Please join us for the 14th Annual Stanford Student Energy Lecture Series! During the series, 16 graduate students/postdoctoral scholars, consisting of two speakers per week, will present their energy-related research to an audience of Stanford students, faculty, and staff. 

Gage Wright

Talk title: A Membrane-Free Electrolyzer for Zero-Emission Slaked Lime Production

Abstract: Electrochemical co-generation of acid and base enables zero-emission, closed-loop industrial processes based on pH swings, including CO2 capture or mineralization, precious metal extraction and recycling, and production of cementitious materials. Conventional electrochemical acid-base production relies on ion-exchange membranes to prevent transport and recombination of hydronium and hydroxide ions, but these components impose large resistive losses and current density limitations. Furthermore, ion-exchange membranes are intolerant to polyvalent metal ions present in processing streams. In this work, we demonstrate an electrolysis cell based on an impurity-tolerant diaphragm separator that can produce acid and base at lower energy demand and higher current densities than state-of-the-art ion-exchange membrane systems. The outputs of the cell are capable of processing limestone into slaked lime at room temperature while avoiding the need for costly CO2 purification for sequestration.

Bio: Gage Wright received his B.S. in Chemistry from Kansas State University where he worked on electrochemical biosensors. As a 3rd year PhD candidate in the Kanan Lab, Gage researches new technologies for Decarbonization and CO2 Utilization through electrochemistry and catalysis.

Shradha Sapru 

Talk title: Dual-function materials for integrated carbon capture and utilization

Abstract: Carbon capture, utilization and sequestration consists of multiple challenging steps. From CO2 capture to compression and transportation, each step is energy and cost intensive. Dual function materials (DFMs) can reduce energy and cost demands by coupling CO2 adsorption and conversion processes into a single material with multiple functionalities, most commonly an adsorbent phase and a metal for CO2 conversion. For optimal DFMs, the interaction between the capturing and converting component is crucial and has relevance in engineering DFMs for better performance and stability. In this talk, I will share the results of our recent work on using colloidal catalysts to understand these adsorbent-catalytic phase interactions. By controlling these interactions at the molecular level, we demonstrate the critical role of each component, shedding light on the possible mechanism and paving the way to design DFMs with maximum CO2 capture and conversion efficiency.

Bio: Shradha Sapru is a 3rd year Chemistry PhD candidate co-advised by Prof. Arun Majumdar and Prof. Matteo Cargnello. She works in the field of heterogeneous catalysis for energy and sustainability applications. In particular, her research is based on developing materials and processes for carbon-dioxide removal and utilization. She holds a BS-MS dual degree in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, India. During that time, she researched halide perovskites for solar cell applications.

Justin Luke    
Jointly optimizing operations, charging infrastructure siting, and vehicle design for autonomous electric mobility-on-demand fleets

Abstract: Charging infrastructure is the coupling link between power and transportation networks, therefore careful determination of charging station siting is necessary for the effective planning of power and transportation systems. While previous works have either optimized for charging station siting given historic travel behavior, or optimized fleet routing and charging given an assumed placement of the stations, this research introduces a linear program that jointly optimizes for station siting and macroscopic fleet operations. Given an electricity rate schedule and a set of travel demand requests, the optimization minimizes the total cost for an electric autonomous mobility-on-demand fleet (E-AMoD) comprising of travel costs, station procurement costs, fleet procurement costs, and electricity costs, including demand charges. Specifically, the optimization returns the number of charging plugs for each charging rate (e.g., Level 2, various DC fast charging rates) at each candidate location, as well as the optimal routing and charging of the fleet. From a case-study of an E-AMoD fleet operating in San Francisco, our results show that, despite their range limitations, small EVs with high energy efficiencies are the most cost-effective in terms of total ownership costs. Furthermore, the optimal siting and sizing of charging stations is more spatially distributed and lower powered than the status-quo distribution of stations, consisting primarily of high-power Level 2 stations and low-power DC fast charging stations. The joint optimization reduces the total costs, empty vehicle travel, and peak charging load by up to 10% compared to only optimizing operations with status-quo distributions of charging infrastructure.

Bio: Justin Luke is a 6th-year PhD candidate in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is co-advised by Ram Rajagopal and Marco Pavone. His research focuses on cost and emissions optimization of autonomous electric vehicle fleets, in particular, identifying synergies with the grid integration of renewable energy resources. In this talk, Justin will present research on novel models for the joint optimization of charging station siting and sizing, vehicle design, and fleet operations for electric autonomous mobility-on-demand (E-AMoD). In a case study of an E-AMoD fleet providing mobility services in San Francisco, the optimal siting of charging infrastructure is more spatially distributed and low-powered compared to present day infrastructure, while small, high-efficiency vehicles, despite their shorter range, are the most effective for reducing costs and emissions. Justin is supported by the Stanford Bits & Watts EV50 Project. He has obtained a MS in Electrical Engineering at Stanford in 2020 and a BS in Energy Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley in 2018.