Completed Exploratory Projects 2008

Research Areas & Activities Solar Energy Biomass Energy Hydrogen Advanced Combustion CO₂ Capture CO₂ Storage Advanced Materials & Catalysts Advanced Coal Advanced Transportation Advanced Electric Grid Grid Storage Other Renewables Integrated Assessment Advanced Nuclear Energy Geoengineering Exploratory Projects Completed Projects 2011 Completed Projects 2010 Completed Projects 2009 Completed Projects 2008 Completed Projects 2007 Completed Projects 2006 All Activities Analysis Activities Technical Reports

Research

High Voltage Alloys for Lithium Battery Cathodes
Increasing Carbon Storage Within Soils by Controlling Key Microbial Respiration Processes

High Voltage Alloys for Lithium Battery Cathodes

Investigator
Robert Huggins, Materials and Science Engineering, Stanford University

Objective
This exploratory program researches the feasibility of new cathode materials to improve battery performance in vehicles and other weight-sensitive applications. Unlike typical transition metal oxide materials currently used in lithium battery cathodes, these high voltage metal and metal-metalloid alloys will have a lower weight and thus improve the specific energy of batteries. The research will explore the feasibility of making lithium alloy cathodes using various chemical and electrochemical methods. It is anticipated that preliminary results from this work will reveal whether there is a convincing pathway for battery cathode materials of the type investigated in this study to have the potential for impact at scale.

Progress Report

2010 Progress Report (PDF)

Publications

C. Wessells, F. La Mantia, R. Ruffo, R.A. Huggins, and Y. Cui, “Investigations of the electrochemical stability of aqueous electrolytes for lithium battery applications”, Electrochemical Solid State Letters 13 (5) A59-A61, doi:10.1149/1.3329652 (2010).
R. Ruffo, C. Wessells, R.A. Huggins, and Y. Cui, “Electrochemical behavior of LiCoO2 as aqueous lithium-ion battery electrodes”, Electrochemistry Communications 11 (2), 247-249, doi:10.1016/j.elecom.2008.11.015 (2009).

Increasing Carbon Storage Within Soils by Controlling Key Microbial Respiration Processes

Investigators
Scott Fendorf, Environmental Earth System Science, Stanford University; Shawn Benner, Department of Geosciences, Boise State University

Objective
Integrating carbon sequestration objectives into traditional agricultural practices has the potential to provide dramatic short-term offsets in carbon emission. Managed wetlands, rice paddies in particular, represent a promising distributed carbon sink; if the average carbon content within the upper meter were increased by a few percent, the total annual carbon dioxide release from the burning of fossil fuels could be offset. It is conceivable that we could double the carbon content over a ten-year period, reaching an average total soil carbon content of 4-8%. This project will test the hypothesis that microbial methanogenesis can be minimized while simultaneously limiting carbon mineralization rates through control of water levels, periods of inundation, rates of both flooding and draining, and specific iron(III) mineral availability within rice paddies. The objectives of the exploratory study are: 1. to examine current organic carbon and iron mineral phase contents within existing wetlands under different historic management practices; and 2. to conduct a pilot study wherein the operative microbial metabolisms are controlled to limit carbon mineralization rates (relative to aerobic rates) while restricting methane production.

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