UChicago PME Special Seminar - Wan Si Tang

Materials R&D Innovations for Safer Energy Storage and Conversion Technologies

The global energy crisis demands scalable and sustainable solutions, and electrification is a critical pathway forward. However, despite the widespread adoption of battery technologies, a comprehensive understanding of their safety hazards remains incomplete. It is therefore essential to assess safety risks t hroughout the entire research and development (R&D) process, particularly for emerging, pre-commercial battery chemistries. At the materials level, the Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI) conducts safety-focused R&D on novel chemistries and systematic engineering approaches for energy storage and conversion t echnologies at early technology readiness levels (TRLs). This presentation highlights ESRI’s internal research efforts as well as its collaborations with research groups across the United States and i nternationally, which strengthen its mission to advance the safe development and deployment of batteries and other energy storage systems. Key areas of R&D include safer lithium-ion battery components, solid-state battery technologies, sodium-based battery systems, and alternative energy forms like hydrogen generation and storage, as well as our database to document and standardize best practices for in-house research processes. Together, these efforts support the development of safer, more reliable materials and systems for next-generation energy storage and conversion applications.

Speaker: Wan Si Tang, Ph.D., Director of Research, Novel Materials & New Energy Forms, Electrochemical Safety Research Institute, UL Research Institutes