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Rao LabDepartment of Chemistry · Deccan Institute of Science

Lab notebookDepartment of Chemistry · Deccan Institute of ScienceVol. 2026

Better batteries, from the atom up

Safer, longer-lasting energy storage built from abundant elements.

Our researchJoin the lab

Background

We are chemists, physicists and engineers working on the materials that will store the world’s clean energy. Our batteries use cheap, abundant elements, survive thousands of cycles and fail safely.

We build our own instruments to watch batteries while they work, and we share our data and code openly.

Experiments

  1. Exp. 01Sodium-ion batteriesCathodes and electrolytes that replace scarce lithium and cobalt with sodium, iron and manganese.
  2. Exp. 02Solid-state electrolytesCeramic and polymer electrolytes that make batteries that cannot catch fire.
  3. Exp. 03Watching batteries workOperando X-ray and spectroscopy methods that follow a battery’s chemistry while it charges.
  4. Exp. 04Batteries that lastData-driven models that predict how long a cell will live from its first hundred cycles.

Results

All publications

Team

Log

We’re recruiting

PhD positions in sodium-ion batteries · Postdoctoral researcher: operando X-ray methods · Summer research internships

See open positions

Funding & affiliations