Dan Esposito speaking into a small wired microphone while standing beside three seated panelists, a projected presentation, and a Climate Week at Columbia Engineering banner.
Dan Esposito, associate professor of chemical engineering, moderates a panel discussion on “Electrolysis at Scale.”

Image credit: Sirin Samman/Columbia Engineering
 
Dan Esposito, associate professor of chemical engineering, moderates a panel discussion on “Electrolysis at Scale.”

Image credit: Sirin Samman/Columbia Engineering

Campus

Remaking the Energy System with Electrochemistry

At its annual symposium, the Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center (CEEC) focused on the tremendous scale required to deploy new technologies.

October 08, 2026

The Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center (CEEC) hosted its 2026 Fall Symposium Sept. 23 on Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus. The event brought together researchers, industry leaders, and students to explore how electrochemical technologies can help meet the world’s growing energy demands.

“Since its launch in 2018, CEEC has been tackling the huge problem of the energy transition, meaning this global shift from carbon-based energy sources toward renewable energy sources,” said Senior Vice Dean of Research George Deodatis, who is the Santiago and Robertina Calatrava Family Professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics and a professor of earth and environmental engineering. “This is a monumental task, but it is absolutely critical for our future. It entails a great deal of collaboration. We are thrilled to have so many of our partners here today.”

In his opening remarks, CEEC co-director Daniel Steingart, who is the Stanley Thompson Professor of Chemical Metallurgy and Chemical Engineering and chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, explained the motivations that drive him and many of his colleagues.

“We began with two efforts: building a center for clean electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies, and rebuilding a program in mining at Columbia. I’m thrilled in 2026 that we’ve done both quite successfully,” Steingart said. “In order to electrify the grid, we have to extract far more of many materials than we ever have before – by a factor of at least 1,000.”

Inside CEEC’s Fall Symposium

Photos by Sirin Samman

Lauren Marbella delivering a presentation while gesturing in front of a projected slide at Columbia Engineering.
Lauren Marbella, associate professor of chemical engineering, delivers a keynote, “The Battery Deployment Moment: Getting Manufacturing and Safe Deployment Right.”
Alan West speaking and gesturing to an audience in an auditorium at Columbia Engineering.
Featured speaker Alan West, professor of chemical engineering, discusses “Let Electrolysis Take the Main Stage: Materials Synthesis, Fuels, and Closed-Loop Processing.”
Juliana Carneiro speaking into a microphone while seated at a panel table, with another panelist beside her.
Assistant Professor Juliana Carneiro participates in the panel, “Electrolysis at Scale.”
Dan Steingart moderating a panel of three speakers seated beneath a projected presentation at Columbia Engineering.
Panel on “Manufacturing and Safe Deployment of Batteries” moderated by CEEC Director Dan Steingart (far right).
Attendee gestures toward a research poster while discussing it with another attendee during a poster session.
One attendee discusses research posters during a poster session at Columbia Engineering, while two attendees beside him look at the displays.
Nathaniel Nichols speaking and gesturing during a presentation to an audience at Columbia Engineering.
Fifth-year CEEC PhD Student Nathaniel Nichols describes novel approaches to decrease the loading of platinum group metals in sustainable electrochemical reactions.
Presenter speaking and gesturing to an audience beside a Climate Week at Columbia Engineering banner.
Yan Yao speaking and gesturing while seated with three other panelists, who look toward him, beneath a projected presentation at Columbia Engineering.
Yan Yao (far left), professor of earth and environmental engineering, speaks on the panel, “Manufacturing and Safe Deployment of Batteries.”
Two attendees smile while standing beside a research poster during a poster session at Columbia Engineering.
Seven symposium participants pose together with CEEC Fall Symposium and Climate Week at Columbia Engineering signs.
Left to right: Micaela Homer (Sora Fuel); Katharine Greco (Still Bright); Vice Dean of Research George Deodatis; Prof. and CEEC Co-Dir. Alan West; Associate Prof. Lauren Marbella; CEEC Exec. Dir. Jeff Fitts; and CEEC Co-Dir. and Prof. Dan Steingart.
Four attendees pose together in front of research posters during a poster session at Columbia Engineering.
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The symposium followed the path of energy and minerals from mines to grid infrastructure, chemicals, and materials — and through the recycling process, where they eventually re-enter circulation. Speakers and attendees focused on three challenges: making batteries safe, manufacturable, and affordable at grid scale; making electrolyzers cost-competitive with century-old incumbent technologies; and developing manufacturing processes that don't recreate the environmental burdens the energy transition aims to avoid.

Two afternoon sessions, Electrifying Chemicals and Materials and The Grid Frontier, paired CEEC faculty keynotes with lightning talks and industry panels focused on pressing technical and commercial problems.

Alan West, the Samuel Ruben-Peter G. Viele Professor of Electrochemistry and professor of earth and environmental engineering, explored the implications of scaling up materials processing, with a focus on regenerative electrochemical leaching for critical minerals. Lauren Marbella, associate professor of chemical engineering, described systems-driven approaches to analyzing batteries in the specific context of their applications and qualifying their safety and reliability before end-of-life data are available.

The day closed in Carleton Commons with a reception and poster session, where CEEC faculty, PhD students, postdocs, and industry practitioners explored the center's research and the commercialization pathways emerging from it.