In this interview, industry expert I-Ling discusses graphene’s transformative role in energy storage, tackling industry challenges, and advancing sustainable, next-generation battery technologies for applications in automotive, renewable energy, and beyond.
To start, could you share a bit about your role as a Senior Application Specialist at the GEIC and the key areas of research the Energy team focuses on?
As a Senior Application Specialist, I lead projects with industrial partners to address real-world challenges. My work includes managing projects, including the training of technicians in battery research and ensuring that our applications align with market demands. Unlike traditional academic research, which often focuses on small-scale experiments, our team at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) bridges the gap between lab discoveries and industrial-scale applications.
Our energy team applies 2D materials like graphene to energy storage devices, scaling up lab discoveries to industrial levels for commercialization. This involves addressing challenges like material quality, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, focusing on technology readiness levels 3 to 6.
For those unfamiliar with graphene, what makes it such an exciting material, particularly in the energy storage and battery sectors?
Graphene, first discovered in Manchester in 2004, is renowned as the pioneering 2D material. It’s a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, giving it unique characteristics like high electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and mechanical strength. These properties improve energy storage devices by enabling faster charging, enhancing safety by reducing risks like thermal runaway, and strengthening components to increase durability. Its versatility makes it a game-changer in energy storage applications.
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How does graphene enhance specific battery components like electrodes and membranes?
Graphene’s high electrical conductivity reduces resistance in electrodes, enabling faster charging and better power delivery. Its mechanical strength also prevents cracking during the constant expansion and contraction of electrodes in charging cycles, which is crucial for next-generation batteries like lithium-sulfur or silicon anodes that experience significant volume changes.
For membranes, particularly in solid-state batteries, graphene can be used to strengthen ceramic and polymer materials, creating more robust hybrid electrolytes. It also improves the interface between solid electrodes and electrolytes, which is a major challenge in solid-state systems. This better contact reduces internal resistance, enhancing the battery’s performance and lifespan. Importantly, the effectiveness depends on selecting the right type of graphene, as not all graphene is the same. The GEIC is quite a specialist in this area.
Batteries are integral to industries like renewable energy and EVs. What are some of the biggest challenges the industry faces in advancing battery technology, and how is graphene positioned to help overcome these?
Current lithium-ion batteries are nearing their theoretical capacity limits, driving the need for next-generation technologies like lithium-sulfur, solid-state, and sodium-ion batteries. However, these systems face significant challenges.
Lithium-sulfur batteries suffer from low conductivity and a phenomenon called the polysulfide shuttle effect, where sulfur particles move between electrodes, degrading capacity and reducing battery life. Graphene can address these issues by improving conductivity and stabilizing the sulfur electrodes, preventing capacity loss. Similarly, in silicon anodes, graphene’s strength mitigates cracking caused by expansion during charge cycles.
Graphene also plays a role in improving the safety and sustainability of batteries. Its lightweight nature enhances energy density without adding extra weight, and it can replace toxic or scarce materials, making batteries more environmentally friendly and cost-effective.
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How does graphene contribute to sustainability in energy storage and beyond?
In terms of energy storage systems, graphene reduces reliance on heavy metals or toxic materials like cobalt and nickel, enabling more sustainable batteries. Beyond batteries, graphene plays a role in hydrogen production and storage, improving efficiency through its mechanical strength and ionic selectivity. Lightweight graphene composites also enable energy savings in transportation and aerospace by reducing vehicle weight, leading to lower fuel consumption and higher efficiency. These contributions align with the global push for cleaner, greener technologies.
There are many research hubs focusing on energy storage. What sets the GEIC apart in bridging the gap between academic research and commercial application?
The GEIC is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial application. Unlike many institutions that focus solely on early-stage research, we specialize in scaling up lab discoveries to pilot and industrial levels. Our facilities are equipped to produce prototypes, allowing us to test and refine technologies in real-world contexts. Additionally, being based at the University of Manchester gives us access to leading academic insights while maintaining strong industrial partnerships.
We have expert teams across different areas like energy storage, composites, and coatings. This enables us to combine ideas from different fields, creating innovative, practical solutions that meet industrial needs more effectively than single-focus research hubs.
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Taking innovations from the lab to industry can be challenging. How does the GEIC work to ensure the technologies you develop are not just innovative but also practical and scalable?
At the GEIC, we blend academic and industrial expertise, ensuring that our solutions are viable in real-world contexts. For instance, many of us have backgrounds in both sectors, allowing us to address challenges from multiple perspectives.
Our pilot-scale research facilities allow us to prototype and refine processes under industrial standards like ISO. Additionally, the flexibility of our production lines means we can adapt methods for advanced materials, incorporating new insights or equipment as needed. This holistic approach ensures our innovations are practical, scalable, and ready for commercialization.
Collaboration is central to GEIC’s model. What are some of the most exciting projects where this collaborative approach sparked advancements in energy storage technology?
One great example is the structural supercapacitor project, which combines composite and energy storage expertise. The idea was to develop a dual-functional energy storage device that could serve as both a car body and an energy storage system, increasing the mileage of EVs by integrating batteries directly into the vehicle’s structure.
This required overcoming conflicts between the processes used in composites and those used in energy storage, such as differing temperature requirements. Though initial prototypes failed, our in-house collaboration allowed us to refine the design quickly. At the moment, the project is still in the prototype stage. However, this work exemplifies how our collaborative environment accelerates innovation and addresses complex industrial challenges. It has the potential to revolutionize how energy storage is integrated into vehicles in the future.
Another one of our standout projects was creating non-flammable supercapacitors for marine applications, addressing safety concerns related to flammable electrolytes. This required developing a new graphene-based material, which we scaled from small-scale formulations to hundreds of supercapacitor prototypes. Each step involved rigorous quality control to ensure consistent capacity, performance and reliability across devices. It was a challenging but rewarding project, showing how the GEIC can take a project from material synthesis to industrial application in a short time.
What industries stand to gain the most from next-generation batteries and graphene advancements?
Industries driven by electrification, such as automotive, aerospace, and renewable energy, will benefit, but it depends on the technology’s readiness. The transportation sector, in particular, needs lighter, higher-capacity batteries to improve range and efficiency. Personally, I’m excited about the potential of lithium-sulfur batteries because of their abundance, low toxicity, and high capacity, even though they face significant hurdles before commercialization.
What trends or technologies do you see shaping the future of energy storage?
Next-gen batteries like lithium-sulfur, solid-state, and sodium-ion are gaining traction, but each faces unique challenges. For example, lithium-sulfur batteries struggle with conductivity and cycle life, which graphene can improve by stabilizing sulfur electrodes and preventing capacity loss. Similarly, solid-state batteries require better interfaces and tougher electrolytes, areas where graphene excels. Overall, the demand for electrification will drive adoption, and graphene’s ability to address these challenges positions it as a key enabler for the future of energy storage.
About I-Ling Tsai 
I-Ling Tsai is a Senior Application Specialist at the University of Manchester, where she specializes in scaling graphene and 2D material innovations for energy storage applications.
With a Ph.D. in Condensed Matter and Materials Physics from the University of Manchester, her work bridges academic research and industrial needs, focusing on advancing next-generation battery technologies and addressing challenges in material scalability, sustainability, and performance.
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