WEMO24-Compiled Report-Interactive compressed (002) 4154-7882-8116 v.1 - Flipbook - Page 62
About batteries
Batteries are an essential part of our energy transition journey.
Obviously in EVs, they play a key role of decarbonizing lightweight
vehicles. Moreover, battery energy storage systems (BESS) and large
gigabatteries play a crucial role in ensuring electric grid stability
as renewable energy sources and electric vehicle adoption rates
increase. Indeed, due to the inherent intermittency of renewable
electricity production and the growing use of charging stations, there
may be significant stress on the electric grid. In such cases, large
gigabatteries play a crucial role as buffers, stabilizing the grid until
other measures can be activated to meet the demand.
For those batteries to be as efficient as possible, one must increase
their energy density as well their power density. The first one is to
increase the quantity of energy in the battery, while the second one
is to increase the speed of charge/discharge.
How can Gen AI help in designing better batteries?2
As for e-fuels, Gen AI can be used to discover electrolytes with better
properties to increase energy density. It can also be used to discover
new binders that play a key role in dispersing the active material in
the slurry and its adhesion to the current collectors to improve ionic
and electrical conductivity.
To improve power density, one should play on the 3D porous
network design optimization of the battery. In this step, we will rely
on generative design approaches, where the engineers will specify
the objectives and requirements of the final products, including
manufacturing constraints.
2 https://interestingengineering.com/energy/lg-energy-solution-ai-battery-designing
NEXT
ARTICLE
Bio-engineered fuels through
synthetic biology
Synthetic biology enables precise control over metabolic pathways
within these organisms, optimizing the conversion of sugars,
cellulose, or other feedstocks into desired fuel molecules.
About synthetic biology
For example, engineered strains of E. coli or yeast can be designed to
break down lignocellulosic biomass (plant material) into simpler sugars
and then convert these sugars into biofuels. Additionally, synthetic
biology can be used to create organisms that fix carbon dioxide and
convert it directly into fuels or even convert directly feedstocks into
hydrogen, offering lower carbon footprint alternatives.
Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field between biology,
engineering, and computer science to design and build new
biological systems or to re-design existing ones for new purposes.
It involves the modification of organisms' genetic material to create
novel functions that do not exist in nature. By applying engineering
principles to biology, synthetic biology aims to make biological
processes more predictable, scalable, and efficient. The field holds
potential for innovations in healthcare, agriculture, environmental
sustainability, and industrial manufacturing. It also raises ethical and
safety considerations due to the power of reprogramming living
organisms.
How Gen AI can be leveraged to accelerate new
bio-engineered fuels ?
Traditional biofuels, such as ethanol from corn or biodiesel from
vegetable oils, have limitations in efficiency, scalability, and
environmental impact. Synthetic biology addresses these challenges
by designing organisms that can convert a wider range of feedstocks,
including non-food biomass, waste materials, and even carbon
dioxide, into fuels.
One of the key advancements is the engineering of microbes to
produce advanced biofuels like butanol, isobutanol, and fatty acidderived fuels, which are more energy-dense and compatible with
existing fuel infrastructures.
HOME
New batteries
PREVIOUS
ARTICLE
Moreover, synthetic biology facilitates the rapid development and
testing of new fuel-producing pathways through techniques like DNA
synthesis, CRISPR-based genome editing, and metabolic modeling.
This accelerates the discovery of efficient fuel production methods,
reducing costs and increasing scalability.
Overall, synthetic biology's ability to engineer organisms for specific
biofuel production processes holds the potential to revolutionize
the energy industry by providing sustainable, renewable, and
environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuels, contributing to
energy security and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
WEMO 2024
The Realistic case
for Gen AI
62
02
