AI in CHEM Seminar Series: Erik Berg (Uppsala)

This talk is part of the “AI and Machine Learning in Chemical Research and Industry” Seminar Series organized by the Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering. It is open to all members of the public. Registered students in course CHEM-E4190 can also obtain 1cr by attending the seminars and completing the assignments.

Date and location

• Wednesday 26 March 2025 @ 13:15-14:00
• A304 Ke2 lecture hall in the main building of the School of Chemical Engineering, Kemistintie 1, 02150 Espoo.

Agenda

• 13:00-13:15. Setup and brief info for the registered students.
• 13:15-14:00. Seminar by Erik Berg, lecture hall A304.
• 14:00-onwards. Coffee, netwoking and mingling in the lobby adjacent to the lecture hall.

Seminar info

A Self-driving Battery Research Lab

Jackie Yik, Viktor Vanoppen, Leiting Zhang, Erik J. Berg

Department of Chemistry, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 538, SE-751 21, Uppsala, Sweden

The need for efficient and sustainable energy storage solutions has never been greater. In our battery research lab, we address this urgency by developing a self-driving battery electrolyte formulation and analysis platform. In my talk, I will present a robotic setup dedicated to battery electrolyte formulation, coin-cell assembly and electrochemical testing. The development trajectory of the setup is presented along with a discussion of the pros/cons of various robot configurations. The integration of an active learning cycle in form of multi-objective optimization to identify the most highly performing electrolytes is showcased. Failing experiments as a result of automation will also be exemplified. Finally, the need to educate next-generation chemists in the field of automation and to standardize chemical instrumentation and testing protocols is highlighted.

About the speaker

Erik J. Berg is since 2021 Professor of Chemistry at Uppsala University-Sweden. He holds a MSc Physics degree from TU Darmstadt-Germany, an Engineering Physics degree from the Royal Institute of Technology-Sweden in 2007 and earned in 2012 a Ph.D. at Uppsala University. He joined the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland as post-doctoral fellow in 2012 where he later was also promoted to Group Leader in 2016, awarded tenure in 2017, before returning to Uppsala University in 2018. He is currently a Knut and Alice Wallenberg Academy Fellow and SSF Future Research Leader. Erik’s research focuses since >10 years on fundamental mechanistic understanding of the chemistry governing the performance of rechargeable batteries. His research team primarily develops and applies operando characterization techniques to study battery dis-/charge processes in real-time, often in close collaboration with industrial funding partners. Recently, significant effort is invested in automating the battery research process with the aim to accelerate the discovery of high-performing electrolytes