The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy is engaged in the design of new materials related to energy generation, storage and utilization. The work starts from ab initio calculations and makes use of data mining, machine learning, pattern recognition and prediction. We make use of the recent progress in the use of computing technology to process massive amounts of data which has resulted in a new paradigm for materials discovery. Along with basic research and experimental work, computation has become the “third leg of science”. In this approach, available experimental data as well as the results of ab initio calculations are mined in order to predict new materials. We wish to emulate the human genome project and call our work the "Materials Genome" project. By contrast, traditional methods depend on costly and time-consuming experimental work followed by modeling dictated by current theory and prediction of new materials there from. The new method speeds up discovery and applications and is widely applicable. We can search for catalysts for fuel cells, high temperature materials, functional materials etc. In the first instance, we will concentrate on battery materials.

The Need for New Battery Materials
One of the spectacular developments in materials science in the last two decades is that of batteries, especially Lithium-ion. They have made mobile electronics such as cell phones, laptops, iPods etc. possible and have met the increasing demands placed on them. But advances in battery technology are needed to penetrate the automobile market where it is being realized increasingly that the route to low-carbon growth lies in the use of hybrid/ all electric vehicles.   Solar and wind are intermittent sources of energy. Energy generated from them has to be stored when sun no longer shines or wind does not blow hard enough. Even from a power generating station, power produced has to be stored during lean hours so that power can be fed to the grid during peak hours. Batteries with specific performance characteristics are needed for all these applications. In addition, medical equipment, sensors etc need batteries with improved materials.

New Approach to Design and Development of Advanced Battery Materials
CSTEP is taking the novel approach discussed above to the design of battery materials in a project supported by Defense Research and Development Organization of India and in which Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR, Bangalore)  and Naval Materials Research Laboratory  (NMRL, Ambernath) are participating. Our concern spans a wide scale in length from nanometer to meters and involves multi-scale modeling requiring precision at each level and accuracy in the transfer of information across scales.

Contact(s)

• Dr V S Arunachalam
• Dr N Balasubramanian
• Dr Mridula Dixit Bharadwaj
  

Project(s)

• New materials for batteries