ChE Seminar: Near-term and Long-term Perspectives of Battery Technologies

ChE Seminar Series Presents:

Arumugam Manthiram | Professor
Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering
McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering Program & Texas Materials Institute

Near-term and Long-term Perspectives of Battery Technologies

Abstract: A widespread adoption of battery technologies for electric vehicles and grid electricity storage of renewable energies requires optimization of cost, cycle life, safety, energy density, power density, and environmental impact, all of which are directly linked to severe materials challenges. After providing a brief account of the current status, this presentation will focus on the development of advanced materials and new battery chemistries for near-term and long-term battery technologies. Particularly, lithium-based batteries based on cobalt-free layered oxide and sulfur cathodes will be presented. The challenges of bulk and surface instability and chemical crossover during charge-discharge cycling, dynamics and stabilization of lithium plating and striping, advanced characterization methodologies to develop an in-depth understanding, and approaches to overcome the challenges will be presented.

Bio: Arumugam Manthiram is currently the Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering and Director of the Texas Materials Institute and the Materials Science and Engineering Program at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). He received his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1981. After working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford and at UT-Austin with 2019 Chemistry Nobel Laureate Professor John Goodenough, he became a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UT-Austin in 1991. Dr. Manthiram’s research is focused on rechargeable batteries and fuel cells. He has authored more than 820 journal articles with 70,000 citations and an h-index of 132.

Dr. Manthiram is a Fellow of six professional societies: Materials Research Society, Electrochemical Society, American Ceramic Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and World Academy of Materials and Manufacturing Engineering. He is an elected member of the World Academy of Ceramics. He received the university-wide (one per year) Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award in 2012, Battery Division Research Award from the Electrochemical Society in 2014, Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 2015, Billy and Claude R. Hocott Distinguished Centennial Engineering Research Award in 2016, Honorary Mechanical Engineer of the ME Academy of Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019, Henry B. Linford Award for Distinguished Teaching from the Electrochemical Society in 2020, and the International Battery Association Research Award in 2020. He is a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher each year during 2017 – 2020. He delivered the 2019 Chemistry Nobel Prize Lecture in Stockholm on behalf of Professor John Goodenough.