About

Paul Albertus is an Associate Professor and Associate Director at the University of Maryland's Faculty of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. His research interests focus on electrochemical technologies for energy storage and conversion, including materials for lithium-ion, lithium metal, flow, and other battery systems, as well as electrolysis processes such as alkaline water electrolysis. He specializes in degradation and failure analysis, continuum-scale mathematical modeling of electrochemical processes and devices, and thermodynamic, transport, and kinetic property measurements. Albertus has contributed to energy technology entrepreneurship and innovation, conducting energy system analysis to identify opportunities for technological advancement. He has played a significant role in program creation at ARPA-E, leading the development of initiatives like IONICS and DAYS, which focus on solid separators for lithium metal batteries, alkaline electrolysis, fuel cells, flow batteries, and stationary energy storage systems. His projects include studying lithium metal electrode stability, coupling mechanics with electrochemistry, and modeling the behavior of large-format lithium batteries under heating and short-circuit conditions. Albertus has been involved in advancing electrochemical technologies for deep decarbonization and has received support from agencies such as DOE, IARPA, and the US-Israel Energy Center. He is also engaged in teaching courses related to electrochemical energy engineering and transport phenomena.

Research topics

• Engineering physics
• Chemical engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Computer Science
• Materials science
• Chemistry
• Paleontology
• Physical chemistry
• Library science
• Physics
• Metallurgy
• Geology
• Composite material
• Archaeology
• Engineering
• Nuclear physics
• Organic chemistry
• Chemical physics
• Geography

Selected publications

• Copper-coordinated cellulose ion conductors for solid-state batteries

  Nature · 2021 · 606 citations

  • Materials science
  • Chemical physics
  • Chemical engineering
  DOI

• Challenges for and Pathways toward Li-Metal-Based All-Solid-State Batteries

  ACS Energy Letters · 2021 · 455 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Library science
  • Archaeology

  Solid-state batteries utilizing Li metal anodes have the potential to enable improved performance (specific energy >500 Wh/kg, energy density >1500 Wh/L), safety, recyclability, and potentially lower cost (<$100/kWh) compared to advanced Li-ion systems.1,2 These improvements are critical for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and trucks and could create a short-haul electric aviation industry.1-3 Expectations for solid-state batteries are high, but there are significant materials and processing challenges to overcome.

  DOI

• Enabling “lithium-free” manufacturing of pure lithium metal solid-state batteries through in situ plating

  Nature Communications · 2020 · 212 citations

  • Materials science
  • Chemical engineering
  • Nanotechnology

  (LLZO) electrolyte. We demonstrate that Li-metal anodes >20 μm can be electroplated onto a current collector in situ without LLZO degradation and we propose a model to relate electrochemical and nucleation behavior. A full cell consisting of in situ formed Li, LLZO, and NCA is demonstrated, which exhibits stable cycling over 50 cycles with high Coulombic efficiencies. These findings demonstrate the viability of "Li-free" configurations using LLZO which may guide the design and manufacturing of high energy density solid-state batteries.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• John Newman

  23 shared

• Jake Christensen

  17 shared

• Bhuvsmita Bhargava

  15 shared

• Eric A. Carmona

  15 shared

• Grigorii L. Soloveichik

  ABS Consulting (United States)

  12 shared

• Venkat Srinivasan

  12 shared

• Scott J. Litzelman

  Booz Allen Hamilton (United States)

  10 shared

• Jeremy Couts

  University of California, Berkeley

  9 shared

Awards & honors

• $1.5 Million Award to Pioneer Batteries for Electric Rail an…
• $9M Cooperative Agreement from CREB
• $2.25M DOE funding for solid state energy storage research
• $1M ARPA-E Award for 'Speedy Ceramics' Method

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