Energy Storage

Thursday 8 June 2023 - The Future of Cell Chemistry and Pack Structure. An overview of materials used in battery cells and battery packs; Trends in cathode chemistry and anode materials; Battery pack designs: cell-to-pack and cell-to-body; The impact on thermal management and materials; Trends in other materials: composite/polymer enclosures, interconnects and insulation

Thermal runaway and the associated battery fires have proven to be a critical concern for customers, battery designers, and electric vehicle manufacturers. Many vehicles have experienced battery fires and hundreds of thousands have been recalled.

Electric vehicles (EVs) generate material demands that are very different to those historically typical of combustion engine vehicle markets. With ongoing supply chain disruption and rapidly evolving battery technology, the materials that will be in demand over the coming years will vary significantly.

Thursday 25 May 2023 - How can SMRs open new use-cases for nuclear energy, decarbonizing problem industries in the process? Where in the world are SMRs developing today and where would they be expected to see greatest success? Are evolutionary vs. revolutionary approaches to reactor design more likely to see success in the global SMR fleet? What are the major roadblocks to deployment of SMRs and how could these be overcome? What players are working on SMRs and who is closest to delivering outside of Russia and China?

Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) come in different forms, including thermal pads, thermal grease, gap fillers, thermal paste, and thermal gels. Thermal gel and thermal paste, two of the most commonly used forms, have gained significant momentum over the past several years, especially in the EV, data center, and 5G industries.

Fuel cells could play an important role in the future of power generation, enabling the transition from traditional hydrocarbon fuels to low or zero-emission fuels. The fuel flexibility of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) offers a competitive advantage over the currently dominant proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), which is limited to operating on hydrogen.

The Li-ion EV battery circular economy comprises multiple important steps, requiring decisions from key stakeholders at any one part. Second-life EV batteries can be useful after their first life in an EV.

Thursday 18 May 2023 - The following aspects will be addressed: Materials for sodium-ion cell design; Sodium-ion battery value proposition; Opportunities and challenges in the sodium-ion battery market; Sodium-ion battery players and commercialisation efforts; Will sodium-ion batteries replace lithium?

Small modular reactors (SMRs) promise cheaper nuclear energy, supplying zero-carbon grid baseload and enabling new use cases for nuclear reactors. By shrinking the size of nuclear reactors compared to conventional large nuclear reactors, much of the construction is transferred to factory assembly lines, cutting capital costs and making nuclear power cost-competitive with renewables in many applications.

Among the existing energy storage technologies, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have unmatched energy density and versatility. Since their first commercialization, the growth in LIBs has been driven by portable devices. In recent years, however, large-scale electric vehicles and stationary applications have emerged