CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT SEMINAR
Title: “New Chemistries Beyond Lithium-ion Batteries”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rezan Demir-Cakan
Chemical Engineering Department,
Gebze Technical University
Abstract:
We are living in a society that is fully dependent on fossil fuels. Our addiction to fossil fuels caused a rapid societal development but the consequences on the environment in terms of CO2 emissions and global warming are devastating, which is expected to result in a 4 to 6 oC temperature raise by 2100. Moreover, it is estimated that oil reserves will be over within the next 40 years while coal and natural gas may last at most for another 150 years. Therefore, scientists are responsible to come up with novel ideas on how to exploit renewable energy resources such as wind, water or sun in the most efficient manner without causing any further ecological disasters. However, most renewable energy sources are discontinuous; thus, the energy storage is of upmost importance for the current and future societal needs.
Over the past 25 years, lithium ion batteries (LIBs) played a crucial role in the development of such energy storage technologies. Today LIBs are used in 90% of rechargeable portable electronic devices. Although great improvements have been accomplished, and while active research for further developments continues, current lithium-ion technologies provide a limited gravimetric energy density (150 Wh/kg for a full system) which cannot compete with neither fulfilling the goal of replacing combustion engines nor meeting large mass energy storage back-up dictated by solar farms or wind turbines plants. Therefore, more drastic approaches are necessary to go beyond this limit.
Moreover, the latter application of lithium-based batteries raises concern for a possible shortage of the limited lithium resources in the Earth’s crust. Consequently, battery technologies with further development together with new battery prototypes are essential. Alternatively, room-temperature sodium-ion batteries can be an option particularly for large-scale stationary energy storage applications, due to the practically vast sodium resources and their low cost.
The seminar will start from the basic history of the batteries to lithium-ion batteries with the most important developments in the field. Then, the implementation of the very challenging lithium-sulphur technology as well as sodium-ion batteries will be discussed with very recent findings in the area.
Date: December 12, 2017 (Tuesday)
Time: 12:40
Place: Faculty of Science Building, B Block, Seminar Room #Z-14