Decarbonizing transportation, the grid, and heavy industries depends on the success of both short- and long-duration energy storage solutions. Through novel material design and chemistry, my lab addresses critical challenges in developing affordable, sustainable, and reliable energy storage technologies. For short (to medium)-duration storage, we design and develop new cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries rich in manganese and iron. Our goal is to achieve energy densities comparable to lithium-ion batteries but at lower costs, without relying on critical minerals, thereby accelerating the transition to more sustainable energy storage. For long-duration storage, we have developed groundbreaking pathways for producing hydrogen (H₂) and ammonia (NH₃) using subsurface chemistry. By harnessing redox reactions on Fe-rich rocks and utilizing the Earth's natural heat and pressure, we demonstrate the potential for stimulated geological H₂ and NH₃ production. These methods achieve near-zero CO₂ emissions while remaining cost-competitive with existing technologies. Our work integrates advanced materials design with sustainable chemistry to provide scalable, impactful solutions for a decarbonized future.
Contact
Assistant
Principal Investigator Yuriy Román
Brian Anthony | Associate Director, MIT.nano Paul Blainey Associate Professor, MIT Biological Engineering Ruizhi (Ray) Liao Postdoctoral Associate, MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab Jongyoon Han Professor of Electrical Engineering and Professor of Biological Engineering