Researchers from companies and institutions around the world will converge on PNNL's campus next week to discuss the newest battery technology and breakthroughs that could make electric vehicles more affordable and reliable.

At the 4th Symposium on Energy Storage: Beyond Lithium Ion, researchers will present their findings and discuss their importance to batteries of the future.  

"Our goal as researchers is to develop batteries that use materials that are more common and affordable, for the next generation of vehicles," said Jason Zhang, PNNL scientist and conference co-chair. "Today's hybrid and plug-in vehicles use lithium ion batteries that perform well, but are still heavy and expensive," he said.

Zhang will present research on a new kind of battery technology, called lithium-air, which uses air as one of the electrodes. In another presentation, PNNL researcher Michael Kintner-Meyer will discuss what it means for utility companies when more electric vehicles hit the road.

This annual symposium is sponsored by a collaboration of Department of Energy national laboratories and IBM.

Members of the media interested in attending can do so free of charge but must register in advance with Annie Haas on PNNL's News and Media Services team. In addition to talks listed on the agenda, more than 40 researchers will be presenting their work on posters the afternoon of Wednesday, June 8, in the lobby of the BSF/CSF buildings.

For more information or to view the conference agenda, visit http://beyondli-ioniv.labworks.org/.

What: 4^th Symposium on Energy Storage: Beyond Lithium Ion

When: Tuesday, June 7 - Thursday, June 9, 2011
Poster session: Wednesday, June 8, 3:20 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Agenda available at: http://beyondli-ioniv.labworks.org/agenda.stm

How: Journalists can attend by contacting Anne (Annie) Haas at 509-375-3732 or anne.haas@pnnl.gov.

Where: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland
Journalists should plan to first arrive at PNNL's Research Operations Building, or ROB, 908 Battelle Blvd., in Richland, to receive temporary badges.

For more information about PNNL's energy storage and battery research, visit PNNL's Energy Storage website or the Transformational Materials Science Initiative website.

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.