Sandwiched between the electrolyte and electrodes in a lithium-ion battery is a remarkably thin layer of material that strongly dictates battery performance and durability: the interphase. Although typically only a few to tens of nanometers thick, interphases are among the least understood components of an operating battery cell. Their complex and constantly evolving structures make it challenging to determine how their atomic features and microscopic variations translate into macroscopic battery performance.

Carnegie Mellon University researchers developed a framework to help the United States secure the power infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, all while reducing vulnerabilities in the global supply chains that make that infrastructure possible.

Hydrogen fuel cells are a promising clean-energy technology with the potential to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions if widely adopted. As they generate electricity, the only byproduct of their reactions is water. However, improving their performance depends on developing better materials that can more efficiently transport ions.

A company that helped design how astronauts grow and recycle food in space is now applying that thinking to the critical problem of dairy waste here on Earth.

Circular-economy thinking is becoming increasingly important in the construction sector. It helps reduce raw material consumption and emissions and can provide a well-thought-out reuse and recycling scheme to cut costs.

Data centers have become a contentious issue across the country.

Together with partners from research and industry, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has modified the structure of battery electrodes so that the battery cells can store 10%–15% more energy at the same weight. They achieved this by more than tripling the coating thickness of the battery electrodes—for example, in lithium-ion batteries—which simultaneously reduces the number of current collectors in the battery cell. The research team implemented the new electrode architecture in lithium-ion pouch cells manufactured using industry-standard processes. Furthermore, they successfully applied the concept to zinc-ion and sodium-ion battery cells.