News Archive
2021 News Releases
10 Jacobs School faculty among 2021 list of most highly cited researchers in the world
November 30, 2021
Ten professors at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering are among the world’s most influential researchers in their fields. The professors, Ludmil Alexandrov, Trey Ideker, Rob Knight, Prashant Mali, Ying Shirley Meng, Shyue Ping Ong, Bernhard O. Palsson, Joseph Wang, Sheng Xu and Liangfang Zhang, are amone 51 professors and researchers at UC San Diego named in the prestigious list of Highly Cited Researchers in 2021. Full Story
Researchers determine optimum pressure to improve the performance of lithium metal batteries
October 18, 2021
A team of materials scientists and chemists has determined the proper stack pressure that lithium metal batteries, or LMBs, need to be subjected to during battery operation in order to produce optimal performance. The team, which includes researchers from the University of California San Diego, Michigan State University, Idaho National Laboratory and the General Motors Research and Development Center, presents their findings in the Oct. 18 issue of Nature Energy. Full Story
DOE awards UC San Diego nanoengineers $1.25M to improve batteries for EVs
September 27, 2021
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $1.25 million to nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego to improve the electrolytes that carry ions in lithium-sulfur batteries. The researchers will partner with General Motors and Ampcera Inc, a solid-state battery materials and technology company. Full Story
A new solid-state battery surprises the researchers who created it
September 23, 2021
Engineers created a new type of battery that weaves two promising battery sub-fields into a single battery. The battery uses both a solid state electrolyte and an all-silicon anode, making it a silicon all-solid-state battery. The initial rounds of tests show that the new battery is safe, long lasting, and energy dense. It holds promise for a wide range of applications from grid storage to electric vehicles. Full Story
UC San Diego nanoengineers receive $2.7M NSF grant to make battery manufacturing waste-free
September 1, 2021
A team led by nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego has been awarded a $2.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop an eco-friendly and low-cost manufacturing process for sodium all-solid-state batteries. The process will be used to create large-scale energy storage systems—for buildings, electric grids, and wind and solar farms—that are more efficient, affordable and safe. Full Story
Stabilizing gassy electrolytes could make ultra-low temperature batteries safer
June 7, 2021
A new technology could dramatically improve the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries that operate with gas electrolytes at ultra-low temperatures. By keeping electrolytes from vaporizing, the technology can prevent pressure buildup inside the battery that leads to swelling and explosions. Full Story
Weakness is strength for this low-temperature battery
February 25, 2021
Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have discovered new fundamental insights for developing lithium metal batteries that perform well at ultra-low temperatures; mainly, that the weaker the electrolyte holds on to lithium ions, the better. By using such a weakly binding electrolyte, the researchers developed a lithium metal battery that can be repeatedly recharged at temperatures as low as -60 degrees Celsius—a first in the field. Full Story
.jpg)
New material is next step toward stable high-voltage long-life solid-state sodium-ion batteries
February 23, 2021
A team of researchers designed and manufactured a new sodium-ion conductor for solid-state sodium-ion batteries that is stable when incorporated into higher-voltage oxide cathodes. This new solid electrolyte could dramatically improve the efficiency and lifespan of this class of batteries. A proof of concept battery built with the new material lasted over 1000 cycles while retaining 89.3% of its capacity--a performance unmatched by other solid-state sodium batteries to date. Full Story