August 11, 2016

Next-generation batteries light up symposium

More than 130 scholars will descend on the University of Wollongong (UOW) Innovation Campus this week to discuss the next generation of batteries.

The International Symposium on Next-Generation Batteries, organised by UOW’s Dr Shulei Chou and his team, aims to create a stage to exchange the latest research results and share the advanced research methods for both early-career and senior scientists all over the world.

The symposium, hosted by UOW’s Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials (ISEM), will run from Wednesday 10 August through to Friday 12 August, and will feature presentations by internationally renowned speakers on their cutting-edge research.

There is increasing demand for lower cost and higher density energy storage for applications such as electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.

In addition, the intermittent nature of solar, wind, wave and other renewable sources, coupled with the high cost of large-scale battery storage, imposes a barrier on wider uptake of renewable energy.

This poses technical challenges that will be addressed throughout the week, including, rechargeable batteries for renewable energy storage and conversion and advanced materials for next-generation batteries.

A number of papers on state-of-the-art research will also be collected for publication in the next edition of Advanced Energy Materials.

“We are thrilled to have Editors from Nature Energy and Advanced Materials presenting at this Symposium – support from these high-quality journals is a testament to the cutting-edge work being presented here,” Dr Shulei Chou, UOW early-career researcher and Executive Chair of the Symposium Organising Committee, said.

The Symposium program includes 60 keynote and invited speakers, including Professor Zaiping Guo and Professor Yusuke Yamauchi of UOW, who recently received ARC Future Fellowships in recognition of their internationally-renowned work on energy materials.

The symposium builds on ISEM’s expertise in the field, and will help drive its recently announced a project to develop a low-cost, high-density battery storage to integrate renewable energy sources, such as solar power, into the grid.

A $4.7 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and five industry partners will enable UOW researchers to develop low-cost, high-density battery storage to integrate renewable energy sources, such as solar power, into the grid.

“The technology we are currently working on will be a game-changer in providing cheap, energy-dense storage in the context of an energy management system,” ISEM Director Professor Shi Xue Dou said.

“Bringing together such a large group of high caliber researchers in the next-generation battery field in an event such as this allows for further information sharing and gives young scholars the opportunity to connect with world-famous battery researchers.”