Subproject for Center for Electrochemical Energy Science - II

Statement of Work The ability to store electrical energy reversibly remains far from the theoretical limits offered by known electrochemical couples and materials, despite extensive research in this area. The traditional Edisonian approach that has been largely adopted to search for advanced systems has been unable, to date, to unlock their full potential - largely because these systems challenge the physical and chemical stability limits of electrode and electrolyte materials at extremely high and low potentials. The current “Achilles heel” of energy storage research is the relatively weaker emphasis that has been placed on developing a truly fundamental understanding of the complex reactions and processes that are inherent to energy storage systems, relative to the more technologically-driven applied research approach that is driven by performance goals. The mission of Center for Electrochemical Energy Science (“CEES-II”) is, therefore, to gather a foundational understanding of electrochemically-driven chemical and materials processes inherent in a new generation of electrode materials using the materials and electrochemical couples of lithium ion battery systems as a guide. This robust molecular-level perspective will lead to fundamentally new insights into electrochemical reactions and to the discovery of new materials, concepts, structures and architectures that can control the behavior of materials and electrified interfaces in extreme electrochemical environments, and potentially to disruptive scientific advances and understanding of energy storage materials and their modes of operation.