mitigate climate change

#FreetheScience for renewable energy sources and storage

Everyone talks about the weather, but electrochemists and solid state scientists are actually doing something about it.

The majority of energy produced across the globe every day is wasted. The U.S. ranks highest on this list, wasting anywhere between 61 to 86 percent of its total usable energy. Electrochemist Jaeho Lee is making that waste reusable with his research in thermoelectrics that recycles energy.

Electrochemists and solid state scientists are our best hope of developing the technologies that will make a difference. They discovered lithium batteries, they developed the first fuel cells and photovoltaics, and they are on the cutting edge of current research in generating and storing energy from renewable sources like solar, biofuels, even waste papaya and tomatoes.

We’ve all heard of lithium-ion batteries, but what about lithium-air? Electrochemist K.M. Abraham was one of the foremost minds behind the development of what has been referred to as the “holy grail” of energy storage, with promising potential for cheap, efficient, and sustainable large-scale grid energy storage.

Lili Deligianni’s innovative work in chemical engineering has led to cutting-edge developments in solar cells, where her application of nanotechnology to energy has led to low costs, highly efficient thin film solar technology.

Once written off as a laboratory curiosity, electrochemists have taken fuel cells from their humble beginnings to some of the biggest contenders as power sources for vehicles and the grid. Subash Singhal is leading the modern charge in fuel cell technology, pushing research that can have major implications on storing solar energy when the sun goes down.

From creating more efficient systems to discovering new energy sources, electrochemists and solid state scientists are behind the most critical innovations in sustainability and renewable energy.