Venkat Viswanathan Awarded Seed Grant from CMU's Scott Institute for Energy Innovation

Venkat Viswanathan is one of the 2017 recipients of the fifth Scott Institute Seed Grants for Energy Research, which support Carnegie Mellon University faculty research in the areas of energy, environment, and policy.

He will develop a catalytic approach to improving the long-term stability of lithium-ion batteries by building a bridge between understanding electrocatalytic oxygen evolution and oxygen release in high voltage cathode materials. The aim is to remove obstacles, such as cost and limited storage capacity, that limit electric vehicle adoption.

Founded in 2013, this seed grant program has funded five annual rounds of applicants and a total of nearly 40 research teams. The 2017 funding alone totals nearly $553K from the Scott Institute and the EQT Foundation. The EQT Foundation contributed $178K to the 2017 fund; EQT-funded projects will specifically seed new research into natural gas-related issues. Eight research teams have received a 2017 Scott Institute Seed Grants for Energy Research.