Grant: Alliance Grants

The primary goal of this project is to design and develop advanced carbon materials from sustainable sources (e.g., petroleum coke, biochar, bottom boiler ash, un-merchantable woody biomass) for electrochemical energy conversion and storage applications. To do this, the Easton lab will design, modify and characterize new carbons, through a synergistic collaboration with Carbonix. Subsequently, electrodes will be fabricated from these advanced carbons and rigorously tested to understand the key properties that influence performance in applications like lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells and supercapacitors. Specifically, we aim to understand how to optimize Carbonix's proprietary carbon scaffold platform to convert high-carbon waste streams into high-value-added products for sustainable energy applications. This project addresses key knowledge gaps in Canada's energy transition value chains, focusing on efficient, sustainable, and competitive market advancements. It targets four primary areas: optimizing carbon attribute control processes, balancing environmental impacts with product quality, understanding the quality differences between sustainable feedstocks, and comparing the time to market and environmental impacts of synthetic graphite, carbon blacks and other high surface area and functionalized high purity carbons. This research will contribute to the fundamental understanding of electrode structures for energy conversion and storage devices (e.g., lithium-ion batteries (LIBs); supercapacitors fuel cells) by providing new insights into the factors that impact structure and performance achieved with sustainable sourced carbon materials. Enhancements in these technologies could have substantial benefits for the Canada's clean energy industry. Specifically, Canadian-sourced and made advanced materials will lessen our reliance on overseas suppliers for the raw materials needed to transition to green technologies. This will help Canada fight climate change while meeting the challenge of rising energy demands in a cost-effective manner.