New Vistas in Electrochemical Energy Storage
Abstract: The widespread integration of renewable, intermittent energy sources such as wind or solar is dependent upon the development of efficient large-scale energy storage systems for load-levelling the electric grid. Similarly, the acceptance of plug-in hybrid electric - and especially pure electric vehicles - hinges on the availability of intermediate scale, safe, low-cost energy storage batteries to provide practical driving ranges. These approaches can help mitigate CO2 emissions and urban pollution, but it is widely acknowledged that traditional Li-ion batteries - which work on the principle of reversible storage of electrons and Li-ions in bulk materials - are approaching heir limits. This presentation will focus on the challenge to find better electrochemical energy storage systems that go “beyond Li-ion” batteries. Topics will encompass multivalent intercalation batteries and cells that operate on the basis of “chemical transformations.” These both represent exciting new technologies that could meet the needs for high energy density storage. Yet many barriers remain to realizing their full promise, especially for automotive applications. They require cleverly designed materials for the electrodes, different electrolyte strategies than those used for Li-ion batteries and advanced electrode architectures. If the hurdles can be overcome, then energy storage technology has a much better opportunity to change the way we manage energy. In this seminar, I will discuss the research in our lab at the Electrochemical Energy Research Centre at Waterloo that is aimed at addressing the above challenges.
Bio: Prof. Nazar was educated at UBC and the University of Toronto where she received her Ph.D. degree in materials chemistry. She moved to Exxon Corporate Research to take up a Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 1987 she joined the Chemistry Department at the University of Waterloo, where she initiated her independent academic career. She was promoted to full professor in 2000 and established the Laboratory for Electrochemical Energy Materials. She has been an invited professor at the IMN/Université de Nantes, the Materials Science department in UCLA, the CNRS in Grenoble, France; and at Caltech.
Dr. Nazar has achieved international recognition as a leader in the areas of solid state chemistry, electrochemistry, energy storage and materials science. She has co-authored over 220 publications, 11 patents, and over 300 contributed international conference papers. Dr. Nazar has also presented her work in over 200 invited distinguished lectures, colloquia and seminars around the globe. She is listed in the 2014 and 2016 Highly Cited Research List (Web of Science), and the 2014 Web of Science’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.
Dr. Nazar is the recipient of several academic and professional honours and awards, including the ECS Battery Division Research Award (2009), the IBA award (2011), the IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry award (2011), the August-Wilhelm-von-Hofmann Lecture award (2013), and was a 2010 Moore Distinguished Scholar at Caltech. She was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 2012, and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2015. Dr. Nazar is Member of the Editorial Board of several scientific journals, and serves on many national and international scientific boards, panels, and committees.
All seminars are held on Wednesdays from 12:00 noon-1:00 p.m. in the Bowen Hall Auditorium Room 222. A light lunch is provided at 11:30 a.m. in the Bowen Hall Atrium immediately prior to the seminar.