Inaugural Lecture by WISE Guest Professor Madhavi Srinivasan

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Chalmers University of Technology is pleased to welcome Professor Madhavi Srinivasan from Nanyang Technological University as a WISE Guest Professor. She will deliver her Inauguration Lecture, “From Microbes to Materials: Biotechnological Innovations in Battery Sustainability,” on 11 November at Chalmers University of Technology.

Madhavi Srinivasan is a Professor in the School of Materials Science & Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. She is the Executive Director of ERI@N (Energy Research Institute) and Co-Director of SCARCE, a joint Singapore–CEA laboratory with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, which focuses on recycling e-waste.

Her research centers on sustainable battery technologies and recycling of lithium-ion batteries. She works on designing and fabricating nanoscale materials to improve energy storage systems, including advanced lithium-ion, sodium-ion, multivalent aqueous (Zn/Al), and structural batteries. She also develops novel hydrometallurgical methods to recycle battery e-waste, advancing a closed-loop approach to resource use.

Lecture Title: From Microbes to Materials: Biotechnological Innovations in Battery Sustainability.

Date: November 11, 2025

Time: 15:00 (CET).

Where: Lecture room ED in the EDIT building, Chalmers University of Technology

Contact: Professor Leif Asp, Department of Industrial and Materials Science at Chalmers University of Technology ((e-mail) leif.asp@chalmers.se; (phone)+46(0)31-772 1543).

Abstract:

As the global demand for energy storage accelerates, so does the need for sustainable and circular approaches to battery production and recycling. This talk explores the emerging frontier of biotechnology in enabling greener battery technologies—specifically through biohydrometallurgy and bio-based materials. By integrating biohydrometallurgy and bio-based materials, biotechnology offers a powerful toolkit for reimagining sustainable batteries. The talk will focus on how microorganisms are being harnessed in biohydrometallurgy to selectively extract and recover critical metals like lithium, cobalt, iron, manganese and nickel from spent lithium-ion batteries. This biological approach offers a low-energy, environmentally friendly alternative to traditional high-temperature or chemically intensive methods, with closed loop lithium-ion batteries recycling towards circular economy approach. The talk will also highlight development of bio-based composite polymer electrolyte based on chitosan and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) for application in aqueous Li-Zn-based structural batteries. Chitosan, a deacetylated derivative of chitin sourced from crustacean shells, offers high mechanical strength, ionic conductivity in aqueous media, and the ability to modulate Zn²⁺ ion solvation, crucial for suppressing dendrite growth and corrosion. Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), extracted from plant biomass, serve as high-aspect-ratio reinforcements. Together, the Chitosan-CNF composite electrolyte forms a multifunctional, solid-state polymer electrolyte that couples high ionic conductivity with structural reinforcement for improved electrochemical performance of aqueous Li-Zn-based structural batteries.

Brief Bio:

Professor Srinivasan is among the world’s top 1% of researchers in her field, recognized for highly cited publications in the Web of Science. She has received numerous honors, including the ASEAN–US Science Prize for Women (2023), recognition as one of Asia’s Top Sustainability Superwomen (2019), and the L’Oréal For Women in Science National Fellowship. She has also led and collaborated on major industry-funded projects with global companies such as Energizer (USA), Arkema (France/USA), Rolls-Royce (UK), BMW (Germany), Johnson Matthey (UK), Bosch (Germany), Arcadium Lithium (USA), Durapower (Singapore), and Gotion (China).