Development of future battery systems by atomistic calculations
Title: Development of future battery systems by atomistic calculations
DNr: SNIC 2014/1-237
Project Type: SNIC Medium Compute
Principal Investigator: Johan Scheers <johan.scheers@chalmers.se>
Affiliation: Chalmers tekniska högskola
Duration: 2014-08-12 – 2015-09-01
Classification: 10304 10402 10407
Keywords:

Abstract

A resource efficient and energy sustainable society requires development on several levels. One grand challenge is to develop efficient, sustainable, and affordable technologies for energy storage. For electric vehicles (EVs), batteries is an optimal, mobile form of storage, however, the performance of current battery technologies is too low, and price is too high for EVs to be competitive with traditional vehicles. Lithium-air batteries is an emerging technology that may drastically shift the balance by taking advantage of oxygen from the air as a fuel. Today, the rechargeablility of lithium-air batteries is not sufficient, because of electrolyte decomposition catalyzed by oxygen radicals formed during battery operation. This is a main problem addressed by this research project. By use of existing and new computational simulation tools we will determine material properties of electrolytes important to maximize electrolyte stability and performance for lithium-air battery applications. A clear multi-disciplinary context is established by use of tools developed for simulations of biological system, in a biochemistry focused research environment. Also, by identifying and addressing questions relevant to a future society with a high concentration of batteries: the interaction of battery materials with biological systems.