The research activities of the group encompass chemistry and electrochemistry of inorganic solid-state materials and their use in electrochemical devices for energy storage applications.

Main research topics include:

• Novel dual-ion concepts for electrochemical energy storage

The future success of renewable but intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind will largely depend on the availability of low-cost, TWh-level stationary storage systems. Furthermore, there is a pressing need to locally and globally stabilize and diversify the electric grid. Large stationary installed batteries are expected to play a major role in this regard, in addition to conventional storage means such as pumped hydro. For ensuring their long-term sustainability and cost-effectiveness, electrochemical storage technologies shall not contain any chemical element with limited natural reserves and rely on simple manufacturing. We test various various dual-ion battery concepts that fulfill these conditions.

• All-solid-state lithium-ion batteries

Doubtlessly, the replacement of Li-ion liquid-state electrolytes by solid-state counterparts in a Li-ion battery is of keen interest in research and industrial community, as it enables the use of a Li metal anode. Towards this goal, our group works intensively on the development of safe, non-flammable, and temperature tolerant all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries that display high potential to be the core of future energy storage devices, especially in applications where energy density is a key factor.

1. K.V. Kravchyk, P. Bhauriyal, L. Piveteau, C.P. Guntlin, B. Pathak, M.V. Kovalenko, High-​energy-density dual-​ion battery for stationary storage of electricity using concentrated potassiumfluorosulfonylimide, Nat. Commun., 2018, 9, 4469.

2. K.V. Kravchyk, M.V. Kovalenko, Rechargeable dual-​ion batteries with graphite as a cathode: key challenges and opportunities, Adv. Energy Mater., 2019, 1901749.

3. S. Afyon, K.V. Kravchyk, S. Wang, J. van den Broek, C. Hänsel, M. V. Kovalenko and J.L.M. Rupp, Building better all-​solid-state batteries with Li-​garnet solid electrolytes and metalloid anodes, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2019, 7, 21299-​21308.