USU Engineering Professor Receives NSF Grant for Solid-State Lithium Battery Research

Assistant Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Haoran Wang has been granted nearly $250,000 by the National Science Foundation for his research on new mechanics for lithium battery design.

Wang intends to use new mechanics to stabilize the electrochemical process in the batteries and achieve a long cycling life. The collaborative project is set to unite Utah State University and the University of Utah to contribute to renewable energy industries.

“Here we connect two subjects, the material growth theories and all-solid-state lithium batteries, to understand the growth and depletion of lithium anodes during the charging and discharging process,” Wang said.

All-solid-state lithium batteries could provide higher capacity and better safety than traditional lithium batteries. However, during charging, fracturing can occur when non-uniform lithium plating takes place. Cracking and dendrite growth can further cause short-circuiting.

This research will investigate what mechanics can be used to achieve uniform and stable plating and stripping in lithium anodes. It is the hope that advancing next-generation battery technology will contribute to sustainability and improvements in the electric vehicle industry.

Wang will be collaborating with Roseanne Warren at the University of Utah and Angela Mihai at Cardiff University in Wales. He added he is excited for a “cross-country” collaborative project.

“Research today is becoming more complicated, requiring contributions from multiple disciplines,” Wang said. “We are excited to provide our new solution for the design of all-solid-state lithium batteries, which will broadly impact many aspects of our life.”

In total, the project was awarded more than $550,000 in funding with USU being the leading institution.