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Batteries & Storage

The Batteries Focus Group highlights research on batteries and similar forms of electronic energy storage such as supercapacitors. The group is comprised of Professors Zhenan Bao, Will Chueh, Yi Cui, Hongjie Dai, and Fritz Prinz and their students and post docs. Current research topics include:

  • Improved lithium ion batteries 
  • New batteries for grid-scale storage
  • Metal-oxide capacitors
  • Devices using organic materials, carbon nanotubes, and graphene

Corporate membership in the Batteries Focus Group provides extraordinary access to faculty, grad students, and cutting edge research in energy storage. Annual review meetings will present the latest Stanford research and provide ample opportunities to discuss research plans.  Stanford Energy 3.0 Membership includes membership in the Fellow-Mentor-Advisor Program or a focus group such as the Batteries Focus Group, Smart Grid Focus Group, or Solar Focus Group.  Companies will have opportunities for informal interactions with professors, grad students, and other companies.  Hosted visits to Stanford and facilitated visits to corporations can be arranged as requested.  

All companies interested in energy storage are invited to join, including battery manufacturers, consumer electronics manufacturers, electric vehicle and automobile companies, electric vehicle supply equipment manufacturers, electric utilities, grid storage companies, materials companies, and chemical companies.  Please see Membership for information on joining the Batteries Focus Group.

Batteries Focus Group Researchers

Zhenan Bao
Professor, Chemical Engineering

Nanostructured polymers for low-cost, stretchable batteries. Synthesis of functional organic and polymer materials. Thin-film organic photovoltaic cells. Printable, electrically conductive gel for potential use in energy storage and biofuel cells.

William Chueh
Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Engineering

Research focus: Fundamental and applied electrochemistry: solar fuels, fuel cells, and batteries. Apply knowledge to enhance the efficiency of energy conversion and storage technologies.

Yi Cui
Associate Professor, Materials Science and Engineering

Research focus: Fabrication of nanoscale materials and study of their electronic, photonic, electrochemical and catalytic properties. Applications include lithium ion batteries, supercapacitors, CIGS solar cells, transparent electrodes and fuel cell electrodes.

Hongjie Dai
Professor, Chemistry

Research focus: New ways to synthesize graphene and carbon nanotube architectures for potential future device applications, such as fuel cells, catalysis, and lithium-air and nickel-metal batteries. New materials of various nanocrystals and nanoparticles.

Fritz Prinz
Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering and the Finmeccanica Professor in the School of Engineering

Research focus: Quantum confined solar cells, including quantum dots, thin barrier layers, and transparent electrodes. Solid oxide fuel cells. Photosynthetic membranes and their catalytic behavior.