Developing compact, low-cost, high-functioning energy storage technologies is becoming increasingly important as society attempts to improve the power grid and continues to create game-changing alternative energy solutions.
Texas A&M University chemists Emily Pentzer and David Powers are key personnel of Case Western Reserve University’s Breakthrough Electrolytes for Energy Storage (BEES) Energy Frontier Research Center, with Pentzer also serving as lead of one of the two thrusts within the center. The BEES Center, funded by the Department of Energy, recently was renewed for another four years.
Pentzer says the goal of the center's research is to use cheap and abundant liquid materials for electrolytes capable of providing electrochemical energy storage. The applications of these electrolytes range from redox flow batteries to supercapacitors.
“We want to fundamentally understand how physical properties, like density or viscosity, impact the ability to store energy,” Pentzer said. “Additionally, we want to make sure we are developing energy storage devices that use domestic resources, that are readily available and that provide low-cost energy storage options.”
The researchers hope their experimental and theoretical findings on electrolyte chemistries will lead to innovations in the design and development of new electrolytes that ultimately will transform the field of energy storage.
“I hope this spurs interest in our research areas and programs, but more than that, I hope this leads to sustainable and efficient energy storage innovations,” Pentzer said.
Pentzer is an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M. Powers is also an associate professor in Texas A&M Chemistry.
The BEES Center is a collaborative effort between researchers at Case Western Reserve University, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, The University of Notre Dame, Columbia University, New York University, Hunter College of the City University of New York, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) program was established in 2009 by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences within the DOE Office of Science. The funding opportunity sponsors fundamental research to accelerate scientific breakthroughs needed to strengthen the U.S. energy economy. Centers bring together multidisciplinary teams from universities, nonprofits, industry and national laboratories to tackle challenges across promising areas for future energy technologies.
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