Dalhousie University battery researcher Jeff Dahn wins award

A Dalhousie University professor has been awarded one of the first Governor General's Innovation Awards for his work to helpincrease the amount of energy Lithium-ion batteries can store.

Battery researcher Jeff Dahn is one of six Canadians to receive the brand new award. The GGIA was created to celebrate excellence in innovation and inspire youth to consider a career as entrepreneurial innovators.

• Environmental impact of electric cars still up for debate

Dahn and his research team have concentrated their studies on Lithium-ion batteries, working to help increase the amount of energy they can store, develop ways to test and increase their lifespan, and reduce their cost.

Dahn says his team is now trying to make batteries thatwill last more than 30 years. He says that's especially important for medical implants.

"In that case you want the implanted battery to last the lifetime of the patient. So it's implanted, it's able to be charged inductively inside the patient and you never want to explant it," he said.

Dahn credits his students with driving the research and said it will one day make electric cars more accessible to consumers.

"Lithium-ion cells for grid energy storage, energy storage on a huge scale, with huge batteries, you don't want to replace them, it's so expensive," he said.

In announcing the award, Dalhousie said Dahn is set to end a research contract with 3M Canada and is about to start a five-year partnership with Tesla Motors to further his studies into batteries.

• Tesla announces 5-year lithium ion research deal with Dalhousie

The award ceremony will be held on May 19 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.