{"id":21416,"date":"2024-12-06T12:35:04","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T17:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/?p=21416"},"modified":"2024-12-06T15:13:12","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T20:13:12","slug":"powering-through-the-freeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/","title":{"rendered":"Powering Through the Freeze"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/a>Researchers at the Whiting School and JHU’s Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)<\/a> are developing lithium-ion batteries capable of operating in some of the world\u2019s coldest environments.<\/p>\n

Traditional lithium-ion batteries fail in frigid temperatures because the liquid electrolyte that facilitates the electric charge freezes, rendering the battery inoperable. To address this, a team led by Jesse Ko<\/a>, a senior staff scientist at APL, and Yayuan Liu<\/a>, Russell Croft Faculty Scholar and assistant professor in the Whiting School\u2019s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering<\/a>, is exploring solvent combinations that would create disorder\u2014called \u201centropy\u201d\u2014in the electrolyte, lowering its freezing point and ensuring the battery\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as we increase entropy in a controlled manner, we can lower the electrolyte\u2019s freezing point,\u201d Ko says. \u201cWe\u2019ll be investigating various solvent combinations, but it\u2019s tricky because there are almost infinite possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding the right solvent combination through trial and error is extremely time-consuming. To accelerate the process, the team will use high throughput experimentation, artificial intelligence robot-controlled electrochemistry, and machine learning (ML) to identify entropy-generating factors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll collect a lot of data with high-throughput experimentation, then feed it to an ML algorithm to help us find ideal conditions for creating entropy in the electrolyte,\u201d says Liu, an associate researcher in the Ralph O\u2019Connor Sustainable Energy Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The researchers also hope to achieve lab automation. \u201cThe idea is to conduct experiments with the robot, feed the results to the ML model, and have the model provide feedback on what combinations work better, creating a loop that accelerates materials discovery,\u201d says Liu.<\/p>\n

Their work is timely and has far-reaching implications. \u201cClimate change creates new challenges in the Arctic, where temperatures can reach -40\u00b0 to -75\u00b0F,\u201d says Ko. \u201cIf you send a soldier or drone out there, you want the equipment to function as it should.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers at the Whiting School and JHU’s Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) are developing lithium-ion batteries capable of operating in some of the world\u2019s coldest environments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":21422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impact","issue-winter-2025"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPowering Through the Freeze - JHU Engineering Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Johns Hopkins engineers have developed SPECTRA, a groundbreaking optical tool that enhances cancer imaging using nanoprobes and DNA origami.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Powering Through the Freeze - JHU Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Johns Hopkins engineers have developed SPECTRA, a groundbreaking optical tool that enhances cancer imaging using nanoprobes and DNA origami.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"JHU Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-06T17:35:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-06T20:13:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-08-21-09.58.31-An-illustration-of-a-lithium-battery-in-Arctic-conditions-for-a-newsletter.-The-battery-is-depicted-in-a-snowy-icy-landscape-with-frost-covering-its-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deboreah Ross\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deboreah Ross\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Deboreah Ross\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/37c999ce2d860a416eb52a3526c58ef6\"},\"headline\":\"Powering Through the Freeze\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-06T17:35:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-06T20:13:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":314,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-08-21-09.58.31-An-illustration-of-a-lithium-battery-in-Arctic-conditions-for-a-newsletter.-The-battery-is-depicted-in-a-snowy-icy-landscape-with-frost-covering-its-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Impact\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/\",\"name\":\"Powering Through the Freeze - JHU Engineering Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-08-21-09.58.31-An-illustration-of-a-lithium-battery-in-Arctic-conditions-for-a-newsletter.-The-battery-is-depicted-in-a-snowy-icy-landscape-with-frost-covering-its-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-06T17:35:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-06T20:13:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/37c999ce2d860a416eb52a3526c58ef6\"},\"description\":\"Johns Hopkins engineers have developed SPECTRA, a groundbreaking optical tool that enhances cancer imaging using nanoprobes and DNA origami.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-08-21-09.58.31-An-illustration-of-a-lithium-battery-in-Arctic-conditions-for-a-newsletter.-The-battery-is-depicted-in-a-snowy-icy-landscape-with-frost-covering-its-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-08-21-09.58.31-An-illustration-of-a-lithium-battery-in-Arctic-conditions-for-a-newsletter.-The-battery-is-depicted-in-a-snowy-icy-landscape-with-frost-covering-its-1.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":700,\"caption\":\"An illustration of a lithium battery in as= snowy, icy landscape.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/powering-through-the-freeze\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Powering Through the Freeze\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/\",\"name\":\"JHU Engineering Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/37c999ce2d860a416eb52a3526c58ef6\",\"name\":\"Deboreah Ross\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3071779b942270da0ead1610bdb8451de3810f5984412f9da8c172ff8a3b6c0b?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3071779b942270da0ead1610bdb8451de3810f5984412f9da8c172ff8a3b6c0b?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3071779b942270da0ead1610bdb8451de3810f5984412f9da8c172ff8a3b6c0b?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Deboreah Ross\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Powering Through the Freeze - JHU Engineering Magazine","description":"Johns Hopkins engineers have developed SPECTRA, a groundbreaking optical tool that enhances cancer imaging using nanoprobes and DNA origami.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Powering Through the Freeze - JHU Engineering Magazine","og_description":"Johns Hopkins engineers have developed SPECTRA, a groundbreaking optical tool that enhances cancer imaging using nanoprobes and DNA origami.","og_url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/","og_site_name":"JHU Engineering Magazine","article_published_time":"2024-12-06T17:35:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-12-06T20:13:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":700,"url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-08-21-09.58.31-An-illustration-of-a-lithium-battery-in-Arctic-conditions-for-a-newsletter.-The-battery-is-depicted-in-a-snowy-icy-landscape-with-frost-covering-its-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Deboreah Ross","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deboreah Ross","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/"},"author":{"name":"Deboreah Ross","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/#\/schema\/person\/37c999ce2d860a416eb52a3526c58ef6"},"headline":"Powering Through the Freeze","datePublished":"2024-12-06T17:35:04+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-06T20:13:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/"},"wordCount":314,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-08-21-09.58.31-An-illustration-of-a-lithium-battery-in-Arctic-conditions-for-a-newsletter.-The-battery-is-depicted-in-a-snowy-icy-landscape-with-frost-covering-its-1.jpg","articleSection":["Impact"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/","name":"Powering Through the Freeze - JHU Engineering Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-08-21-09.58.31-An-illustration-of-a-lithium-battery-in-Arctic-conditions-for-a-newsletter.-The-battery-is-depicted-in-a-snowy-icy-landscape-with-frost-covering-its-1.jpg","datePublished":"2024-12-06T17:35:04+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-06T20:13:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/#\/schema\/person\/37c999ce2d860a416eb52a3526c58ef6"},"description":"Johns Hopkins engineers have developed SPECTRA, a groundbreaking optical tool that enhances cancer imaging using nanoprobes and DNA origami.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-08-21-09.58.31-An-illustration-of-a-lithium-battery-in-Arctic-conditions-for-a-newsletter.-The-battery-is-depicted-in-a-snowy-icy-landscape-with-frost-covering-its-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-08-21-09.58.31-An-illustration-of-a-lithium-battery-in-Arctic-conditions-for-a-newsletter.-The-battery-is-depicted-in-a-snowy-icy-landscape-with-frost-covering-its-1.jpg","width":700,"height":700,"caption":"An illustration of a lithium battery in as= snowy, icy landscape."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2024\/12\/powering-through-the-freeze\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Powering Through the Freeze"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/#website","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/","name":"JHU Engineering Magazine","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/#\/schema\/person\/37c999ce2d860a416eb52a3526c58ef6","name":"Deboreah Ross","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3071779b942270da0ead1610bdb8451de3810f5984412f9da8c172ff8a3b6c0b?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3071779b942270da0ead1610bdb8451de3810f5984412f9da8c172ff8a3b6c0b?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3071779b942270da0ead1610bdb8451de3810f5984412f9da8c172ff8a3b6c0b?s=96&r=g","caption":"Deboreah Ross"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21416"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21823,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21416\/revisions\/21823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}