South Dakota
Mines is now home to two research centers that aim to create new battery
technology, which could revolutionize the energy storage market.
The Center for
Solid-State Electric Power Storage (CEPS) at Mines is backed by $2.25
million in funding through the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers
(IUCRC) grant. A vital part of CEPS funding also comes from numerous industry
partners that support pre-competitive research. The center is planning an
industry advisory board meeting this fall and interested companies can find a contact for more information here. The state of
South Dakota supported this initiative and invested an additional $3.9 million
to establish the “Governor’s Research Center for Electrochemical Energy
Storage” that involves Mines and South Dakota State University (SDSU).
The collaborative effort connects these industry and
government partners to university researchers and national labs with vast
research capability. CEPS is fostering research that empowers scientific breakthroughs, which are needed to enable new battery technology. CEPS collaborators
are working to bring the innovative technology they create to market, which has
potential to yield a large return on investment for industry partners. The US
lithium-ion battery market is expected to reach $90 billion by 2025. The effort
is also a vital part of new technology needed to combat climate change.
The center utilizes university experts in materials
engineering, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing technology and other
disciplines. “The landscape of battery research is huge, there are millions of
materials, millions of options that could work to create new types of
solid-state batteries. We need to employ artificial intelligence to help tackle
this problem quickly,” says Dr. Alevtina Smirnova, associate professor of chemistry
at South Dakota Mines. The end goal for CEPS is to commercialize eco-friendly,
safe and economically feasible all-solid-state energy storage technology. These new batteries have a range of potential
uses including, portable and medical applications, the automotive industry,
centralized and decentralized electric grids, military applications and energy
security.
In many ways, the research is a race against the
clock. “We must accelerate energy
storage solutions to the market, as this technology that improves the storage
capacity for clean energy is vital in helping solve our climate crisis,” says Smirnova.
Dr. Smirnova is leading the research effort with
co-principal investigators: Dr. Sanjeev Mukerjee, professor and director of the
Northeastern University Center of Renewable Energy and Technology (NUCRET);
Dr. Quinn Qiao, professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
at Syracuse University; Dr. Serge Pann, executive director of NUCRET; Dr. George
Langelett, professor in the Ness School of Management & Economics at South
Dakota State University; Dr. Abu Md Numan-Al-Mobin, research scientist at South
Dakota Mines; and Dr. Duane Abata, professor in the department of mechanical engineering
at South Dakota Mines.
For Dr. Smirnova, this collaborative approach to
problem solving, which brings together multiple industry partners alongside
public-funded university researchers, has the potential to yield the fastest
results to this critical problem of energy storage. She says it is similar to
the collaborative approach that helped bring about rapid development of
vaccines for COVID-19.
The research is already proving successful; this
spring, Mines obtained its first patent for a new
kind of all-solid-state lithium-ion battery that can operate at elevated
temperatures without danger of catching fire. Current technology involves
lithium-ion batteries that contain a liquid electrolyte. These batteries can be
flammable, take a relatively long time to recharge and are not long
lasting. CEPS’ research focuses on finding materials best suited for
solid-state type batteries, which are longer lasting, faster recharging and
much safer to use. As the research progresses, the eureka moments and
discoveries developed by the team will be also carried into commercial
production by industry.
CEPS is now seeking graduate students in
nanomaterials and energy storage who are interested in reducing the impact of
climate change by revolutionizing the field of energy storage. Students
interested in applying can find
contact information here.
CEPS is utilizing government funding to leverage
industry investment that will help advance the research effort. Industry
partners gain access to use the new technology developed by the research with a
smaller upfront cost and reduced red tape. CEPS industry members have direct access
to non-competitive governmental funds through the Interagency Transfer
Agreements and shared technical expertise available at the university sites and research facilities. This
gives industry partners a major advantage to those companies that are
attempting to undertake this branch of research on their own.