Matthew Szydagis, University at Albany – Lithium and Clean Energy

On University at Albany Week: Generating safe and clean electricity can lead to a brighter future.

Matthews Syzdagis, associate professor in the department of physics, determines how to do so.

University at Albany Associate Professor of Physics Matthew Szydagis received his B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2005, 2006, and 2011, respectively, then continued his work in physics as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California Davis (2010-2014).

Since 2014, he has been on faculty at the University at Albany Department of Physics, pursuing experimental nuclear physics and particle astrophysics, in particular the direct laboratory detection of dark matter WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles) underground, and general detector development for “rare event” searches. He works on the LZ liquid-xenon-based experiment and is the developer of the NEST (Noble Element Simulation Technique) software as well as the “snowball chamber” supercooled water technology together with his colleague, Associate Professor Cecilia Levy.

Lithium and Clean Energy

One of humanity’s top concerns has always been energy production. We’ve come a long way in the past 250 years, but the energy needs of our planet are greater than they have ever been.

The vast majority of power continues to be produced by non-renewable sources, especially fossil fuels. This may work in the short term, but the world needs to find a better way soon.

An answer may be closer than you think.

Locked in the phones in our pockets and the batteries of our electric cars is Lithium, the third element listed on the Periodic Table. It can be found in everything from igneous rock to ocean water.

Lithium also has important uses in nuclear physics, where lithium deuteride serves as a fusion fuel for thermonuclear weapons.

But in my research at UAlbany’s Ion Beam Lab, we have come to see Lithium holds the potential to serve humanity in another way: as a safer form of atomic energy.

Unlike Uranium or Plutonium, the right Lithium compound won’t explode, cause a meltdown, or emit harmful radiation for centuries.

In our research, we have found that a subcritical fission reaction should be inducible in a Lithium salt. Relying on “neutron activation,” our model ensures no long-lived radioisotopes are formed, and when turned off, the reactor goes OFF.

This could give Li compounds from batteries a second life in subcritical reactors, where it could never cause a disaster like Chernobyl or Fukushima.

While the results will require additional replications and external peer review, our preliminary data are very promising; their implications, staggering!

We should be able to move away from environmentally-harmful fossil fuels while providing a clean, compact energy source for our homes, businesses, and cities, as well as the vehicles we drive and the spacecraft of the future.

Read More:
[University at Albany] – UAlbany Physicists Find Preliminary Evidence of a Subcritical Chain Reaction in Lithium
[NY Post] – Professor wants to safeguard nuclear energy so NYC won’t become next ‘lost city of Atlantis