Probing the electrochemomechanics of high energy density batteries via operando acoustics

Gunnar Þorsteinsson, PhD candidate in Battery Engineering at Columbia University gives a lecture titled Probing the electrochemomechanics of high energy density batteries via operando acoustics

Abstract

With the electrification of transportation and the need for a grid buffer to handle intermittent power generation, it is projected that the production of secondary batteries will increase by an order of magnitude in the next decade[1]. This boom requires commensurate improvements in battery metrology and instrumentation. However, incumbent in situ and operando characterization techniques fail to fully elucidate the multiscale processes that take place within battery cells. Acoustics are a nascent technique in this space that complements incumbent techniques—all of which target electrochemical or electromagnetic signatures—by focusing on the chemomechanical domain.

This talk provides a bird’s eye view of batteries from a characterization perspective, with a particular focus on acoustics and recent progress in the academic space.

Bio

Gunnar Þorsteinsson is a PhD candidate in Battery Engineering at Columbia University. His graduate research is on the development of ultrasound as a characterization technique for high energy density batteries. Gunnar holds an undergraduate degree in Geophysics with a focus on geothermal utilization from the University of Iceland and an MS in Sustainable Energy Engineering from Columbia.