A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | M A Y / J U N E 2 0 2 2 2 3 Electric vehicles (EVs) are dominating the technology news today as we look to a future with less dependence on fossil fuels and a more sustainable technology. Materials are playing a critical role in the growth of electric vehicles, primarily for batteries and fuel cells, but also for other components. The widely used lithium-ion batteries in EVs are the subject of much research for greater efficiencies and energy densities. Fuel cells using hydrogen continue to be explored for larger electric vehicles such as trucks. In this development of existing and new materials, sustainability is an important consideration over the whole design, processing, and recycling cycle. The talks in this webinar cover various aspects of sustainable materials and their use for electric vehicles with a focus on batteries and fuel cells. DIRAN APELIAN, FASM: HOST Distinguished Professor, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of California (UCI), Irvine Director, Advanced Casting Research Center, UCI Provost Emeritus and Founding Director, Metal Processing, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Mass. Founding Editor, Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy Climate change is real. For thousands of years, the carbon dioxide lev- els in the Earth’s atmosphere have been around 250 to 275 ppm (parts per million). In the last couple of decades, this value has risen to 475 ppm. The last five years have been the hottest five years on record. The factors that affect the production of carbon dioxide can be broadly classified into those that relate to housing, transportation, and manufacturing of goods. The presentations by this webinar’s three presenters highlight the effort to transition to sustainable energy in the area of mobility. Higher performing electric vehicles that are also affordable offer tremendous potential to mitigate global warming. The key to this effort is energy storage. In 2019, of all the energy used for mobility, only about one tenth of a terawatt hour was used by electric vehicles. To have one hundred percent electrification, this figure would need to increase by one hundred times. Storage also enables broad utilization of clean energy through better use of intermittent resources such as wind and solar. These possibilities have raised palpable excitement about battery and battery materials, as evidenced by Gigafactories being built and planned globally. Even traditional car companies such as Volkswagen are electrifying a majority of their fleet. KRISTIN PERSSON: PRESENTER Professor, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of California, Berkeley Director, Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Battery Materials for Transportation: Challenges and Opportunities The materials perspective of energy storage can be examined by understanding the chemical, structural, and thermodynamic challenges facing batteries. In lithium batteries, as in other batteries, an active material is sandwiched between two electrodes. In the traditional lithium-ion battery, the electrolyte is a liquid that delivers and withdraws lithium ions during charging and discharging. In solid state batteries, the electrolyte is a solid. Both of these systems use high energy cathode materials belonging to three different structural families—namely those of lithium iron phosphate, lithium manganese spinel, and the layered family. Consequently, the challenges and the opportunities SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES: WEBINAR ROUNDUP A webinar collaboration between ASM International and the Materials Research Society in 2021 brought together a panel of speakers to discuss the challenges and opportunities on the horizon as electric vehicle designers and manufacturers search for materials with sustainability characteristics. Apelian Persson
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