STORE - a DOE centre for low strain Na-ion batteries

$4.5 million award establishes new Center for Strain Optimization for Renewable Energy (STORE) at UCLA

UCLA has launched the Center for Strain Optimization for Renewable Energy (STORE), a new DOE-funded research hub focused on transforming sodium-ion batteries into commercially viable, scalable energy storage solutions. Backed by $4.5 million from the Department of Energy’s Energy Earthshots program, STORE brings together scientists from UCLA, UCSB, USC, Caltech, and SLAC to tackle a central challenge in battery technology: how to make sodium — an abundant and low-cost element — perform like lithium.

Unlike lithium, sodium ions are larger and can be more disruptive to battery materials, leading to slower charge rates and shorter lifespans. STORE researchers are developing materials that can accommodate sodium’s larger size without compromising structural integrity. Strategies include designing frameworks with spacious channels, layered structures that resist atomic rearrangement, and flexible architectures that accommodate volume changes during cycling.

Equally important is the push toward sustainability and affordability. The team is exploring alternatives to expensive and geopolitically constrained elements such as nickel and cobalt, including earth-abundant elements such as iron, manganese, titanium, sulfur, and phosphorus. These approaches aim to develop batteries that are not only high-performing, but also economically and environmentally viable.

As a postdoctoral collaborator on this project, I’m excited to contribute to this multidisciplinary effort, which brings together fundamental materials science, electrochemistry, and sustainable energy storage.