By Neil Nachbar
Lukas Duwe learned a lot about lithium ion batteries while earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany.
Curious about the electrochemical properties of batteries, Duwe decided to pursue a second master’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Rhode Island through URI’s duel master’s degree program with TU Braunschweig.
When Duwe arrived at URI in 2018, he found himself in an unfamiliar environment, but one that was very welcoming.
“Everything was new to me, but I received so much support at URI,” said Duwe. “Thanks to everyone at the graduate school, the office of international education and the chemical engineering faculty, I never felt like I was on my own.”
On his first day of school, Professor Arijit Bose showed Duwe where he would be conducting his research.
“I remember Professor Bose showing me all of the characterization tools and the battery laboratory,” recalled Duwe, who lives in Dresden, Germany. “From that moment, I couldn’t wait to start my research.”
Duwe decided to do his thesis project on an “All Solid Lithium Ion Battery for Safety and Stability.”
The project required Duwe to develop a lithium ion battery in which the traditional organic liquid electrolyte was replaced with a solid polymer electrolyte. Solid polymer electrolytes are non-flammable and have reasonable mechanical rigidity. The goal was to overcome the safety issues that plague existing batteries.
“The challenge for Lukas was to develop a processing strategy that would allow the solid polymer electrolytes to maintain their integrity, while allowing for good contact between them and the active materials in the electrodes,” said Bose, who served as Duwe’s thesis advisor. “Lukas developed several alternate schemes and eventually determined which one was the best.”
Bose was impressed that Duwe was able to complete all of his research in one academic year.
“It’s a great testimony to Lukas that he did all of this in the time he had at URI, with very limited guidance from others,” said Bose. “His comprehensive research is an important contribution to the rapidly evolving field of solid lithium ion batteries.”
Duwe’s research earned him the 2020 Excellence in Master’s Thesis Research Award from the URI Graduate School.
“It feels great to be acknowledged for the hard work I put into my thesis,” said Duwe. “This would not have been possible without the great mentoring and advice I received from Professor Bose, the support of my research partner, Michael Molinski, with whom I spent endless time in the lab, and of course all my other fellow students and the entire faculty, who were always happy to help.”
Bose had high praise for his advisee.
“Lukas was by far the top student in my class,” said Bose. “His thesis is the best master’s degree work that I have had the pleasure of supervising in my 37 years at URI.”
Duwe graduated from URI in the spring of 2019. He recently began working as a sales and proposal engineer at ITM Linde Electrolysis in Germany. The newly incorporated company provides global green gas solutions on an industrial scale.
“I want to help shape how the world uses sustainable energy, ideally by applying my background in electrochemistry, while learning more about the market and economic environment,” said Duwe. “This challenging position can combine what I’ve learned with what I hope to learn in the future.”