ACES around the world: Patrick Howlett

ACES CI Patrick Howlett from our Deakin node recently travelled to the US for an opportunity to present at an energy storage conference and network with researchers. We caught up with him to hear about his adventures.

Where did you travel to?

I travelled to Ohio and Colorado in the US in late July.

What was the reason for your visit?

I was invited to give a presentation at the 11^th Symposium on Energy Storage Beyond Li-Ion (BLI XI), hosted by the Ohio Aerospace Institute and NASA Glenn Research Centre. The forum explores the role of energy storage and the future of energy storage technologies in the ground and in the air. I presented some of the research we have done at ACES on sodium as part of the session on Emerging Opportunities for Non-Lithium Metal Anodes.

I also had the chance to visit the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado, which focuses on advancing the science and engineering of energy efficiency, sustainable transportation and renewable power technologies. As well as touring the facilities, I met with a number of research leaders where we discussed their various research programs.

What was the most valuable aspect of your trip?

At the BLI XI conference, there were some great discussions toward potential collaboration. I’m now in contact with a number of researchers about an exchange of some materials. It was also a good forum to show our research to US national lab researchers.

The visit to NREL was very informative about current trends in renewables and I can see a number of opportunities to build collaborations towards in-operando characterisation techniques. I also had the chance to lay the groundwork for our student Kalani Periyapperuma who has headed over to the NREL for a three month research visit.

What was the most memorable part of your trip?

Not being allowed inside NASA (I needed a US passport!), hiking in Elk Meadow and visiting the NREL.

And what will this agreement mean for ACES?

There are some possible collaborations through my time at BLI XI, and NREL could be a potential research partner for ACES, hosting student visitors. Tony Burrell, from Oklahoma State University’s Electrochemical Energy Storage team, who I caught up with while I was over there, will present at next year’s ACES symposium in Geelong.