EV Battery Materials & Cell Engineering

Seminar Overview

This seminar is built from actual U.S. Department of Energy research-grade publications — not vendor marketing decks. The course corpus is a set of eight peer-reviewed OSTI/DOE papers from the national laboratories (Argonne National Laboratory, NREL, and PNNL-backed work): silicon-containing anodes, manganese-rich earth-abundant cathodes, nickel-rich single-crystal cathode cathode-electrolyte interphase studies, drive-cycle and battery-pack scaling analyses for long-haul trucking, the GREET 2025 life-cycle assessment update, upcycling of spent nickel-lean cathodes into nickel-rich chemistries, short-circuit post-accident EV safety inspection protocols, and a Type-C school-bus vehicle-cycle inventory. Each module is anchored to the actual findings, methods, and metrics in these papers.

That grounding matters because battery engineering decisions in industry are still frequently made from cell-vendor datasheets, which report beginning-of-life performance under ideal conditions. The DOE literature tells a different story: cathode-electrolyte interphase degradation in nickel-rich single-crystal systems, the volume-expansion mechanics that limit silicon anode adoption, the true energy and emissions ledger of pack scaling for Class 8 duty cycles, and what actually happens to short-circuit risk in post-crash vehicles. Engineers who have read this literature design, qualify, and de-risk battery programs differently.

After three days you will be able to read cell-level specifications critically against electrode-level materials science, evaluate anode and cathode chemistry trade-offs with the national-lab data, scale cell chemistry to pack and vehicle duty cycles with realistic degradation assumptions, apply GREET-based LCA methodology to battery programs, implement post-accident short-circuit inspection protocols, and evaluate recycling and upcycling pathways for spent cathode material — all with the ability to cite the underlying research behind each judgment.

Ideal Learner

• Battery pack, cell, and materials engineers at EV OEMs and battery suppliers
• Vehicle integration and thermal management engineers responsible for pack design
• Test, validation, and safety engineers building battery abuse and post-crash protocols
• Sustainability and LCA analysts working on vehicle electrification programs
• Program and sourcing managers who must evaluate battery technology claims technically

Learning Objectives

• Explain lithium-ion cell electrochemistry and how anode/cathode/electrolyte material choices propagate to cell performance
• Evaluate silicon-containing anode and Mn-rich/Ni-rich cathode technologies using the actual DOE research metrics
• Perform electrode-level and pack-level scaling calculations with realistic energy density, degradation, and thermal assumptions
• Apply GREET 2025 LCA methodology to battery and vehicle life-cycle questions
• Implement post-accident short-circuit risk inspection protocols grounded in the national-lab safety research
• Compare recycling and upcycling pathways, including direct upcycling of spent Ni-lean cathodes into Ni-rich chemistries

Consulting Sessions

Seminar attendees can sign up for individual consulting sessions with the instructor. Sessions are free for registered attendees, first-come first-served — sign up when registering by calling 248-539-0473 or during the seminar.