Dr. Palani Balaya
Associate Professor

Curriculum Vitae

Department of Mechanical Engineering/Engineering Science Program
College of Design and Engineering,
Block EA, #02-07
National University of Singapore
9 Engineering Drive 1
Singapore 117575

Tel: 65-6516-7644 (O)
Fax: 65-6775-4710 (O)
Email: mpepb@nus.edu.sg

Website:
Mechanical Engineering
Engineering Science Program

 

Just after graduating from Central University of Hyderabad, India (1987-1993) in the area of Solid-State Ionics, Dr. Palani Balaya joined Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India as a Research Associate (1994-1996) and worked on thermal properties of insulating materials. Later he joined the Inter University Consortium, Mumbai Centre, India, as a Scientist (1996-2001) before moving to Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany as a Guest Scientist (2001-2006) to work in the area of Nano-ionics.

Dr. Palani Balaya joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the College of Design and Engineering, NUS as an Assistant Professor in 2007. Since 2014, he works as an Associate Professor at NUS. His research areas include developing lithium-ion battery and sodium-ion battery for e.g., fast chargeable lithium-ion battery for EV applications, sodium-ion battery for micro-grid and solar housing applications. He is one of the founding members of Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore in NUS.

He served as a Topical (Battery, Fuel Cell, Capacitor) Editor for Journal of Solid-State Electrochemistry (2013-2017). Currently serving as Associate Editor for the International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology (Wiley, since 2022), Editorial Board Member of the journal, Ceramics International (Elsevier, since 2022) and for the journal, Batteries (MDPI, since 2022). Elected as an Academician by the World Academy of Ceramics, Italy in 2019 and elected as a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) in 2019. Recognized as an ACerS Global Ambassador in 2016, recipient of Global Star Award (2015) from ACerS, Late Shri Har Mahandar Singh Chhatwal Memorial Award (2015) from Khurja Chapter, Indian Ceramic Society and, M.G. Bhagat Memorial Lecture Award (2021) from the Indian Ceramic Society. He served in the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change as a Co-ordinating Lead Author representing Singapore for preparing a Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, in 2011. He currently serves as the Chair of the Engineering Ceramic Division of ACerS. Delivered more than 100 talks (Plenary/Keynote/Invited) at international conferences/meetings. Published 111 articles with h-index of 47 and citations of ~9527 (GS as on 2 Dec. 2022). Several of his patents have been granted. Works closely with industries for accelerating the transitional research to raise the technology readiness level. Spin-off a company SgNaPlus.Pte.Ltd in 2021 for translating academic research on sodium-ion battery into commercial products.

As a service contribution to the scientific community, he is actively involved in the organization of international conferences/symposia at ACerS (since 2014), SPIE (2011-2021), ICMAT (2009, 2015) and ACEPS (2010, 2022). He gives importance to heath care and practices yoga, pranayama etc., for fitness.
Qualifications

Ph.D. , M.Phil. (University of Hyderabad, India)
M.Sc. (Annamalai University)
B.Sc. (University of Madras)

 

Modules Taught

ESP3401 Photovoltaics Devices and Systems
ME5207 Solar Energy Systems
ME5516 Emerging Energy Conversion and Storage Technologies

 

Research Interests

Energy storage: Lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, organic batteries
Energy storage: Supercapacitors

 
Roles in Conferences/Symposia

2024
19 May – 22 May 2024 Plenary, Opening Plenary lecture at the 12th Asian Conference on Electrochemical Power Sources (ACEPS-12) held in Osaka, JAPAN.
04 Apr 2024 Invited, “Design Strategies for Minimizing Thermal Runaway in Li-ion and Na-ion Cells” at the Battery Safety & Innovation Workshop Marina Bay Sands, SINGAPORE.
25 Feb – 28 Feb 2024 Plenary, “Safe and Inexpensive High-power Lithium-ion Battery: Design Considerations” at the International Conference on Powder Metallurgy & Particulate Materials + Exhibition 2024 (PMAI-PM 24) (GOLDEN JUBILEE) Pune, INDIA.
22 Feb – 24 Feb 2024 Invited, “Developing Sodium-ion Battery to Address Intermittency of Renewable Energy” during International Analytical Science Congress 2024 in Nagpur, INDIA. Received Dr Sundaresan Award, Indian Society of Analytical Scientist, Feb 2024.
28 Jan – 02 Feb 2024 Organizer, SYMP. 6 on Advanced Materials and Technologies for Energy Storage, 48th International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC2024) organized by the ACerS Engineering Ceramics Division in Daytona Beach, FL, USA td>
28 Jan – 02 Feb 2024 Oral, “Controlled Engineering of Composite Electrodes and Electrolyte for High-Performance All-solid-state Na-ion Batteries” at SYMPOSIUM 6: Advanced Materials and Technologies for Rechargeable Energy Storage, 48th International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC2024) in Daytona Beach, FL, USA td>
28 Jan – 02 Feb 2024 Invited, “Defect-enhanced Lithium Storage Performance of Nanostructured Mesoporous LiFePO4 for High-power Lithium-ion Battery” at the 13th Global Young Investigator Forum, 48th International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC2024) in Daytona Beach, FL, USA td>
2023
07 Dec – 09 Dec 2023 Invited, “Safety Aspects of Lithium-ion Battery and Sodium-ion Battery” at the 2nd International Meeting on Energy Storage Devices, IIT Roorkee, INDIA.
01 Oct – 05 Oct 2023 Invited, “NZSP-MS/PEO-NaBF4 Ceramic-polymer Composite-electrolyte for Conformal Solid-state Na-ion Batteries” at The American Ceramic Society Journal Awards Symposium during Materials Science & Technology 2023 (MS&T23) held at Columbus, Ohio, USA. Editors-in-chief of the American Ceramic Society journals have chosen our article over 1000 articles, “A mini review on cathode materials for sodium‐ion batteries” published in International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology in 2022 as among the finest in ceramics and glass research. Received ACerS Journals Best Paper Award.
01 Oct – 05 Oct 2023 Invited, “Developing Fast Chargeable Safe and Inexpensive Li-ion batteries” at the Energy Materials for Sustainable Development during Materials Science & Technology 2023 (MS&T23) held at Columbus, Ohio, USA.
30 May – 31 May 2023 Invited – Online, “Can we develop safe battery technologies?” International Energy Symposium (online), organized by NTU Clean Energy Club, Singapore along with energy clubs from IIT Bombay and TU Delft.
05 Mar – 10 Mar 2023 Invited, “Do LiFePO4 cells undergo thermal runaway similar to oxide cells?” at the International Battery Materials Association Meeting 2023 in honor to Prof. John B Goodenough’s 100th Birthday in the University of Texas at Austin, USA.
16 Feb – 18 Feb 2023 Invited, “Energy Storage Systems using Na-ion Battery Technology” at the 7th International Conference on Recent Advances in Material Chemistry (ICRAMC 2023), SRM Institute of Science and Technology, INDIA
22 Jan – 27 Jan 2023 Organizer, SYMP. 6 on Advanced Materials and Technologies for Energy Storage” at the 47th International Conference & Exposition on Advanced Ceramics & Composites (ICACC 2023), organized by the ACerS Engineering Ceramics Division in Daytona Beach, FL, USA
22 Jan – 27 Jan 2023 Invited, “Towards developing safe and fast chargeable lithium-ion battery” at the 5th Pacific Rim Engineered Ceramics Summit during 47th International Conference & Exposition on Advanced Ceramics & Composites (ICACC 2023), Daytona Beach, FL, USA
22 Jan – 27 Jan 2023 Invited, “Size Effects on Transport, Thermodynamics and Energy Storage” at the “Emergent Materials and Sustainable Manufacturing Technologies in a Global Landscape” in honor of Dr. Tatsuki Ohji, Past President of The American Ceramic Society during 47th International Conference & Exposition on Advanced Ceramics & Composites (ICACC 2023), Daytona Beach, FL, USA
2022
11 Dec – 14 Dec 2022 Chair, 11th Asian Conference on Electrochemical Power Sources, Singapore.
08 Dec – 09 Dec 2022 Invited, “Na-ion battery-based Energy Storage Systems” at the International Conference on Global Trends in Traditional to Space Ceramics organized as part of 86th Annual Session of the Indian Ceramic Society in IIT-BHU, Varanasi, INDIA.
09 Oct – 12 Oct 2022 Invited, “Mesoporous TiO2 as an alternative anode for fast chargeable lithium-ion battery” at the Materials Science & Technology 2022 (MS&T22) in the “14th Symposium on Green and Sustainable Technologies for Materials Manufacturing and Processing — Application of Sustainable Materials for Functional Applications II” in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
20 Jun – 24 Jun 2022 Invited, “How do We Address Safety of Li-ion Battery and Na-ion Battery?” at the 15th International Ceramics Conference Perugia, ITALY. Inducted as Academician of the World Academy of Ceramics on the inaugural day of this Conference.
11 Jun – 13 Jun 2022 Co- Chair and Invited – Online, “Developing Na-ion Cell Technology using Non-flammable Electrolytes” at the 13th International Conference on Ceramic Materials and Components for Energy and Environmental Applications, Wuhan, CHINA
03 Apr – 07 Apr 2022 Chair, Online Conference on “Energy Harvesting and Storages: Materials, Devices, and Application-XII”, at the SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing
23 Mar 2022 Invited, Online Webinar, “Developing Sodium-ion Battery to Address Intermittency of Renewable Energy” as part of SafeREnergy Seminar Series 2022, ARC Research Hub for Safe & Reliable Energy, Australia
23 Jan – 28 Jan 2022 Chair, 46th International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, online conference by the ACerS Engineering Ceramics Division.
2021
13 Dec – 14 Dec 2021 Memorial Lecture – Online, “MG Bhagat Memorial Lecture on Nanostructured Materials and Their Impact on Developing Safe Battery Technologies” at the Annual Session of Indian Ceramic Society, Indian Ceramic Society. Presented with prestigious Lecture Award at the inaugural ceremony of the Annual Session of Indian Ceramic Society, 2021
10 Oct – 14 Oct 2021 Invited, “Oxide- and Polyanion- based Cathode Materials for Li-ion and Na-ion Batteries” at 240th ECS Digital Meeting on Sodium and Lithium Intercalation Chemistry for Rechargeable Batteries: Special Symposium in Honor of Claude Delmas, Electrochemical Society, USA
7 Jun 2021 Invited, The Role of Materials in Electric Vehicles (i) Introduction to Energy Storage Technologies Basics of Li-ion Battery (Part – 1) and (ii) Emerging Battery Technologies for Long-range and Fast Charging of Electric Vehicles (Part -2)” ISAMPE Thiruvananthapuram Chapter, Dept. of Ceramic & Cement Technology, PDA College of Engineering, Kalaburgi-585102, Karnataka, India.
7 Jun 2021 Chief Guest for inauguration of ATAL FDP , The Role of Materials in Electric Vehicles” ISAMPE Thiruvananthapuram Chapter, Dept. of Ceramic & Cement Technology, PDA College of Engineering, Kalaburgi-585102, Karnataka, India.
12 Apr – 16 Apr 2021 Chair, Online Conference on “Energy Harvesting and Storages: Materials, Devices, and Application-XI”, at the SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing
20 Mar 2021 Invited, High Power Battery Technologies for EV and Micro-grid Applications” ISAMPE Thiruvananthapuram Chapter, India, Virtual event.
1 Mar – 3 Mar 2021 Invited, Environment and Energy (i) Technologies for Solar Energy Conversion and Storage PART-I and (ii) Technologies for Solar Energy Conversion and Storage PART-II” International Workshop, JNTU, Hyderabad, India.
26 Feb – 27 Feb 2021 Invited, Developing smart-grids along with stationary storage systems for climate change mitigation, International Conference on Intelligent Mechanical Systems for Industry 4.0 (ICIMSI2021) G. H. Raisoni College of Engineering & Management, Pune, India.
17 Feb 2021 Invited, Sodium-ion Battery: From Materials to Cell Development, as part of Battery Safety Science Webinar Series: Advancing safer energy storage through science
5 Feb – 7 Feb 2021 Invited, International Conference on Energy Efficiency and Energy Storage Technologies (ICOEST – 2021), Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India.
08 Feb – 11 Feb 2021 Organizer, SYMP. 6 on Advanced Materials and Technologies for Energy Storage” during 45th International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, online conference by the ACerS Engineering Ceramics Division.
2020
7 Dec – 9 Dec 2020 Planetary Talk, Battery Technology: How do we link academic research with industries for commercialization?” V-ICSEET-2020, Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India.
2 Nov – 6 Nov 2020 Invited, Studies on Electrolyte, Anode and Cathode for Developing Safe Sodium-ion Battery Technology” 12th International Symposium on Green and Sustainable Technologies for Materials Manufacturing and Processing Materials Science & Technology 2020 , Virtual
2 Nov – 4 Nov 2020 Guest of Honour, Virtual International Conference on Sustainable energy and the Environmental Technologies” V-ICSEET-2020, REVA University, India.
2 Nov – 4 Nov 2020 Planetary Talk, Developing Li-ion Battery Technology For Fast Charging our Electric Vehicles: Challenges and Solutions” V-ICSEET-2020, REVA University, India.
2 Nov – 6 Nov 2020 Invited, Developing Safe Na-ion Battery” India Energy Storage Week (IESW), 7th International Conference & virtual Expo on Energy Storage, EV & Microgrids, Session: Advancement of battery technologies and recycling.
16 Sep 2020 Invited, Sodium Battery Technology for Stationary Storage Applications: Academic and Practical Approaches” Brainstorming on Atmanirbhar Bharat: Energy Management and Energy Storage Devices.
27 Apr – 29 Apr 2020 Chair, Online Conference on “Energy Harvesting and Storages: Materials, Devices, and Application-X”, at the SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing
26 Jan – 31 Jan 2020 Organizer, SYMP. 6 on Advanced Materials and Technologies for Energy Storage” during 44th International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, Daytona Beach, USA.
2019
21 Jul – 26 Jul 2019 Co-chair, 2nd Global Forum on Advanced Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Development (GFMAT-2), Toronto, Canada.
2 Jul – 5 Jul 2019 Invited, NASICON, O3- and P3-type Cathode Materials for Sodium-ion Battery (GFMAT-2), Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
14 Apr – 18 Apr 2019 Co-chair, Conference on “Energy Harvesting and Storages: Materials, Devices, and Application-IX”, at the SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing, Baltimore, USA.
03 Mar – 08 Mar 2019 Keynote, Developing Safe Sodium-Ion Battery Technology for Stationary Storage Applications by K. Du, A. Tripathi, L.U. Subasinghe, W. Chen, S.R. Gajjela, M. Law, A. Rudola, V. Sakthivel, and P. Balaya; International Battery Association (IBA) 2019, San Diego, California, USA.
27 Jan – 01 Feb 2019 Organizer, Symposium S6: “Advanced Materials and Technologies for Direct Thermal Energy Conversion and Rechargeable Energy Storage” during 43rd International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, Daytona Beach, USA.
2018
22 Jul – 27 Jul 2018 Chair, 12th International Symposium on Ceramic Materials and Components for Energy and Environmental Applications (CMCEE), Singapore.
15 Apr – 19 Apr 2018 Co-chair, Conference on “Energy Harvesting and Storages: Materials, Devices, and Application-VIII”, at the SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing, April 15 – 19 (2018) Orlando, FL, USA.
21 Jan – 27 Jan 2018 Organizer, Symposium S6: “Advanced Materials and Technologies for Direct Thermal Energy Conversion and Rechargeable Energy Storage” during 42nd International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, Daytona Beach, USA.
2017
28 Nov – 30 Nov 2017 Invited, Developing Sodium-ion Battery to Address Intermittency of Renewable Energy by Lihil Uthpala Subasinghe, Wang Chen, Du Kang, Satyanarayana Reddy Gajjela, Markas Law, Ashish Rudola and Palani Balaya; 4th Na-Battery Conference, Tokyo, Japan.
14 Nov – 16 Nov 2017 Invited, Investigation of heat generation and underlying mechanisms in Lithium-ion batteries by Balasundaram Manikandan, Lihil Uthpala Subasinghe, Wang Chen and Palani Balaya; The 58th Battery Symposium in Japan, The 21st International Symposium on Batteries, Fuel Cells and Capacitors, Fukuoka Convention Center, Fukuoka, Japan.
11 Jun – 16 Jun 2017 Invited, Lithium Battery Discussion Meeting: Arcachon, France.
May 28 – 31 May 2017 Invited, 8th International Conference on Electroceramics 2017: Nagoya, Japan.
May 21 – May 26 2017 Organizer, Symposium S28: Advanced Materials and Technologies for Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems during the 12th Pacific Rim Conference on Ceramic and Glass Technology: Waikoloa, Hawaii, USA.
19 Feb – 23 Feb 2017 Organizer, Symposium on Advanced Materials for Energy Storage during the Materials Challenges in Alternative & Renewable Energy (MCARE) 2017: Jeju, Korea
11 Feb – 13 Feb 2017 Invited, 8th International Conference on Advancements in Polymeric Materials (APM 2017): Bangalore, India.
22 Jan – 27 Jan 2017 Organizer, Symposium S6: “Advanced Materials and Technologies for Direct Thermal Energy Conversion and Rechargeable Energy Storage” during 41st International Conference and Expo on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC) 2017; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.
2016
26 Dec – 30 Dec 2016 Invited, 61st DAE Solid State Physics Symposium: Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
14 Dec – 16 Dec 2016 Invited, Int. Conf on Coatings, Thin Films, Multilayer Devices and Systems: Hyderabad, India.
12 Dec – 15 Dec 2016 Invited, International Conference on Ceramics, Glass and Refractories- Emerging Innovations: Hyderabad, India.
08 Dec – 10 Dec 2016 Invited, 11th International Symposium on Advances in Electrochemical Science and Technology (ISAEST-11): Chennai, India.
07 Dec – 09 Dec 2016 Invited, 3rd International Conference on Na Batteries: Victoria, Australia.
14 Jul – 15 Jul 2016 Invited, International Conference on Materials for Sustainable Future (ICMSF) 2016: Thanjavur,  India.
17 Apr – 21 Apr 2016 Organizer, Symposium S10: Batteries and Energy Storage during the Materials Challenges in Alternative & Renewable Energy (MCARE) 2016; Clearwater, Florida, USA.
20 Mar – 25 Mar 2016 Invited, International Battery Association Meeting (IBA) 2016; Nantes, France.
11 Mar – 13 Mar 2016 Invited, 2nd National Conference on Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage: Pondicherry, India.
29 Feb 2016 Organizer, Asia Pacific Ceramic Cooperation Summit (APCCS), NUS, Singapore.
27 Jan – 01 Feb 2019 Organizer, Symposium S6: Advanced Materials and Technologies for Direct Thermal Energy Conversion and Rechargeable Energy Storage during the 40th International Conference and Expo on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC) 2016; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.
2015
13 Nov – 19 Nov 2015 Invited, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition: Minisymposium on Multiphysics Coupling in Energy Storage: Houstan, Texas, USA.
21 Aug – 25 Aug 2015 Invited & International Scientific Committee Member, 8th Asian Conference on Electrochemical Power Sources (ACEPS-8); Yunna, China.
28 Jun – 3 Jul 2015 Chair, Symposium A: Advances in Energy Storage Systems: Lithium Batteries, Supercapacitors and Beyond during the 8th International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies (ICMAT) 2015; Singapore.
14 Jun – 19 June 2015 Organizer, Symposium on Advanced Batteries and Supercapacitors for Energy Storage Applications during the 11th International Symposium on Ceramic Materials and Components for Energy and Environmental Applications (CMCEE) 2015; Vancouver, Canada.
26 Jan – 28, Jan 2015 Organizer, Symposium S6: Advanced Materials and Technologies for Energy Generation, Conversion and Rechargeable Energy Storage during the 39th International Conference and Expo on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC) 2015; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.
2014
19 Nov – 21 Nov 2014 Invited, 55th Battery Symposium in Japan; Kyoto, Japan.
26 Jun – 28 Jun 2014 Keynote, International Conference on Nano Science & Engineering Applications (ICONSEA) 2014; Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, India.
15 Jun – 20 Jun 2014 Invited & International Scientific Committee Member, Symposium FC: Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems: the Next Evolution during CIMTEC 2014: 6th Forum on New Materials; Tuscany, Italy.
5 May – 6 May 2014 Co-chair, Symposium on Energy, SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing (SPIE-DSS) 2014; Baltimore, USA.
22 Mar – 23 Mar 2014 Invited, Asian Youth Energy Summit; Singapore.
3 Mar – 7 Mar 2014 Invited, International Battery Association Meeting (IBA) 2014; Brisbane, Australia.
16 Feb – 20 Feb 2014 Co-organizer, Symposium on Batteries and Energy Storage during the Materials Challenges in Alternative & Renewable Energy (MCARE) 2014; Florida, USA.
26 Jan – 31 Jan 2014 Co-organizer, Symposium S6: Advanced Materials and Technologies for Energy Generation, Conversion and Rechargeable Energy Storage during the 38th International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC) 2014; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.