Material Matters - Powering the Future

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are nowadays mainstream for many applications and have already transformed our society by enabling the wireless revolution. However, the need for complete decarbonization is becoming more urgent. In this evolving landscape, developing efficient and cost-effective methods to improve and recycle these batteries, as well as exploring sustainable alternatives like sodium-ion and solid-state batteries, is essential for a sustainable future.

In this talk we will discuss the challenges we face in the development of more performant, safer, cheaper and more sustainable materials and the design strategies we use.  This will cover several aspects such as the use of computational and automatization tools for the accelerated discovery of new materials; the use of operando techniques to unveil operation mechanisms or the development of new methods for the advanced characterization of structural and microstructural features.

About the speaker

Montse Casas-Cabanas is an Ikerbasque Professor and the Scientific Director of the Electrochemical Energy Storage Area at CIC energiGUNE. Her research centers on designing next-generation battery chemistries and understanding energy storage phenomena, with a focus on crystal chemistry, sustainability, and recyclability. She has made significant contributions to the study of electrode reaction mechanisms and the impact of structural disorder on electrochemical performance, including the development of the FAULTS software.  She actively participates in the MESC+ Erasmus Mundus master course, the Alistore-ERI network and Battery 2030+ initiative. She holds leadership roles in Batteries Europe and serves as vice-president of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry's Energy and Sustainability Group.