BeLi26 comes at a moment rich with promise. The energy transition is a core instrument for mitigating climate change and reinvigorating our interconnected global economy in a manner that emphasizes circularity and sustainability. It is now clear that scaling and accelerating the energy transition will require access to a diverse palette of materials with supply chains that are currently threatened by low crustal abundance of critical materials, near complete extinction of the mining in the Global North, exacerbating global geopolitical tensions, and unpredictable price fluctuations—which individually and cumulatively have stymied the adoption of clean energy technologies at a critical stage of development. The widespread deployment of energy storage technologies will be inextricably linked to provisioning of critical materials and unprecedented diversification of material and technology palettes. We are in a unique window of opportunity to advance transformative science in the design, discovery, and manufacturability of post-lithium-ion storage technologies with speed, scale, and resolve.
Leveraging a series of successful conferences and a highly engaged international community, BeLi26 will reconnect the global community of scientists and engineers advancing beyond-Li-ion energy storage; build new bridges from fundamental science to technology development, advanced manufacturing, public policy, and market financing; and serve as an unprecedented forum to educate the next-generation of global talent in battery science and beyond.
Our vision is for BeLi26 to be the signature global event that promotes visibility for the science and technology of beyond-Li-ion energy storage and provides a means of forging meaningful connections and collaborations. We are seeking to achieve this vision through a concerted and inclusive effort that implements specific innovations in format, engages the entire ecosystem of advanced energy storage, showcases emerging talent, and is augmented by choice of an inspiring venue that can be readily accessed from across the world through air, rail, and road links. We commit to organizing a conference that places a central emphasis on environmental aspects, diversity, and accessibility.
Host Organizations and Contacts:
- Laboratory for Battery Science at Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen
- Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry at ETH Zurich
