International Symposium on Beyond Lithium-Ion Batteries 2026 - BeLi26

28 Jun 2026, 08:30 → 3 Jul 2026, 17:30 Europe/Zurich

Paul-Scherrer-Auditorium ETA (ETH Zurich)

Sarbajit Banerjee (PSI - Paul Scherrer Institut), Petr Novak (ETH Zürich), Sigita Trabesinger

BeLi26 arrives at a pivotal moment. The energy transition is essential for addressing climate change and revitalizing the global economy through circular and sustainable practices. However, scaling clean energy technologies depends on access to critical materials—many of which face supply chain challenges due to low natural abundance, declining mining in the Global North, geopolitical tensions, and volatile pricing. These factors have slowed progress at a crucial stage.

The future of energy storage hinges on securing diverse materials and technologies. We now have a unique opportunity to accelerate innovation in post-lithium-ion storage—advancing design, discovery, and manufacturing with urgency and scale.

Building on past success, BeLi26 will reunite the global community driving beyond-Li-ion energy storage. It will foster connections across science, technology, manufacturing, policy, and finance, while educating the next generation of battery innovators.

Our vision is for BeLi26 to become the premier global event for beyond-Li-ion energy storage—driving visibility, collaboration, and impact. We aim to achieve this through an inclusive format, broad ecosystem engagement, support for emerging talent, and a strategically chosen venue with global accessibility. Environmental responsibility, diversity, and accessibility will be central to the conference experience.

Host Organizations and Contacts:

• Laboratory for Battery Science at Paul Scherrer Institute
• Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry at ETH Zurich

 

Abstract template BeLi_Abstract_Template.docx

BeLi26 Abstract Book BeLi26_abstract_book final.pdf

Sunday 28 June

08:30 → 09:00 Workshop Registration

09:00 → 09:30 Welcome: Stefan Palzer - Welcoming Introduction to HEALING BAT & Vision for Self‑Healing Batteries

09:00 → 13:00 Workshop: Innovation and Collaboration in Next Generation Battery Technologies

09:30 → 10:00 Invited Talks: Joe Fleming - HealingBat - Sensors, instrumentation and communications for smart cells

10:00 → 10:30 Break

10:30 → 11:00 Invited Talks: Samson Yuxiu Lai - Recent progress in SALAMANDER self-healing functionalities in Li-ion batteries

11:00 → 11:30 Invited Talks: Kamil Burak Dermenci - PHOENIX Approach to Smart Batteries: Self-Healing Application and Degradation Monitoring

11:30 → 12:15 panel discussion: Opportunities and lessons learned from the Sister project collaboration within the Battery 2030+ initiative. Moderator: Joe Fleming

12:15 → 12:45 Invited Talks: Leiting Zhang - Battery 2030+: Strategic Pathways to a Sustainable Energy Future

12:45 → 12:55 Closing of workshop: Stefan Palzer - Closing remarks

12:55 → 13:00 Photo

14:00 → 15:30 Symposium Registration

15:30 → 15:45 Symposium Opening

15:45 → 18:05 Chairperson: Sarbajit Banerjee

15:45 → 16:20 Keynotes: Michel Armand - Multivalent Cation Batteries

16:20 → 16:55 Keynotes: Maria Lukatskaya - Engineering Local Chemical Environments for Efficient Aqueous Batteries

16:55 → 17:30 Keynotes: Ping Chen - Hydride Ion Batteries

17:30 → 18:05 Keynotes: Brent C. Melot - Towards Room Temperature Electrochemical Cycling of Fluoride

18:05 → 20:00 Poster Session and Reception

Monday 29 June

09:00 → 12:05 Chairperson: Lukasz Kondracki

09:00 → 09:05 Welcome

09:05 → 09:40 Keynotes: Arumugam Manthiram - Challenges and Opportunities of Metal-Sulfur Batteries

09:40 → 10:05 Invited Talks: Ingo Krossing - Towards Novel Electrolyte Systems for Lithium-Based Battery Systems

10:05 → 10:30 Invited Talks: Sebastian Risse - Advancing Lithium-Sulfur Battery Technology: The Critical Role of Multimodal Operando Analysis in Multilayer Pouch Cells

10:30 → 11:10 Coffee & Tea Break

11:10 → 11:35 Invited Talks: Axel Gross - First-Principles Studies of the Structure and Stability of Battery Materials

11:35 → 11:50 Contributed Talks: Pronoy Dutta - Unraveling Nanoscale Sulfur Conversion in Li–S Batteries: From Polysulfide Solubility to Quasi-Solid-State Pathways

11:50 → 12:05 Contributed Talks: Neeha Gogoi - Decoupling the Role of Polymeric Coatings and Sulfur Loading in Lithium-Sulfur Battery Cathodes

12:05 → 12:20 Photo

12:20 → 13:25 Lunch

13:25 → 17:40 Chairperson: Dominika Baster

13:25 → 14:00 Keynotes: Kang Xu - AI4Batteries: What AI can and What AI cannot

14:00 → 14:25 Invited Talks: Erik Berg - From Plating to Passivation: Operando Analysis of Mg and Zn Metal Electrodes for Grid Storage

14:25 → 14:40 Contributed Talks: Matteo Palluzzi - Novel Non-Fluorinated Hückel-Type Sodium Salts and Their Impact on Performances and SEI Composition in Sodium-Ion Batteries

14:40 → 14:55 Contributed Talks: Hafiz Ahmad Ishfaq - Dynamic Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Insights into Magnesium Metal Improvement by Fluorinated Ether Electrolytes

14:55 → 15:10 Contributed Talks: Dorina M. Opris - Polar polysiloxane elastomers as electrolytes for solid-state batteries

15:10 → 15:25 Contributed Talks: David Reber - Metal–Organic Negative Electrolytes for High-Power Redox Flow Batteries

15:25 → 16:05 Coffee and Tea break

16:05 → 16:30 Invited Talks: Louis F. J. Piper - Back to Future: Lithium Metal Pouch Cells with Liquid Electrolytes

16:30 → 16:45 Contributed Talks: Elene Sasieta-Barrutia - Ion Design for Advanced Electrolytes: From Molecular Innovation to Energy Applications

16:45 → 17:00 Contributed Talks: Jonathan Caroni - Unraveling the Sodium Storage Mechanism in a Redox-Active Covalent Organic Framework Cathode for Na-Metal Batteries

17:00 → 17:25 Invited Talks: Mircea Dinca - TAQ: A Small Molecule Layered Organic Cathode for High Energy Density, Fast-Charging, and Long-Lasting Batteries

17:25 → 17:40 Contributed Talks: Sabrina Duswald - Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Potassium-Ion Batteries: Environmental Impacts under Current and Future Energy Systems

17:40 → 19:40 Poster Session and Reception

Tuesday 30 June

09:00 → 12:05 Chairperson: Partha P. Mukherjee

09:00 → 09:05 Welcome

09:05 → 09:40 Keynotes: Maximillian Fichtner - Advancements with Rechargeable Magnesium and Calcium Batteries

09:40 → 10:05 Invited Talks: Yuri Surace - Magnesium Metal Batteries: from Active Materials to Pouch Cell Prototypes

10:05 → 10:30 Invited Talks: Magda Titirici - Beyond Li: Na, K and Al based batteries-progress, challenges and perspectives

10:30 → 11:10 Coffee and Tea Break

11:10 → 11:35 Invited Talks: Maryam Nojabaee - Electrolyte Transport Properties and Interfacial Processes in Calcium and Magnesium Metal Batteries

11:35 → 11:50 Contributed Talks: Muath Radi - Electrolyte Additives to Enhance Mg Plating/Stripping Kinetics in Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries via Interphase Engineering

11:50 → 12:05 Contributed Talks: Ayca Senol Güngör - Intraparticular Heterogeneity Limits Capacity in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries with Carbonate Electrolyte

12:05 → 13:30 Lunch

13:30 → 18:00 Chairperson: Shruti Hariyani

13:30 → 14:05 Keynotes: Philipp Adelhelm - New Developments in Sodium-Ion Batteries: From Co-Intercalation Mechanisms to High-Rate Cathode Materials

14:05 → 14:30 Invited Talks: Ivana Hasa - Elucidating Morphological Evolution and Interfacial Processes on μ-Sn anodes for Sodium-ion Batteries

14:30 → 14:45 Contributed Talks: Samuel Gatti - Na-Environment Induced Divergence of Structural Rearrangement Pathways in Oxygen-Redox Active Layered Mn-Oxides

14:45 → 15:00 Contributed Talks: Lukasz Kondracki - Non-Gassing OEMS for Isolating Electrode Derived Gas Evolution

15:00 → 15:15 Contributed Talks: Leonardo Sbrascini - In-situ Sodium Compensation in Sodium-poor Prussian Blue Analogues for Sodium-ion Battery Applications

15:15 → 15:30 Contributed Talks: Javearia Tariq - Elucidating the Dominant Charge Compensation Mechanism Governing Air Stability in Sodium-based Transition Metal Oxide Cathode Materials for Sodium-ion Battery Applications

15:30 → 16:10 Coffee and Tea Break

16:10 → 16:35 Invited Talks: Michael Metzger - Unexpected Gassing Phenomena in Sodium Layered Oxide/Hard Carbon Cells

16:35 → 16:50 Contributed Talks: Ömer Özgür Çapraz - The Coupling between Electrochemical Performance and Chemo-Mechanical Instabilities in Na-ion Battery Electrodes

16:50 → 17:05 Contributed Talks: Chien-Rung Shih - Investigating Effects of Solid-electrolyte Interphase Solubility and Reactivity on Ether-based Electrolyte Performance for Sodium Metal Anode

17:05 → 17:30 Invited Talks: Alejandro Franco - Mesoscale Modeling and AI to Optimize the Manufacturing of Sodium Ion Batteries

17:30 → 17:45 Contributed Talks: Rachel Huang - Ion & Polymer Specific Effects on Salt Partition in Cation Exchange Membranes (CEMs)

17:45 → 18:00 Contributed Talks: Kausik Mukhopadhyay - Sepiolite-Betaine: Next Generation Clay-Zwitterion Battery Separators

18:00 → 20:00 Poster Session and Reception

Wednesday 1 July

09:00 → 11:50 Chairperson: Petr Novak

09:00 → 09:05 Welcome

09:05 → 09:40 Keynotes: Shinichi Komaba - Advancing Hard Carbon for Na-Ion Batteries: Kinetic Insights and Design Principles

09:40 → 09:55 Contributed Talks: Prabeer Barpanda - Harnessing Oxide Cathodes for Secondary Zn-ion Batteries

09:55 → 10:10 Contributed Talks: Aashutosh Mistry - The Curious Case of Hydrogen Evolution on Zinc Electrode in Acidic Media

10:10 → 10:50 Coffee and Tea Break

10:50 → 11:20 Advisory Board Session: Vito di Noto - Electric Behavior and Ionic Conductivity in Polymeric and Hybrid Electrolytes for Beyond Li-ion Batteries

11:20 → 11:50 Advisory Board Session: Walter van Schalkwijk - Direct Recycling vs Element by Element Recycling

11:50 → 13:10 Lunch

13:10 → 17:25 Sightseeing Program

18:00 → 21:00 Conference Dinner

Thursday 2 July

09:00 → 12:10 Chairperson: Vito Di Noto

09:00 → 09:05 Welcome

09:05 → 09:40 Keynotes: Anton Van der Ven - Modeling Lithium Alloying and Intercalation Reactions in All-Solid-State Batteries

09:40 → 10:05 Invited Talks: Ivano Casteli - Accelerated Design of Battery Materials via Autonomous Workflows

10:05 → 10:30 Invited Talks: Partha Mukherjee - Gradients and Instabilities in Solid-State Batteries

10:30 → 11:10 Coffee and Tea Break

11:10 → 11:25 Contributed Talks: Noah Lettner - Thermodynamically Consistent Modeling of Ion Exchange Membranes for Aqueous Batteries and Other Multi-ionic Environments

11:25 → 11:40 Contributed Talks: Zhao Li - Multiscale Operando Insights into Mg-Li Hybrid-Ion Battery Chemistry

11:40 → 11:55 Contributed Talks: Mohammed Ahmed Zabara - Probing Sodium Storage and Degradation Pathways in Hard Carbon Anodes

11:55 → 12:10 Contributed Talks: Anshuman Chaupatnaik - A New Universal Class of Cubic Alkali Organic-Inorganic Halide-Glyme

12:10 → 13:30 Lunch

13:30 → 18:00 Chairperson: Mario El Kazzi

13:30 → 14:05 Keynotes: Marnix Wagemaker - Working on the Electrochemical Compatibility of Solid Electrolytes towards Low Potential Anodes

14:05 → 14:30 Invited Talks: Stacey Bent - Cryogenic X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy for Stable Analysis of Battery Interfaces

14:30 → 14:45 Contributed Talks: Leon Skarjan - Operando Neutron Capture Imaging of Lithium Metal Batteries: Visualizing Plating and Stripping Under Realistic Cycling Conditions

14:45 → 15:00 Contributed Talks: Filiz-Pinar Seren - Operando Light Microscopy of Lithium Metal Growth at Very High Rates: the Effect of Ionic Depletion

15:00 → 15:15 Contributed Talks: Quan Wu - Interfacial Reconstruction via Ionic Liquid Additives Enables Dendrite-Free High-Temperature Lithium-Metal Batteries

15:15 → 15:30 Contributed Talks: Leiting Zhang - Quantifying Battery Chemomechanical Degradation with Online Acoustic Emission Sensing

15:30 → 16:10 Coffee and Tea Break

16:10 → 16:35 Invited Talks: Dominic Bresser - Impact of the Current Collector for (“Zero-Excess”) Lithium-Metal Anodes

16:35 → 16:50 Contributed Talks: Manuel Reiter - Asymmetric Fluorination of Cationic Additives for Improved Li-metal Anode Stability

16:50 → 17:05 Contributed Talks: Michael Wolf - Microstructure Evolution in Dry Coated Sulfidic All-Solid-State Battery Cathodes: Core–Shell Particle Coating via Batch- and Extruder-Mixing

17:05 → 17:30 Invited Talks: Juan Miguel López del Amo - Ex Situ and In Situ/Operando Solid-State NMR of Interfaces in Solid-State Batteries: Reactivity, Li Transport, and Dendrite Formation

17:30 → 17:45 Contributed Talks: Josef Rizell - Growth Dynamics and Pore Formation in Lithium Metal Electrodes

17:45 → 18:00 Contributed Talks: Cara Day - Phase Evolution in Lithium/Proton-Exchanged LiNiO₂ from Combined Diffraction and Spectroscopy: Towards Aqueous Cathode Systems

18:00 → 20:00 Poster Session and Reception

Friday 3 July

09:00 → 12:10 Chairperson: Sarbajit Banerjee

09:00 → 09:05 Welcome

09:05 → 09:40 Keynotes: Mario El Kazzi - From Operando Mechanistic Insights to Interface Engineering in Zero-Excess Lithium Anode All-Solid-State Batteries

09:40 → 10:05 Invited Talks: Corsin Battaglia - Recent Advances in the Understanding of Sodium Metal Chloride Batteries

10:05 → 10:30 Invited Talks: Shruti Hariyani - Interplay between Stereochemically Active Lone Pair Repulsions, Sigma Hole Interactions, and Delocalized Redox Processes in Topochemical Fluoride-Ion Insertion

10:30 → 11:10 Coffee and Tea Break

11:10 → 11:25 Contributed Talks: Shun Sasano - Highly Reversible Sn-based Intermetallic Alloy Cathode for Fluoride-ion Batteries

11:25 → 11:40 Contributed Talks: Vaibhav Deshmukh - DFT Study of NaFePO4 Cycling: Thermodynamic versus Metastable Pathways

11:40 → 12:10 Symposium Closure and Poster Prize Announcement