On Demand
Chemical Engineering & Industrial Chemistry
The cycling stability of lithium-metal batteries—the dependence on charge/discharge rates and the resulting interfacial behavior—is central to their development for electric vehicles and beyond. While lithium metal offers unparalleled energy density, achieving long cycle life has remained a critical challenge. This webinar introduces a mechanistic framework showing how carefully optimized charge/discharge conditions can fundamentally improve performance and safety in Li-metal batteries.
This unified framework provides new insights into cycling strategies for Li-metal batteries, including the use of intermittent pulse discharge protocols that emulate real-world EV applications. It simplifies the interpretation of charge/discharge tradeoffs, supports practical cell design, and offers pathways to extend battery lifespan without sacrificing energy density.
Multiple webinar sessions are available, each led individually by guest speakers Dr. Wurigumula Bao (University of Chicago) and Dr. Yunya Zhang (SES AI). In their sessions, they will review examples across different charge/discharge regimes, highlight the quantitative linkage among SEI conductivity, lithium morphology, and electrochemical performance, and discuss the limitations and open questions shaping the future of Li-metal battery commercialization.
Yunya Zhang, PhD
Director, SES AI
Yunya Zhang earned his B.E. and M.E. in Materials Science and Engineering from Central South University in China. Later, he pursued a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Virginia, where he focused on nanomaterials for advanced energy storage. He then joined Argonne National Laboratory as a Postdoctoral Appointee, working in the Interfacial Chemistry Group to understand degradation mechanisms of silicon anodes and high-Ni cathodes in Li-ion batteries. In 2021, Yunya moved to SES AI, where he has since advanced through roles from Senior Scientist to Director. At SES, he leads efforts in mechanistic understanding, post-analysis, and materials characterization to improve Li-metal battery performance and enable commercialization in electric vehicles. His work has been recognized through numerous publications, patents, and awards, with a strong emphasis on interfacial stabilization, failure mechanism analysis, and the development of next-generation energy storage technologies.
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