Innovative battery technologies are key to bridging the gap between energy storage needs and current production capabilities, enhancing performance and safety. In this interview with Dr. Y Shirley Meng, Professor of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago; Dr. Kang Xu, Chief Technology Officer, SES AI; and Dr. Yury Gogotsi, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, we discuss these emerging technologies and their applications.
Why do we need new battery technologies? What unmet needs must they address?
Dr. Y Shirley Meng: Global energy storage demand is projected to reach 200 to 300 TWh, far beyond what current lithium-ion battery production can support. While lithium-ion technology has come a long way—especially in terms of safety—there’s still a pressing need to improve scalability, reduce costs, and boost performance, all without compromising safety.
Dr. Yury Gogotsi: And it’s not just about scaling one type of battery. Different applications—electric aircraft, drones, IoT devices, and grid storage—have very specific needs. Some require high gravimetric energy density, others prioritize volumetric efficiency or long cycle life. No single chemistry can meet all these demands, so we need a diverse set of battery technologies, each optimized for its role. That starts with innovation in materials.
Kang Xu: Exactly—and the limitations of today’s lithium-ion chemistry are becoming more apparent. It’s nearing its inherent performance limits, especially for next-generation applications like electric aviation, which will need much higher energy densities. Meeting those demands won’t come from accidental discoveries; it requires rational, targeted design of new materials from the ground up.
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How do you see battery technology evolving over the next decade?
Dr. Y Shirley Meng: A big part of the progress will come from deeper insights into materials. My team is using advanced tools like cryo-TEM and synchrotron X-rays to observe electrochemical reactions at the atomic scale. This kind of understanding helps guide the development of next-generation systems. Through collaborative efforts like the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Storage Research Alliance, we’re exploring alternatives to lithium-ion, including sodium-ion, organic flow, and metal-air batteries. These technologies could help reduce costs and localize supply chains.
Kang Xu: At SES AI, we’re taking a different but complementary approach: combining quantum chemistry and AI to navigate the vast space of possible electrolyte molecules. Deep learning allows us to design and evaluate new compounds much faster, with the goal of discovering electrolytes that can form ideal solid-electrolyte interphases (SEIs) for lithium-metal batteries. That could be a major step forward for both performance and safety.
Dr. Yury Gogotsi: The range of battery applications is expanding quickly, and we’ll need tailored solutions to keep up, from microbatteries for wearables to flexible, printable systems. My group is working on MXenes, a family of 2D materials with excellent conductivity and mechanical strength. We’re developing them as multifunctional components that can boost flexibility, conductivity, and energy density, while also simplifying how batteries are manufactured.
What will the role of lithium-metal, solid-state, and sodium-ion batteries be going forward?
Shirley Meng: These technologies aren’t competing—they’re complementary. Solid-state batteries can support high-energy lithium- or sodium-metal anodes, offering new pathways for performance gains. At the same time, there’s still plenty of room to improve liquid electrolyte systems, especially in areas like fast charging and streamlined manufacturing. Innovations like dry electrode processing could bring significant benefits across all chemistries.
Kang Xu: Lithium will continue to dominate where high energy density is critical. But no single chemistry fits every need. Sodium-ion, for instance, is well-suited for cost-sensitive or stationary storage applications. Beyond the materials themselves, AI is opening new possibilities for safety monitoring and production control—things we couldn’t have envisioned just a few years ago.
Dr. Yury Gogotsi: We should also keep an eye on zinc-ion and other aqueous systems—they offer a promising route to safe, affordable, and scalable storage. Solid-state batteries still face key hurdles like slow ion transport and interface challenges, but that’s where innovation in manufacturing can help. Techniques like 3D printing may ultimately change how batteries are made from the ground up.
How are AI and machine learning being applied in your work?
Dr. Y Shirley Meng: We’re using AI for materials discovery in low-TRL research. For example, in the Energy Storage Research Alliance, we apply machine learning to identify high-potential organic molecules for energy storage using an approach we call “soft matter omics.”
Kang Xu: We are also using AI for both generative molecule design and property prediction. Our models screen billions of candidate electrolyte molecules, then simulate their behavior to identify promising compounds. On the production side, AI is helping us predict failure modes before they happen.
What characterization tools are most critical for advancing battery materials?
Dr. Y Shirley Meng: Cryo-TEM has been a game changer; it lets us directly visualize lithium and sodium metal reactions without the artifacts that typically interfere with such observations. But solid-state systems present new challenges, especially at buried interfaces that are difficult to access. Going forward, we’ll need to pair operando synchrotron techniques with ultra-clean sample preparation methods to reveal what’s otherwise invisible.
What are the biggest electrolyte challenges in next-gen batteries?
Kang Xu: The SEI remains something of a black box. To truly understand it, we need new, non-invasive tools—especially in situ techniques that let us observe its behavior in real time. At the same time, we’re building AI models to help process and interpret the massive volumes of data coming from advanced microscopy and spectroscopy.
How do new materials like MXenes and carbides compare to traditional battery materials?
Dr. Yury Gogotsi: MXenes offer conductivity far beyond reduced graphene oxide, allowing fast charging and minimal resistive losses. They can also function as current collectors, binders, or active materials, enabling thinner, more efficient, and even flexible battery designs. For applications like supercapacitors and printable batteries, they’re game-changing.
This is interview seven in the eight-piece Building Better Batteries series.
Watch the Accompanying Webinar: Challenges in Developing Tomorrow’s Batteries
About the Speakers
Dr. Y Shirley Meng, Professor of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago
A leading expert in battery materials and energy storage science, Prof. Meng’s research focuses on atomic-level control of materials and advanced characterization to improve battery performance, safety, and sustainability.
Dr. Kang Xu, Chief Technology Officer, SES AI
Dr. Xu has over two decades of experience in electrolyte chemistry for lithium-ion batteries. Formerly with the US Department of Defense, he now leads innovation at SES AI in next-generation lithium-metal battery technology and AI-enhanced materials discovery.
Dr. Yury Gogotsi, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University
Director of the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute, Prof. Gogotsi is renowned for his work on nanomaterials and 2D carbides (MXenes) for use in batteries and supercapacitors.
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Thermo Fisher Scientific.
For more information on this source, please visit thermofisher.com/battery-solutions.
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