In this Sustainable Energy Seminar, Dr. Dawei Feng, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, will discuss the need for grid energy storage and the potential for flow batteries as an alternative to lithium-ion for grid-level storage.

Abstract:  With international, federal, state, and local government emission targets to address the looming threat of climate change, an unprecedented clean energy transition is taking place. However, with replacement of dispatchable coal and gas generation with intermittent solar and wind resources, grid energy storage is needed to secure economical and reliable distributed energy. New installations are dominated by Lithium-ion batteries, which have dramatically dropped in cost over the past decade with electric vehicle development. Yet, Li-ion is not ideal due to international supply chain constraints, resource availability and sustainability concerns, operational fire risk, and short hour duration limitations. Flow batteries are an emerging grid energy storage tech that store energy in liquid phase chemicals for simplified scalability and adaptable duration capability. Prof. Dawei Feng's lab researches different flow battery chemistries, including organic molecules dissolved in water, for safe, sustainable, and high-performance systems.

This event is offered both in-person at the Wisconsin Energy Institute and online through Zoom Webinar. If attending online, registration is required. Click here to register for this and all other webinars as part of the Sustainable Energy Seminar series in Fall 2022.