About the Speaker:

Mitch Anstey obtained a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley (2009) and a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Virginia (2004). He held the position of Principal Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories until 2016 when he joined the Chemistry faculty at Davidson College. He led several research teams and initiatives on projects such as small molecule activation, radiation detection, hydrogen storage, and, most recently, electrochemical energy storage.

About the Colloquium:

Abstract:

Public and private investments in energy storage have created a 100 billion dollar industry, and this industry is now converging on grid-scale applications due to the urgent need for resource conservation and our ever-increasing global demand for energy. Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are one method for grid-scale energy storage, being used for peak-shaving and renewable energy incorporation into the grid. Our lab has been using molecular structure as one method to influence electrolyte performance metrics such as Coulombic efficiency, charge-recharge cycling, and voltage window. This talk will describe the work in our lab that focuses on molecular design to address these specific issues in nonaqueous redox flow battery electrolytes.