for Production of Improved Li-Ion
Moderator:
Brian Barnett, President, Battery Perspectives
Panelists:
Michael Fetcenko, Director, Global Licensing, BASF Battery Materials, BASF
Tobias Glossman, Senior Engineer, Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America
Bruce Miller, Technology Strategist, Dell
Donald R. Sadoway, PhD, John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Paul Schiffbanker, Product Manager Battery Systems, AVL
Demands for improved lithium-ion are increasing even while markets are expanding dramatically amidst relentless cost reduction pressures. New materials, components and technologies are required, and an unprecedented level of R&D is responding.
Battery manufacturers and their suppliers face enormous engineering and investment challenges ramping up production. One consequence is a major innovation barrier: long multi-year qualification periods and technologies “frozen”
for manufacturing. This culture requires screening of new technologies in complete cells. Most innovators do not make cells or know how to demonstrate realistic cell-level performance. This panel of experts will examine these challenges and
consider approaches to unblock innovation.
5:45 Close of Conference