An ode to electrochemistry

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Mar 13, 2025

This episode features Yet-Ming Chiang, a renowned MIT materials science professor and co-founder of several electrochemistry firms. He discusses the remarkable evolution of electrochemistry from obscurity to a key player in energy storage, particularly with lithium-ion batteries. Chiang highlights promising applications in sustainable aviation fuels and industrial processes that require significant energy. The conversation also touches on AI's role in enhancing catalyst discovery and the challenges electrochemistry faces, such as solid-solid transformations.

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INSIGHT

Electrochemistry's Power

Electrochemistry makes energetically uphill chemical reactions possible, like charging a lithium-ion battery.
Applying voltage moves lithium ions, importing substantial energy, comparable to very high temperatures.

ANECDOTE

Battery Acoustics

A freshly assembled lithium-ion battery, monitored with an acoustic emission sensor, emits noise during cycling.
This demonstrates electrochemistry's power to break and deform solids, leading to applications like mechanical actuators.

INSIGHT

Batteries' Impact

Electrochemistry gained significant interest with the rise of lithium-ion batteries.
While conferences and research existed, batteries propelled its practical application and broader appeal.

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Batteries were electrochemistry’s breakout hit. For years it was a field that kept a low profile, outshined by flashier cousins like biotech and computer science. That is until lithium-ion batteries became big business, showing that studying the relationship between chemicals and energy could unlock technical pathways that other disciplines could not. Now the field is making breakthroughs in critical areas like cement, metallurgy, and new battery chemistries.

So what else can electrochemistry do? Which problems is it especially good at solving?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Dr. Yet-Ming Chiang, a professor of materials science and engineering at MIT. He’s also the co-founder of at least six electrochemistry companies, including Form Energy and Sublime Systems, which are both portfolio companies of Energy Impact Partners where Shayle is an investor. They cover topics like:

Promising applications like mining, SAFs, and other industrial processes that require a high concentration of energy
The strengths of electrochemistry and where it fits best in larger system
The weak spots of electrochemistry, like solid-solid transformations and the limitation to 2-dimensional surfaces
How electrochemical processes work with intermittent power and the role of embedded chemical storage
AI’s potential to shape the field — and its limits

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Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor.

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