Accelerating the Future of Energy
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Runqi Wu, a PhD student in Dr. Lingzi Sang's lab, holds a conflat-style cell, a device that can measure the creep deformation of a solid-state battery composed of the composite electrolyte.
In June 2023, Future Energy Systems launched the FES Accelerator Fund—a new funding stream created to launch near-market-ready research into the commercial market successfully.
Like all research supported by FES, these projects aim to solve the challenges within our current and future energy systems. Unique to the Accelerator Fund, however, all research supported by this stream must have a clear pathway to the commercialization, application, or implementation of a new technology, regulatory framework, or patent filing that directly affects current practices, processes, or frameworks.
As of January 2025, applications for the Accelerator Fund have officially closed, and fourteen projects were successful in receiving industry support and funding. Accelerator Project focuses range from water treatment to electricity grid solutions to hydrogen production, though all at varying stages of the implementation process and different industry, government, or community players. Here is a list of all 14 projects:
Combining Adsorption and Low-pressure Membrane Technologies for High-quality Water Production - Led by Dr. Mohtada Sadrzadeh & Dr. Aman Ullah
Composite Electrolyte Membranes for Solid-state Battery: Processing, Prototyping, a Lab-to-Market Endeavor - Led by Dr. Lingzi Sang
Development of a Four-Electrode Electrochemical Dummy Cell for Rapid Assessment of Biocrude Corrosion - Led by Dr. Jing Liu
Development of additively manufactured high-temperature ceramic structures to avoid clogging problems and reduce hydrogen embrittlement during hydrogen production process through methane pyrolysis - Led by Dr. James David Hogan
Development of high-performance solid oxide fuel cell stack with low degradation rate and fault tolerance for commercial applications - Led by Dr. Mahdi Shabakhti
Distributed Energy Resources Management for Grid Modernization and Grid Transformation Applications - Led by Dr. Greg Kish
Field Trial of Hydrogen Storage in Canadian Bedded and Domal Salts - Led by Dr. Hassan Dehghanpour
Infrastructure Assessment for Electrical Vehicle Charging in the Town of Banff - Led by Dr. Pierre Mertiny
Machine Learning Control technology applied to decarbonizing H2 fueled vehicles - Led by Dr. Charles Robert Koch
Reconfigurable Metasurfaces for Solid-state Beam Steering in Solar Concentrators - Led by Dr. Behrad Ghoulipour
Scale-up of Electro-Oxidation Processes - Led by Dr. Mohamad Gamal El-Din
Scale-up of geological carbon storage through CO2 plume geothermal and real-time data-driven decision-making - Led by Dr. Bo Zhang
Ultra Low-Loading Noble Metal Catalysts for Enhanced Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) Electrolyzer Performance - Led by Dr. Shiva Mohajernia
Using Additive Manufacturing to Fabricate Non-precious Metal Electrodes for Water Electrolysis - Led by Dr. Marc Secanell
How we convey the research and subsequent technological and framework developments directly impacting us matters. Over the coming months, FES will be featuring Accelerator Projects in a series of videos, including lab tours and interviews in which lead researchers share the ins and outs of their work and answer questions about their ongoing progress. Check out a sneak peek at Dr. Lingzi Sang’s research under the Accelerator Fund:
Check back on this page for updates, or stay up to date with the latest on the Accelerator Projects by subscribing to Future Energy Systems’ YouTube channel and monthly newsletter.