Research
Four connected themes, from new chemistry to the instruments that let us watch it happen.
01
Sodium-ion batteries
Cathodes and electrolytes that replace scarce lithium and cobalt with sodium, iron and manganese.
Sodium is a thousand times more abundant than lithium. We design layered and polyanionic cathodes that make sodium-ion cells competitive for grid storage.
- Layered oxides that resist moisture and phase changes
- Hard-carbon anodes from agricultural waste
- Electrolytes that stay stable to 4.3 V
02
Solid-state electrolytes
Ceramic and polymer electrolytes that make batteries that cannot catch fire.
We study how ions hop through crystal lattices and how interfaces between solids degrade, so that solid-state cells can charge fast without growing dendrites.
03
Watching batteries work
Operando X-ray and spectroscopy methods that follow a battery’s chemistry while it charges.
Our custom cells fit synchrotron beamlines and lab-based instruments. They show where lithium plates, how cathodes crack and which reactions consume the electrolyte.
04
Batteries that last
Data-driven models that predict how long a cell will live from its first hundred cycles.
Combining physics with machine learning, we forecast ageing and design charging protocols that double the life of a cell.