Summary

The increasing penetration of renewable energy requires safe, low-cost, and sustainable energy storage technologies for the electric grid. Zinc-ion batteries have emerged as a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries owing to the abundance, low cost, and intrinsic safety of zinc. This PhD project aims to develop high-performance zinc-ion batteries through a combination of experimental research and physics-based electrochemical modeling. The research will focus on electrode and electrolyte development, understanding reaction mechanisms and degradation, and optimizing battery performance using advanced electrochemical characterization and computational modeling. The project offers interdisciplinary training in battery materials, electrochemical engineering, and mathematical modeling, with applications in grid-scale energy storage and renewable energy integration.