On the afternoon of November 1, Professor Chris Mi from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at San Diego State University, an IEEE Fellow and SAE Fellow, delivered an academic lecture in Room 203 of Building 2 in the West Main Building. The title of the lecture was “Overcoming the Barrier of Deploying Second-Life EV Batteries for Storage Applications”. The lecture was hosted by Professor Li Yongdong, with the participation of Associate Professor Sun Kai and more than ten students.

During the lecture, Professor Mi pointed out that the number of electric vehicles is increasing, leading to a corresponding growth in the number of retired batteries. The production and recycling costs of these batteries are high, making the management of retired electric vehicle batteries crucial for both the economy and the environment. Multiple projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission (CEC) have aimed to promote the use of Second-Life Electric Vehicle Batteries (SLB) in energy storage. However, deploying SLB faces serious challenges such as lifespan, cost, safety, responsibility, and regulations. Professor Mi also shared the outcomes of a recent project funded by the CEC, covering aging mechanisms, charging and discharging methods, thermal management, battery/battery pack balancing, energy management, policies, standards, and fire regulations related to the use of SLB in energy storage systems.

Chris Mi, a professor who has authored five monographs, published 204 journal papers, 126 conference papers, and holds 25 granted and pending patents. He has served as the editor-in-chief, associate editor, guest editor, and deputy editor for multiple IEEE Transactions and international journals, as well as chaired over ten major IEEE international conferences. He has received several prestigious international awards, including “the Inaugural IEEE Power Electronics Emerging Technology Award”.