June 6, 2023 – UNC Charlotte introduces legislators and industry partners to NC’s first battery research center

UNC Charlotte introduces legislators and industry partners to NC’s first battery research center
Officials also toured CIPHER, showcasing the research found only at Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – June 6, 2023 – UNC Charlotte introduced government officials, and economic development and industry partners to two growing research areas of focus: predicting health and environmental risk and next-generation battery research during an open house on Monday, June 5.

During the Powering the Future event, guests toured North Carolina’s Battery Complexity, Autonomous Vehicle and Electrification Research Center, or BATT CAVE, and visited the Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks, or CIPHER.

“At UNC Charlotte, we are embracing our vision as an emerging top-tier, world-class research university,” said John Daniels, interim vice chancellor of research. “This is needed to support the industries and communities in our fast-growing region. Both CIPHER and BATT CAVE represent the innovative, interdisciplinary team-based research you’ll find only at Charlotte.”

More photos from CIPHER and BATT CAVE

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, who spoke at the event, said, “This is an exciting opportunity. We are at a convergence point and everything this University has done since I have been involved in politics is proving that the bets you all wanted us to place are returning incredible value. You’ve been good stewards of taxpayer dollars and are graduating capable people. This is just another incredible success story that we have to continue to build on.”

BATT CAVE: Meeting a Critical Need

Part of the William States Lee College of Engineering, BATT CAVE is the only university-led research center in the state focused on advancing the fast-growing field of battery technology, safety and electrification research. This research is directly applicable to vehicles, in particular electric vehicles, and all systems dependent on clean energy use.

Electric vehicle manufacturing is projected to increase 17% over the next decade, making it one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States as well as North Carolina. In 2021, the North Carolina General Assembly made an investment of more than $40 million to renovate research center facilities, purchase state-of-the-art equipment and hire additional faculty—all of which will support an expanded talent pipeline of skilled engineers prepared to meet the industry demand. With this investment and its position in the midst of the state’s EV and battery, mining, processing and manufacturing economy, UNC Charlotte continues to lead transformational energy research and talent production.

Jun Xu, an internationally recognized battery safety and modeling expert, serves as BATT CAVE’s director. Xu and his team of faculty and graduate-level students base their experiential learning and research activity at the BATT CAVE facility on UNC Charlotte’s research campus, near the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center, EPIC, an established leader in energy research.

Demonstrations during the BATT CAVE portion of the tour included an EV race car developed and fabricated by students in 49ers Racing; wireless power transfer designed for rail transportation introduced for Belmont Trolley