Zhongwei Chen received the prestigious International Automotive Lithium Batteries Association (IALB) Young Investigator Award at the 9th International Conference on Advanced Lithium Batteries for Automobile Applications held last month in China. The award recognizes the chemical engineering professor’s work in developing advanced silicon anode materials that make batteries smaller, lighter and longer-lasting.
Chen, the Canada Research Chair in Advanced Materials for Clean Energy, recently received $3 million in funding from Vancouver-based Newtech Power Inc. to co-develop a next-generation lithium-ion rechargeable battery that could be on the market within three or four years.
The battery technology is potentially more environmentally-friendly and less expensive due to the use of relatively inexpensive silicon. It also has the potential to offer increased energy density of 40 to 60 per cent, which would allow an electric car to travel up to 500 kilometres on a single charge.