Chasing Sustainable Battery Chemistries for the Future - Kimberly See

Why It Matters

Sustainable battery chemistries could decouple future energy storage from scarce resources, reshaping electric‑vehicle markets and grid reliability. The research promises lower costs, higher safety, and broader geographic supply chains.

Key Takeaways

• Caltech emphasizes hands‑on research, 80% undergrads in labs.
• Battery research targets earth‑abundant elements for sustainable energy storage.
• Solid‑state electrolytes could replace liquid lithium‑ion electrolytes in future.
• Interdisciplinary approach combines chemistry, materials science, and electrochemistry.
• New chemistries aim for higher energy density and lower cost.

Summary

The Watson Lecture featured Professor Kimberly C. discussing the next generation of sustainable battery chemistries at Caltech. After a lively introduction that highlighted Caltech’s unique undergraduate culture—tiny class sizes, a 3:1 student‑to‑faculty ratio, and a tradition of hands‑on research—the talk turned to the urgent need for battery technologies that go beyond conventional lithium‑ion systems.

Kimberly outlined three research pillars: replacing scarce, expensive lithium with earth‑abundant elements such as iron, sulfur, and aluminum; developing solid‑state electrolytes that improve safety and energy density; and integrating solid‑state chemistry with electrochemical engineering to create high‑performance, low‑cost storage. She emphasized that understanding the fundamental thermodynamics and transport properties of these materials is essential before they can be commercialized.

The lecture interwove historical anecdotes—like the 1968 electric‑vehicle race between Caltech and MIT—and personal stories about Kimberly’s upbringing in Colorado, her work at NREL, and her award‑winning research. Her students’ enthusiasm, demonstrated through live experiments on the lawn, underscored the collaborative, interdisciplinary environment that fuels breakthroughs in the lab.

If successful, these new chemistries could dramatically reduce reliance on geopolitically sensitive minerals, lower battery costs, and enable longer‑range electric vehicles and grid‑scale storage. The work positions Caltech at the forefront of a transition toward more sustainable, resilient energy infrastructure.

Original Description

From toys to cell phones to electric cars, batteries power modern life. They also play a potentially pivotal role in building a sustainable energy infrastructure. Next-generation batteries could help store power from intermittent renewable sources, such as wind and solar, and enable expanded adoption of battery-powered electric vehicles. Such advances are critical to reducing dependence on fossil fuels, a priority that has grown more urgent in recent years given the massive power needs of AI servers.

However, today's state-of-the-art battery technology, the lithium-ion battery, comes with some significant challenges. Lithium-ion batteries rely on scarce and expensive minerals, which limits their use and raises concerns about affordability and environmental impact. In this talk, Kimberly See, professor of chemistry, will explore her lab's efforts to develop energy-storage chemistries that move beyond lithium-ion, using more abundant and less-expensive materials, while still achieving the high-energy densities that have made today's batteries so transformative.

For more information about Professor See's research: https://www.seegroup.caltech.edu/

About the Series:

Since 1922, The Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series has brought Caltech's most innovative scientific research to the public. The series is named for Earnest C. Watson, a professor of physics at Caltech from 1919 until 1959. Spotlighting a small selection of the pioneering research Caltech's faculty is currently conducting, the Watson Lectures are geared toward a general audience, as part of the Institute's ongoing commitment to benefiting the local community through education and outreach.

For more information on the Watson Lecture Series: https://caltech.edu/watson

View other Watson Lectures: https://bit.ly/Caltech_Watson_Lectures

Produced in association with Caltech Academic Media Technologies.

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