Matthew Raiford
Bio
Dr. Matthew Raiford, Technical Director for the Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI), has been researching batteries for over 15 years. He started looked at batteries while studying for his Ph. D. in Chemistry at University of Texas at Austin, and has primarily studied lead-acid as well as lithium-ion technologies. Before joining CBI, Matt worked in product/market development and battery science for EcoBat, the world’s largest recycler of batteries. At EcoBat, Matt authored numerous papers and patents, focused on the materials science of lead-acid batteries and prolonging their performance life in stationary and automotive applications.
CBI serves as a global precompetitive research organization for lead batteries and has been operating since 1992. At CBI, Matt manages the US Technical projects, acts as a technical liaison for the industry in the US, Europe, and Asia, and writes proposals for and manages government funded projects. Matt also supports the industry by focusing and developing technoeconomic reports on battery technology, and working with USDOE and USDOD on lead battery technology. These projects include fundamental work, such as monitoring real time battery performance in-situ using synchrotron x-ray diffraction, all the way to applied projects, studying lead batteries in microgrids and other energy storage applications.
The global approach to energy has evolved rapidly over the last decade and battery energy storage is a crucial enabler for the decarbonization and electrification goals and concerns. Sustainable, safe, inexpensive, and high performing batteries are needed across hundreds of applications including automotive, micromobility and motive power, industrial, and electrical grid related energy storage. This discussion will cover how lead battery technology is a key solution for these needs, and how our industry globally is innovating to meet new performance plateaus. New battery topologies for more effective monitoring in auxiliary EV applications has resulted in higher integrity in electric vehicles, while at the same time bipolar batteries have come on to the scene as a viable higher voltage solution. In industrial and motive power, new maintenance free lead batteries are performing at very high levels at partial state of charge – using advanced alloys and monitoring regimes. Across grid storage multiple innovation pathways
An array of application developments and new technologies will be covered. Examples of advancements in auxiliary 12 V, motive power for forklifts, and batteries for energy storage applications like residential, commercial and industrial, and long duration will be discussed.