麻豆果冻传媒 receives $4.8 million federal grant to improve electric vehicle battery recycling
Pingen Chen, associate professor of mechanical engineering at 麻豆果冻传媒, is pictured
standing in front of a 2019 Nissan Leaf, part of a fleet of electric vehicles used
in Tech's research and outreach efforts. Chen is now the project lead on a nearly
$5 million federal grant to help improve electric vehicle battery recycling.
Researchers at 麻豆果冻传媒 are set to receive a from the U.S. Department of Energy to help improve the nation鈥檚 electric vehicle
battery recycling ecosystem.
The effort is part of a $45 million federal initiative supporting projects at eight
businesses or institutions, including the likes of General Motors, Caterpillar Inc.
and Siemens Corporation. Tech is the only grant recipient in the southeast.
Pingen Chen, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Tech, will serve as
project lead for the university.
A longtime advocate for electric vehicle technology, Chen has been awarded millions
in previous federal grants to help spur electric vehicle adoption and proliferate
electric vehicle charging stations in rural communities. Last year, he helped bring
a fully electric shuttle vehicle to Tech鈥檚 campus, the first such vehicle found anywhere outside of an urban center
in Tennessee.
鈥淲e hear concerns in rural communities when people are considering an electric vehicle
鈥� what do we do with the battery when the vehicle is retired?鈥� explained Chen. 鈥淥ur
goal is to figure out the most efficient, cost-effective and safest way to recycle
these batteries at the end of their life cycle.鈥�
Today, electric vehicle battery recycling can be a complex process. Tech鈥檚 project
aims to make the system more seamless and user-friendly by developing a first-of-its-kind
鈥渕obile preprocessing hub鈥� that can be taken to local collection sites, allowing electric
vehicle owners to have batteries safely disassembled and shredded on-site.
The batteries鈥� raw materials will then be extracted, studied and reused in battery
manufacturing 鈥� creating a circular economy that protects scarce minerals and supports
the sustainability of the electric vehicle industry.
The grant marks the continuation of a years-long focus for Chen, whose belief in the
potential of EV technology was informed by his own upbringing.
鈥淚 grew up in a rural, low-income community and I know electric vehicles can help
people in those settings reduce their transportation costs,鈥� said Chen. 鈥淚n Tennessee,
for example, where we have very affordable electricity rates, an electric vehicle
can actually save you over 50 to 60 percent on transportation costs.鈥�
Other Tech faculty joining Chen on the project include Stephen Canfield, professor
of mechanical engineering, Nan Chen, assistant professor of electrical and computer
engineering (no relation), Jiahong Zhu, professor of mechanical engineering, Daniel
Yoon assistant professor of mechanical engineering and Michael Aikens, assistant vice
president for economic development and director of Tech鈥檚 Center for Rural Innovation.
No stranger to problem-solving research, Canfield has commanded for his 鈥淭ech Engineering for Kids鈥� project, in which students in his classes engineer
custom products for Tennessee children with special needs.
Canfield鈥檚 involvement in this project will focus on leveraging collaborative robotics
to help execute the mobile preprocessing hub. Students in his robotics class will
get a unique chance to participate in the effort 鈥� all part of Tech鈥檚 longstanding
commitment to expanding undergraduate students鈥� research opportunities.
The grant is far from Tech鈥檚 only federally funded project to support electric vehicle
adoption. The U.S. Department of Energy also awarded Chen and his colleagues a separate
to continue their work expanding electric vehicle charging availability and helping
city agencies 鈥� including those in Chattanooga and Nashville 鈥� integrate more electric
vehicles into their fleets.
The surge in funding support comes as Tech recently marked four consecutive years of record-setting research hauls, topping last year鈥檚 record by $10 million 鈥� something
Canfield explains is not only significant for Tech, but also for the Tennesseans helped
by the university鈥檚 research enterprise.
鈥淥ur mission is to serve the State of Tennessee. We have so many engineering students
that come through and do that,鈥� said Canfield. 鈥淭hese research projects allow us to
solve large problems and educate our students at the same time. It鈥檚 exciting because
we鈥檙e growing our students, we鈥檙e growing our research, and we鈥檙e integrating the
two to serve our state and solve real problems. I think that鈥檚 what makes Tennessee
Tech so wonderful.鈥�
