Storage and Conversion

Electrical energy is the bedrock of future energy needs.  Two long-standing challenges keep supply from keeping pace with demand:

• Storing electricity is one of science’s most difficult challenges
• Conversion of other energy forms into electricity faces technical and economic hurdles

CWRU’s legacy of advancement in storage and conversion dates back to the 1930s.  At its core lie expertise in electrochemistry and engineering, as well as materials and macromolecular science.  Highlights include:

• Building one of the world’s first modern fuel cells in the 1950s
• Current federal and state sponsored research in flow batteries, other battery chemistries, and capacitors for a variety of applications
• Interdisciplinary labs, including the new Electrochemical Engineering and Energy Laboratory (EEEL), which connects the Yeager Center for Electrochemical Sciences with new facilities for super capacitor prototypes    

CWRU’s work in this area appears in these categories: