Successful Workshop on Battery Sustainability
On November 2-3, MIE Assistant Professor Juner Zhu and his team organized the first Battery Sustainability Workshop on the Boston campus of Northeastern University. It was a two-day event jointly hosted by two MIT ChemE professors Martin Z. Bazant and Richard D. Braatz. The workshop triggered wide interest in EV, battery, renewable energy, consumer electronics, and materials companies. Over 50 representatives from 20 companies, 2 national labs (National Renewable Energy Lab and Ork Ridge National Lab), 2 federal agencies (NASA and DOT), and 7 universities participated in this meeting. The registered companies included A123, Apple, AVL, Cummins, Exponent, Factorial Energy, FM Global, Hyundai, Lithios, Medtronic, Murata, Porsche/VW, Rogers, Saint-Gobain, Shell, Toyota, and TRI.
Day 1 of the workshop is the Info Session of the Center for Battery Sustainability (CBS), a program that Prof. Zhu is initiating. The Info Session started with a Welcome Address and introductory presentation of MIE Department Chair, Prof. Marilyn Minus, followed by technical presentations by the three co-PIs on battery recycling, data-driven decision-making, and battery assessment and safety. Two invited talks were delivered by potential collaborators from NREL and UIUC. Day 2 of the workshop is the Industrial Battery Mechanics Symposium. Prof. Zhu and his team presented their 5-year research on battery modeling, including experimental techniques, mechanical failure models, and coupled electro-chemo-mechanics. The presentations triggered fruitful discussions between the industry and the university team.
On both days, a lunchtime mixer was set up for NU students to talk to the industrial participants. Around 20 students who are interested in EV and batteries joined the mixers. The MIE Co-Op Coordinator Kristina Hals joined the workshop, and the industrial participants got a chance to learn more about NU’s Co-Op program.
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