It has been an another successful year for the Tyler Lewis Clean Energy Research Foundation. The Foundation would like to celebrate the achievements of the 2024 grant recipients and recognise all the work they have accomplished over their funding period. Below is a recap of grant recipients’ research activities, milestones and accomplishments for the past year. We wish Maddison, Noah and Sophie the best of luck with the remainder of their research and look forward to catching up with them again in the future!
Maddison Eisnor – Single Particle Analysis of Titanium Niobium Oxide Anodes using Scanning Electrochemical Cell Microscopy
McGill University (PhD, Chemistry)
- Maddison has successfully shown scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) can be used to analyze the electrochemistry of single titanium niobium oxide (TNO) anode particles for the first time. This work has been submitted to the journal of ChemElectroChem and is under peer review.
- Maddison also demonstrated the instability of 10-methylphenothiazine dication (MPT2+) in Li-based electrolytes at elevated temperatures. MPT is used in batteries as a redox shuttle, organic electrode material and catholyte. This work has been published in ACS Electrochemistry (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acselectrochem.4c00083).
- In addition, her research on the instability of MPT2+ gained international recognition when she presented a poster at the International Society of Electrochemistry in Montreal in August 2024.
- Currently, Maddison is working on using SECCM to analyze TNO at different sizes and elevated temperatures. She enjoys mentoring new students in the group and teaching her colleagues how to use SECCM in their research.
- Maddison hopes to complete her PhD in the fall of 2026 and find a job teaching chemistry at the university level.
Noah Frymire – Modeling Interaction Between Small Modular Reactors and Permafrost Rock
Western University (MESc, Civil Engineering)
- Noah was awarded the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada Graduate Scholarship-Master’s and the R.M. Quigley Award at Western University.
- Noah also published and presented at the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering’s annual conference in Niagara Falls (June 2024). This experience was very helpful in connecting with other professionals and researchers in geotechnical engineering.
- Noah has finished creating his physical model and is currently completing and analyzing freeze thaw cycles on the model foundation. He is using 2D image correlation, heat sensor cameras and thermocouple devices to monitor and record data. Analysis will then be completed to determine settlement, displacements and thermal gradient in the foundation.
- In addition to the work Noah is doing on his physics model he is also creating a finite element model to emulate small modular reactors in rock. This model shows temperature flux and gradient and can act as a comparison to the results acquired from the physical model.
- Noah is hoping to finish his master’s this summer and find a job where he can utilize his skills in geotechnical engineering to help complete future projects.
Sophie Janke – Seasonal Green Hydrogen Storage Modeling Tool for a Northern Microgrid
University of Victoria (MASc, Mechanical Engineering)
- Sophie completed the first iteration of her hydrogen energy storage model and tested its performance by simulating a new renewable energy + batteries + hydrogen energy storage system for an arctic community in Nunavut. She also wrote a paper summarizing these results which is currently under review.
- To compliment this work she also travelled to the community to consult with local energy operators, learn about their current energy infrastructure, and support their current renewable energy development plans.
- Sophie is planning to present her work at the Renewables in Remote Communities conference in Whitehorse in March 2025 alongside University of Victoria’s Accelerating Community Energy Transformations (ACET) initiative.
- Sophie has also begun making improvements and expansions to her model based on learnings from her first paper and her trip to Nunavut. These include evolution of the thermal, degradation, costing, and optimization elements, as well as the addition of a hydrogen load for transportation fuel. The updated model will be tested and analyzed through a second case study working with another arctic community to provide meaningful insight surrounding renewable energy + storage options for the community as another outcome of her MASc work.
- Sophie will publish a second paper late in the spring of 2025 and then defend her thesis at the end of the summer which will include a completed open-source modeling tool, documentation and a user manual, and a set of meaningful results from real arctic community case studies.
