Necessitated by the progressing global climate change, we now find ourselves amid the next industrial revolution. Renewable energy sources and ways to transport and store this energy are being developed, commercialized, and implemented at an unprecedented rate. Notwithstanding the urgency with which climate change needs to be addressed, we must ensure that an unsustainable fossil fuel-driven energy economy is not replaced by yet another set of unsustainable technologies.

In pursuing a greater implementation of renewable energy, Lithium-ion batteries remain the most competitive energy storage and transportation solution. Yet, Lithium-ion battery production relies on limited resources, employs fluorinated compounds in the electrodes, and consumes significant amounts of energy and toxic solvents. This presentation highlights projects from my work that explore materials with a focus on sustainability. In pursuing this work, we want to enable next generation batteries that rely less on unsustainable technologies and demonstrate the feasibility of developing new energy technologies that are holistically sustainable.