Joule
Volume 7, Issue 4, 19 April 2023, Pages 619-623
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Future Energy
Thermally activated batteries and their prospects for grid-scale energy storage

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2023.02.009Get rights and content

Dr. Minyuan M. Li is a postdoctoral associate in the Battery Materials & Systems Group at PNNL. His research interests include inorganic syntheses, nanomaterials, and electrochemistry. He is currently developing new battery chemical systems for long-duration and seasonal energy storage applications to support grid resiliency.

Dr. Jon Mark Weller is a postdoctoral research associate in the Battery Materials & Systems Group at PNNL, with research interests including solid-state chemistry, materials synthesis and characterization, battery electrochemistry, and applications of molten salts, among others. His current focus is on low-cost, long-duration energy storage with an emphasis on novel molten Na battery chemistries.

Dr. David M. Reed has over 20 years of experience in the materials science field. Before joining PNNL in 2010, he worked at 3M in St. Paul, MN, and Praxair in Tonawanda, NY. While in industry, David worked in a number of areas including high-temperature electrochemistry, materials synthesis and processing, alternative manufacturing methods, dielectric materials, coatings, failure analysis, new materials development, design of experiments, and rapid commercialization processes. His primary focus at PNNL has been developing and testing new materials and components in electrochemical devices. David is currently the PNNL program manager for the DOE Office of Electricity-sponsored program focused on new electrochemical device technologies for energy storage and project manager for several industrial-sponsored programs.

Dr. Vincent L. Sprenkle is currently an advisor for the Energy Processes and Materials Division at PNNL, focusing on the development of electrochemical energy storage technologies to enable renewable integration and to improve grid support. He previously led other projects in the development of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology and planar Na batteries. Dr. Sprenkle currently holds 14 US patents on fuel cells, batteries, and high-temperature electrochemical devices with 22 pending patent applications. He was named PNNL Inventor of the Year in 2014 and has been recognized as key contributor on four licensing activities while at PNNL.

Dr. Guosheng Li is a senior scientist and principal investigator in the Battery Materials & Systems Group at PNNL. His research focuses on advanced electrolytes (liquid and solid-state), synthesis of cathode materials, cathode reaction mechanisms, and various interfacial problems encountered in various rechargeable batteries. He is one of the pioneering researchers in the field of high-temperature batteries.

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Acknowledgments

This work is mainly supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) through Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (#70247). J.M.W. and G.L. also acknowledge the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP), Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea (grant 20198510050010) for the support. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated by Battelle for the DOE under contract DE-AC05-76RL01830.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, writing –

2

These authors contributed equally

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