DOE unit to fund research into improving battery, fuel-cell technology

Through its new Integration and Optimization of Novel Ion-Conducting Solids (IONICS) program, the Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) recently announced $37 million in grants for 16 battery and fuel-cell product projects.
The IONICS project is dedicated to moving battery and fuel-cell technology beyond its current limitations, allowing for more efficient storage of energy from carbon-free sources,  such as solar or wind power, which are intermittent in nature. The project hopes to push the boundaries of current batteries and fuel cells by incorporating solid-ion conductors, or solids in which ions are mobile and can store energy.
“While battery technologies have improved by leaps and bounds over the past few years, there remain some imposing physical and chemical barriers that have stifled further innovation,” ARPA-E Director Ellen Williams said. “Solid-ion conductors made of affordable, easily produced materials could replace today’s mostly liquid electrolytes and expensive fuel-cell parts, helping create a next generation of batteries and fuel cells that are low-cost, durable and more efficient.”
Through the IONICS projects, ARPA-E hopes to discover how new materials and processes can increase energy capacity without causing short circuits or battery degradation, as well as reduce battery costs by replacing expensive elements such as platinum.