Accelerating solid-state battery research and innovation: new open-access database

Thousands of peer-reviewed papers on battery devices are published each year.

Despite this rapid growth, the data contained within these publications are often reported in different formats and with varying levels of detail and accessibility. The resulting patchwork of information makes it difficult for scientists, engineers, industry partners, and policymakers to fully leverage published research and identify opportunities for innovation.

Now, a research team led by Paul Albertus—associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Maryland and associate director of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute—has announced the publication in Joule of a pioneering study that tackles this persistent challenge in battery science.

The team’s groundbreaking approach to a battery database and datasets, spanning from materials to components to fabrication to device testing and performance, addresses critical gaps in battery reporting and provides a foundation for improved analysis, visualization, experiment design, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven research.

The publication contributes three major advantages to the battery research community by:

• integrating the complete set of information needed to describe a solid-state battery device;
• examining reporting practices across the scientific literature and assessing the presence and significance of information not reported; and
• establishing a structured approach to battery data reporting through clearly defined variables and standardized terminology.

The study presents an ontology-informed database of research-level solid-state batteries containing 245 battery records, 167 structured variables, and more than 40,000 data points. The framework captures the materials, components, fabrication methods, and testing conditions needed to fully describe battery devices while supporting Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data practices, advanced analytics, visualization, experiment design, and AI applications.

About the A. James Clark School of Engineering

Located just a few miles from Washington, D.C., the University of Maryland’s top-ranked A. James Clark School of Engineering is at the center of a constellation of high-tech companies and federal laboratories, offering students and faculty access to unique professional opportunities.

The Clark School is leading research advancements in aerospace, bioengineering, robotics, nanotechnology, disaster resilience, energy and sustainability, and cybersecurity. From the universal product code to satellite radio, SMS text messaging to the implantable insulin pump, our students, faculty, and alums are engineering life-changing innovations for millions.