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Cost and Opportunities of Electric Transportation topic for Sept. 19

This Friday, Sept. 29, Dr. Claus Daniel, from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will speak on “Electrification of Transportation: Cost and Opportunities” from noon to 1 p.m. during the UT Science Forum in Thompson-Boling Arena Dining Room C-D.

Dr. Daniel is the deputy director of the Sustainable Transportation Facility and director of the Battery Manufacturing R&D facility at the national lab. He will outline the factors – price volatility, environmental impact, and national security – that require the discovery of alternative energy sources and technologies which allow energy diversification.

Lithium ion batteries have made an enormous progress towards their use in new generation hybrid and electric vehicles. However, the initial cost of materials and production, long-term costs, and safety are still an issue. The President’s manufacturing initiative and “EV Everywhere” challenge are working to reduce the cost of battery systems and to build a domestic supply chain. Dr. Daniel’s talk will showcase one specific accomplishment in water based cathode processing, which reduces electrode processing cost by 75%; he will outline what other opportunities could be identified by really addressing automotive energy IN-efficiency.