John Goodenough Materials Innovation Symposium

Increasing the Energy Density of Lithium Batteries

Increasing the energy density of lithium batteries remains one of the grand challenges in battery science. At the anode, substantial progress is being made in moving beyond graphite towards silicon. At the cathode, advances have included increasing the nickel content of layered transition-metal oxides, coatings and electrolyte formulations that enable access to higher voltages, and electrode engineering. Yet further substantial gains will require us to look beyond incremental improvements and to explore new cathode chemistries and new ways of storing charge.

In this talk, I shall discuss some of our fundamental studies of possible routes to higher-energy-density cathodes. These include layered lithium-rich transition-metal oxides; disordered and short-range-ordered rocksalt materials, which challenge established ideas about the structural requirements for reversible lithium storage; and, looking beyond intercalation chemistry altogether, the oxygen cathode in the lithium–oxygen battery.

These examples illustrate how the search for higher energy density leads naturally to fundamental questions concerning the relationships between composition, structure, redox chemistry and electrochemical function. Understanding these relationships has been central to the development of rechargeable lithium batteries and remains essential if we are to discover the cathode materials and chemistries that will enable the next advances in energy storage.

Revisiting Aqueous Battery Chemistries 

AI Data Center Storage and integration of electricity from solar and wind into electricity grids call for safe, durable, scalable and low cost batteries. Battery chemistries need to be based on earth abundant materials and solvents. Water stands out as the most attractive solvent for scaling, low cost and safety. Here I present my lab’s research accumulated over the past 15 year on aqueous electrochemistry. Particularly, the presentation will be focused on 1) Aqueous electrolyte-based metal (Ni, Mn) hydrogen gas batteries for ultralong and safe energy storage; 2) Zn metal anodes: texture control and liquid crystal interface. 3) MnO₂ cathodes: understanding on the phase control; 4) Utilizing hydrogen electrochemical looping for lithium extraction and new type of proton conductor with 100% permselectivity. This presentation will also introduce the newly awarded DoE Energy Innovation Hub: Aqueous Battery Consortium (ABC). The ABC Hub will generate fundamental breakthroughs to enable aqueous batteries for energy storage with a potential of 10x reduction in the cost floor compared with lithium-ion batteries. 

High Energy Batteries for Electric Vehicles and Beyond 

There is growing concern over battery manufacturing and supply chains. Over the past 50 years, the invention of lithium-ion batteries has driven a revolution in the digital industry and enabled the development and widespread deployment of electric vehicles. As the electric vehicle market continues to grow, emerging applications in aviation, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure present new opportunities and challenges for the battery community. These applications demand exceptionally high power density, high energy density, long cycle life, and excellent safety, often simultaneously. Here we summarize recent progress in developing high-energy lithium batteries and discuss the challenges of simultaneously achieving high energy and high power density. 

Moiré Materials   

Recent progress in two-dimensional materials has made the fabrication of artificial two-dimensional crystals – moiré materials [1-3] – with lattice constants on the 10 nm scale routine.  The significance of the large lattice constants is that it allows the number of electrons per effective atom in these crystals to be varied by around ten using electrical gates – making it possible to move continuously across that many rows of the artifical material’s periodic.   Over the past decade, moiré materials have been established as a rich platform for fundamental many-electron physics studies – realizing almost all phenomena known from decades of study of atomic-scale crystals and new phenomena related to strong correlations in materials with topologically non-trivial energy bands.  My talk will survey the moiré-materials field with a focus on recent work related to the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect in MoTe₂ homobilayer moiré materials.   

Solving Global Scale Problems with Basic Science : The Legacy of John Goodenough 

More than five decades ago, President Kennedy exhorted the nation to rise up and meet the biggest challenges of that period, amongst them being the Race to the Moon, that led to the “Moonshot”, and the establishment of the Apollo program. It is quite likely that we, as a nation (and the world), are once again at crossroads, from many perspectives. I will use Energy and Computing as a “Clear and Present” example of where we need to rise up and meet the challenges that we are faced with. An area that has not received sufficient attention until recently relates to the exponential growth of electronics, driven by the proliferation of AI and the Internet of Things. A decade ago, we had made some simple calculations and had suggested that it was quite possible that ~20% of primary energy could be used in Computing, globally. Thus, there is an urgent need to find pathways to significantly reduce the energy consumption in electronics, mainly logic & memory embedded, for example, in data centers. Although the problems are at the macroscopic global scale, powerful solutions can emerge from fundamental science, as reflected in John’s work that led to his Nobel Prize. There is a belief that a similar “transition” is required to enhance the energy efficiency of electronics. In this talk, I will attempt to take you through from the “Macro”, global energy economics down to what fundamental materials physics in the form of Quantum Materials can do to help solve the key problems in Energy Efficient Electronics. 

The Introduction of Successful Battery Technologies

The need for advanced electrochemical energy storage continues to gain importance as a keystone of the energy landscape. Electrified vehicles and energy storage supporting the electric grid are examples of applications that impact how energy is generated, used, and stored.  The need for continued research to advance the science and technology of energy storage is clear.  However, in spite of the interest, the introduction of new energy storage systems and their continued market presence is rare.  Two case studies of market successful lithium based battery systems will be explored where the science and technology will be considered in light of the application needs.  Specifically, the lithium ion system where John Goodenough played a key role and the primary lithium battery developed for the implantable cardiac defibrillator will be featured.  These systems continue to thrive in the market decades after their first introduction.  The alignment of the initial and evolving application needs with the power source capabilities are critical aspects of success.   

Materials and Electrolytes for Improved and Sustainable Battery Chemistries’ 

Improving the performance, reliability, longevity and durability of batteries becomes a crucial challenge for the coming years, as it will reduce their environmental footprint and contribute to climate neutrality. To meet this challenge, new material concepts, new chemistries, and new diagnostics tools are required. This presentation will address these needs. 

Firstly, in terms of material advances, we will present a new universal class of cubic crystalline alkali organic-inorganic glyme-based halides, as well as new oxihalide ionic conductors for use in solid-state batteries. We will present our new findings in sustainable chemistry in equal detail. These findings involve novel materials and electrolyte designs that have led to the practical development of Na-ion technology and beyond.  Finally, recent advances in the development of electroactive fibre optics for real-time, multiscale probing of ion transport and interfacial chemistry will be discussed, if time allows. 

Achieving Extreme High Ion-Current Densities in Tailored Materials, Structures, and Interfaces 

Solid-state batteries have the potential to be a transformational energy storage solution due to their non-flammable ceramic electrolyte and use of high-capacity metal anodes and high voltage cathodes. However, their progress has been limited due to concerns such as dendrites and the requirement for elevated temperature and high stack pressure. We developed tailored solid-state materials, structures, and interfaces that enable extreme high current densities of 100 mA/cm² and 30 mA/cm² with Li-metal and Na-metal anodes, respectively, at room temperature with no applied pressure. Using these tailored solid-state structures we have demonstrated “Li-Free” anodes that achieve reversible lithium plating and stripping Coulombic efficiencies of 99.995%. Moreover, with these “Li-Free”-anodes we are now demonstrating solid-state batteries that exceed energy densities of 500 Wh/kg. 

Pushing the Limits of Energy Density of Lithium Batteries 

Amongst the opportunities for enhancing the energy density of lithium cells is to revert to lithium metal as in the first batteries made or to increase the capacity of the cathode. I will emphasize two examples of the latter focusing on one and two lithium redox reactions. In the former I will discuss high nickel NMC and how to stabilize it, and in the latter on vanadyl phosphate systems. This work was supported by the USDOE through the Battery 500 consortium. 

New LIB Technologies 

After a brief review of the evolution of lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology, the presentation will discuss new LIB technologies that have been implemented in commercial products over the past five years. 

Olivine Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries: 30 Years from Discovery to Commercialization 

This presentation traces three decades of research and innovation in olivine cathode materials, beginning with the pioneering work of Professor John B. Goodenough and progressing toward their worldwide commercial deployment in rechargeable lithium batteries. Advances in the fundamental physical chemistry and electrochemistry of olivine compounds have established lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) as a leading cathode material for lithium-ion batteries utilized in electric transportation, stationary energy storage, and consumer electronics. 

This achievement resulted from sustained multidisciplinary efforts by chemists, electrochemists, physicists, materials scientists and engineers to understand the intrinsic properties of LiFePO₄ and overcome the barriers limiting its practical performance. Major milestones included developing effective carbon-coating methods, improving material purity and surface control, optimizing particle morphology, and reducing particle size to the nanoscale. Rigorous investigations of interface phenomena, electronic and ionic transport, phase transformations and synthesis routes also played decisive roles in enabling commercialization. 

Despite this progress, significant variations remain in the quality of commercially available LiFePO₄, potentially limiting its reliability and performance in critical applications. This review therefore emphasizes the importance of quality control, standardized characterization and optimized manufacturing processes. 

Finally, this presentation discusses pathways for improving the performance of LiFePO₄ and other members of the olivine family. By highlighting the major scientific, technological and industrial milestones achieved over the past 30 years, this review is a tribute to Professor John B. Goodenough’s foundational and enduring contributions to the field.