
Energy Storage RTE Tutorial Course 1/3: What is Round Trip Efficiency (RTE)? Why is it Important? How Much Does it Cost?
In the first of this three-part webinar series, a definition of RTE will be presented along with simple system equations that are important to its understanding, determination and management. RTE for some popular battery systems i.e. Lead Acid, Lithium Ion, Vanadium Redox and Nickel Zinc will be computed as examples, and their variation with common variables such as rate, capacity variability & SOC swing will be discussed. The costs of Round Trip inefficiency can be significant, and are experienced by customers either in higher energy generating capital costs and/or higher operating expenses. The calculation of these higher costs will be reviewed, and there will be a discussion on the key industry variables that influence them. Different geographic and customer markets will be considered.
This webinar will focus on the following key topics:
• The Importance of RTE to battery selection decisions
• How does RTE impact CAPEX and/or OPEX for energy storage
• How is RTE defined and how can it be derived – comparison of different systems
• An introduction to ancillary equipment energy losses
Presenter
Dr. Halle Cheeseman – Founder/President at Energy Blues LLC
Dr. Halle Cheeseman earned a PhD in Electrochemistry & Corrosion from the University of Nottingham in UK, graduating in 1985. She has held several executive positions in the battery industry over the past 32 years, including Sr. VP of R&D at Spectrum Brands and VP of R&D at Exide Technologies. Her specific battery experience includes Lithium Ion, Zinc Air, Nickel Metal Hydride, Nickel Iron, Alkaline and Lead Acid, focusing on Consumer, Industrial, Automotive & Renewable Energy applications. In July 2017, Dr. Cheeseman founded Energy Blues LLC, an energy storage consulting cooperative comprising 20+ subject matter experts.
Buy Now

Battery Selection Tutorial Course 2/3: Beyond the Standards: Device-Specific Testing
After choosing your cell and manufacturer (Part 1 of this series), most likely, they will have passed the tests of various standards organizations. However, depending on your operating environment, you may need to go above and beyond the baseline to ensure your product operates as intended. This webinar is Part 2 in a three-part series and will review a variety of factors to consider in your device-specific testing, including designing tests to predict the outcomes of various user-abuse scenarios, understanding the mechanisms of gas generation, capacity retention based on different voltage windows, and what happens if you need to cycle your cells outside of their operating range (outside in an Arizona summer or Minnesota winter, for example).
This webinar will focus on the following key topics:
• User-abuse scenarios to prevent against
• Causes and effects of various gas generation mechanisms
• Voltage limits
Presenter
Exponent – a multidisciplinary engineering and scientific consulting firm with significant experience in various aspects of battery design, safety testing and failure analysis.
Buy Now

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy and Its Application to Battery Analysis
Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is a well-established experimental technique that has applications in coatings, corrosion, sensors, electrochemical double layer capacitors, batteries among others. The power of EIS partly comes from its ability to access a very wide range of frequencies (typically from MHz to μHz). For batteries, parameters such as the internal resistance, electrode surface capacitance and leakage are accessible at different frequencies across the spectrum. This allows EIS to gather all the relevant information with a single measurement. In this webinar, we will briefly introduce EIS and cover its application to batteries. We will talk about how to analyze typical data and how to gather the relevant information. We will further talk about available instrumentation and their limitations.
This webinar will focus on the following key topics:
• What is impedance spectroscopy?
• What can impedance spectroscopy do for Battery analysis?
• How can capacitance, internal resistance and leakage be determined using EIS?
• What are the instrumental requirements and limits?
Presenter
Chris Beasley – Gamry Instruments
Chris Beasley received a BS in Chemistry from Kutztown University in 2000 and got a PhD in electrochemistry from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2010. His doctoral dissertation was on using redox-active nanoparticles as supercapacitors. Chris joined Gamry Instruments in 2010.
Buy Now

Accelerating Launch of New Battery Technologies by Expediting Samples Through Collaborative Partnerships
Polaris is a processing lab that accelerates new lithium ion battery developments resulting in faster delivery of samples. It provides processing services to accelerate the optimization of recipes for battery developers. Using its services, customers can avoid delays in launching products due to internal funding and staffing constraints.
Services include anode and cathode electrode mix and coat trials, pouch stack cell assemblies, cell and material analytical testing services, business advisory services, and a link to high volume production.
Two major roadblocks facing battery technology companies are addressed: 1) Startups lack staffing, process knowledge, funding, and equipment to develop samples, and 2) Commercialization of new battery technologies is capital intensive and takes long time to pass quality standards
This webinar will focus on the following key topics:
• Significant new material inventions in lithium ion and other advanced battery chemistries in the US
• Two primary issues or “gaps” in getting these technologies to the market
– generating samples for investors, customers and internal engineering evaluation and optimization
– building a battery factory and gaining product and quality system approval (a huge undertaking)
• Polaris Battery Labs Capability Overview for samples and commercialization
• Partner Profile; Carestream Heath as a contract coating partner to reduce time-to-market and risks
Presenter
Doug Morris – CEO – Polaris Battery Labs, LLC
Doug has over 30 years experience in the telecommunications, components, battery, and energy storage industries. Prior to working at Polaris Labs he was VP of Operations at Enevate. Doug has also held various executive, management, and engineering positions over his 21 year career with Motorola where he was VP and Director of Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain Management for the Energy Systems Group. Doug was also a founder of Motorola’s Product Testing Services business.
Buy Now