National Post (National Edition)
When Halifax calls, Tesla answers
Halifax’s Dalhousie University will get to play a role in Elon Musk’s quest to change the world as the result of a somewhat audacious request by a senior researcher studying lithium-ion batteries.
When chemistry professor Jeff Dahn heard about Tesla Motors Inc.’s plan to build a massive US$5-billion battery plant in Nevada, he decided he could help.
“When Tesla announced its Gigafactory, I just thought to myself, here is a situation where finally we’ll have some lithium-ion battery manufacturing in North America on a huge scale, and I can help with this,” said Dahn, who has been studying the rechargeable batteries since 1978 and describes himself as having “a long history of doing useful things.”
Dahn knew Kurt Kelty, Tesla’s director of battery technology, from the conference circuit and called him up. “I said, ‘What about it? Are you guys interested in sponsoring our group?’”
Kelty invited Dahn to Tesla’s headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., last summer where he met with co-founder and chief technology officer J.B. Straubel. Straubel was intrigued enough to fly up to Halifax in the fall to see Dahn’s lab, and from there it was an easy sell.
“We worked through the spring to get the agreement sorted out, and there you are,” Dahn said, adding that his students are “thrilled.”
The agreement marks the first time Tesla has collaborated with a Canadian university. It will take effect in June 2016, when Dahn’s existing Industrial Research Chair in Materials for Advanced Batteries comes to an end.
One of the challenges for renewable-energy proponents has been finding efficient ways to store excess electricity for cloudy or calm days. Lithium-ion batteries offer that capability but there is currently a tradeoff between storage capacity and battery lifespan.
The goal of the Tesla-Dalhousie partnership is to create lithium-ion batteries that have longer lifespans and store more energy than existing technology. Dahn said he believes it’s possible to store 30 to 40 per cent more energy in lithium-ion batteries without compromising their lifespans, but it won’t be easy.
“When I started work in 2008 on lifetime improvements of lithium-ion cells and tried to understand in detail why they fail and how to prevent it, I told my group, ‘This is a decade-long project we’re starting on,’ ” Dahn said in an interview Wednesday. “Well, it’s going to be more than that. It’s tough. It’s the toughest problem I’ve worked on.”
Tesla’s Gigafactory aims to produce enough lithium-ion batteries to support a mass- market electric vehicle while lowering production costs by 30 per cent.
The company is also in the midst of expanding beyond the automotive market and is already taking orders for the Powerwall, a line of battery packs for homes and businesses that can store electricity for later use.
“We’re talking about trying to change the fundamental energy infrastructure of the world,” CEO Elon Musk said when he announced the venture April 30.
“This is actually within the power of humanity to do. It is not impossible.”