The MIT Technology Review has named UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering Asst. Prof. Chibueze Amanchukwu to one of the most sought-after honors among early career academics, entrepreneurs and other world-changing scientists.
Amanchukwu, a Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering, was named one of the 2024 Innovators Under 35 on Tuesday, a yearly global recognition of “ingenious and elegant work that matters to the world at large.”
The selection recognized Amanchukwu’s pioneering work in developing “a new type of electrolyte that’s a liquid when the battery is in use and is free of any fire-causing solvents. The process involved months of testing different combinations of salts to find a concoction with a low enough melting point. His team’s electrolyte, made from a mix of lithium, potassium, and cesium, melts at 45 °C—meaning it could work in batteries built to power EVs or to store grid electricity. The researchers are now working to push that temperature as close to 0 °C as possible.
Amanchukwu, 31, was recognized for his work designing next-generation batteries, but the awardees spanned fields including biotechnology, materials, computer hardware, energy, transportation, communications, and the Internet.
“I've followed the list for a long time,” Amanchukwu said. “I'm an MIT alum. I've seen the list over the years. I've seen different amazing people get nominated and get lauded by it. So to be among one of those on the list is a true honor.”
Although Amanchukwu is also pushing the forefront of battery research by incorporating AI into the hunt for better electrolyte materials, much of the award relates to his innovative work on lithium-metal batteries rather than traditional lithium-ion batteries.
This involves rethinking the core design of batteries, using solvent-free inorganic molten salts to create energy-dense, safe batteries, opening new possibilities for EVs and grid scale renewable energy storage.
“For as long as we’ve had batteries, we've always thought that if you wanted it to store more energy, you had to compromise on safety,” he said. “We are changing that paradigm, and showing that you can actually have batteries that can store a lot of energy and be safe.”
Amanchukwu’s battery work, which also earned him a place on Chemical & Engineering News’ vaunted “Talented 12” this year, is a direct outcome of his commitment to transitioning the planet off fossil fuels in an effort to fight climate change.
“Many of the efforts around the globe to decarbonize hinge on having a method to store energy cheaply in a way that we just haven't done before,” he said. “All of them depend on having a battery chemistry that can store a lot of energy and is affordable. The moment you have that, it becomes easy to decarbonize. Transportation become easier to decarbonize. Aviation becomes easier to decarbonize. A lot of our dreams and goals to decarbonize society rely on this device to work and be safer.”
In addition to his research, Amanchukwu also spearheads many educational outreach efforts to reduce inequalities in science, including Battery Day at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry and Research Experience for Nigerian Engineering Undergraduates, a distance learning research program that pairs Nigerian students with US-based faculty and post-doctoral or graduate student mentors to develop their own research projects and careers, which recently graduated its second cohort.
Other recent recognitions include being named a 2024 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar and receiving a U.S. Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program and a National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award.