Ionblox, one of the advanced California-based lithium-ion battery company, Dr. Shirley Meng of the University of Chicago joined their advisory board. Dr. Meng is a professor of molecular engineering at the University of Chicago and chief scientist for ACCESS (Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science). She received a Ph.D. in advanced materials for micro- and nanosystems.
“I look forward to working with the Ionblox team to commercialize their high-performance lithium-ion batteries, which use a silicon oxide anode treated with lithium,” said Dr. Meng. “Ionblox is unique in adopting a lithium treatment strategy for their electrode design, which is critical to improving the performance and durability of their silicon-based cells.”
In her current roles, Dr. Meng conducts her research on energy storage materials and systems, in particular on rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, power sources for the Internet of Things (IOTs) and sustainable storage in a networked system. Dr. Meng founded the Sustainable Power & Energy Center at the University of California, San Diego, and she was the inaugural director of the Institute for Materials Discovery & Design.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Meng to our advisory board and look forward to leveraging her insights and expertise in the battery space,” said Dr. Herman Lopez, CTO and co-founder of Ionblox. “The support of Dr. Meng aan Ionblox’s unique lithium-treated silicon oxide anodes technology is a sign to the industry that we are paving the way for next-generation e-mobility applications.”
Silicon anodes have the disadvantage that they have a short cycle time and do not last long. After more than a decade of research and development backed by numerous programs funded by the Department of Energy (USABC and ARPA-E), Ionblox has been shown to produce lithium-treated silicon anode cells with high energy, high power and fast charging , with over 1300 DST cycles and 800 days of storage per USABC test protocols. The data from Ionblox in large format pocket cells was reviewed by several national labs and EV and eVTOL OEMs.
In 2022, Ionblox received a new USABC (United States Advanced Battery Consortium) contract to develop affordable cells for silicon-based EVs with fast charging. This partnership with USABC will help further expand vehicle electrification across the country, and under the leadership of Dr. Mix become particularly strong.
