Keynote: Successful Electrochemical Energy Storage: A Battery Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts

Advances in electrochemical energy storage have taken on expanded significance due to the needed ability to store electricity for many applications including aerospace, transportation, portable electronics, and biomedical devices.  Recently, large scale electrochemical energy storage is also being contemplated for storage related to the generation and distribution of electricity by the electrical grid.

The specific needs of each application vary widely where a single solution can not meet the demands of all applications.  This results in the tethering of the energy storage solution with the need where the energy storage system should be viewed synergistically with the application.  The application is often enabled by the power source and conversely, without an application the power source has little value. 

The design of next generation power sources is successful taken in the context of systems level function.    Expertise spanning the range from molecular analysis to mesoscale interrogation to systems level observation is required.  An example based on the deployment of a successful battery, lithium/silver vanadium oxide, for implantable medical applications will be considered.  Recent results in the quantification of the life limiting process based on anode – cathode – electrolyte interactions will be presented.  Further, the investigation of a new class of materials for extending battery life will be discussed.