Event
ChBE Seminar Series: Ping Liu
Friday, November 30, 2012
10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Room 2110 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Bldg.
Professor Jeffery B. Klauda
jbklauda@umd.edu
Challenges and Opportunities for Transformational Energy Storage Technologies
Ping Liu
Department of Energy/APRA-E
Energy storage is an enabling technology for both vehicle electrification and grid storage, two large-scale applications essential for realizing a sustainable energy future. Following an introduction to ARPA-E, this presentation will give an overview of the energy storage portfolio at ARPA-E, which consists of a diverse set of electrochemical energy storage technologies with potentials for dramatically increased performance and reduced costs. Long calendar and cycle life is a common performance requirement for both stationary and transportation applications. This life requirement often drives the cost of the systems. Using examples from both ARPA-E projects and my own previous work, I will discuss the fundamental chemistry and materials principles that govern battery life, paying special attention to the importance of the electrode/electrolyte interface. In the pursuit of specific energy, many batteries with inherently unstable interfaces are currently used, with the best known example being lithium ion batteries. However, these batteries are sensitive to usage environments and require sophisticated system level control, which drives up complexity and cost. For these batteries, designs with a system level perspective provide opportunities to maximize performance and minimize cost. On the other hand, new electrochemical systems with more stable interfaces have great potentials to lead to long life, low cost storage technologies.
About the Speaker
Dr. Ping Liu currently serves as a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy (ARPA-E). His main focuses include advanced materials for energy efficiency and energy conversion and storage. Dr. Liu was previously Manager of Energy Technology at HRL Laboratories, an industrial research company jointly owned by the Boeing Company and General Motors. At HRL, Dr. Liu led a broad range of research activities in energy conversion and storage for owner companies as well as government and commercial customers. Prior to joining HRL in 2003, Dr. Liu was a member of the technical staff at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). At NREL, Dr. Liu conducted research in thin film batteries, electrochromics, and optical hydrogen sensors. He contributed to several inventions that have been transitioned to industry for commercialization and received an R&D 100 Award from R&D Magazine for a solid-state battery technology. Dr. Liu has published more than 60 archival journal papers and has more than 40 issued or pending patents. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D., all in chemistry, from Fudan University in China.
