The Materials for Energy (M4E) Innovation Community, co-led by Canada and Germany, aims to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced materials for clean energy technologies. Since materials represent up to 80% of the cost of clean energy technologies, actions that make solutions more afforadable are needed. Through coordinated international collaboration, exchanges, training, and sharing of infrastructure, M4E will support the establishment of a network of autonomous or self-driving laboratories (MAPs.)
The M4E community has started kicked off 2022 with several exciting events, from project launches to workshops that brought together participants from the research community. Read about some of their recent events below!
Launch of Integrated Clean Energy Material Acceleration Initiative in India
The Indian Integrated Clean Energy Material Acceleration Platform initiative was launched at the Mission Innovation (MI) Annual Gathering session on 4th April 2022, by Honorable Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh. The platforms constitute a knowledge network of more than 38 elite institutions and 80 research personnel working on next-generation low-cost advanced energy materials.
Three Material Acceleration Platforms were funded, including DST-IISER Thiruvananthapuram Integrated Clean Energy Material Acceleration Platform on Storage, DST-IIT Kanpur Integrated Clean Energy Material Acceleration Platform on Materials, and DST-IIT Hyderabad Integrated Clean Energy Material Acceleration Platform on Bioenergy and Hydrogen with a total cost of $6 Million USD. India has been a member of M4E (previously IC6) since its launch in 2018.
Hands-on Training Using Machine Learning for Materials Simulations
On 17 & 18 March, German-Canadian Materials Acceleration Centre (GC-MAC) held an online hands-on training workshop for students and researchers on the use of machine learning (artificial intelligence) for materials simulations. Led by expert Prof. P. Friederich from the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology in Germany, a group of 20 participants coded their own simulations and walked away with practical technical knowledge that they can apply to their own studies and research. This workshop supported one of M4E’s goals of knowledge sharing and training.
Caption: Participants engage during the GCMAC Workshop: Materials Simulations Using Machine Learning: hands- on training workshop (17-18 March 2022)
Scientific Steering Committee Meeting
On 16 March 2022, GC-MAC held its second Scientific Steering Committee meeting, where work package groups presented on their progress one year into the five-year program, including on theory & multiscale modelling, autonomous robotic platforms (or MAPs), AI-driven design and advanced simulations, characterization and fabrication technologies, and AI-based data handing and workflow optimizations. This gave centre researchers a chance to connect virtually and discuss future opportunities for collaboration and cross-pollination. GC-MAC is intimately connected with M4E through deployment of scientific research and programming, and is closely aligned with the M4E mandate and vision.
What’s next for the M4E Community?
June 2022 – Launch of TerraCanada Hamilton (CanmetMATERIALS, Natural Resources Canada): Lab for Accelerated Materials Discovery
22 – 29 August 2022 – GCMAC Accelerated Materials Discovery Intensive Training & Knowledge Exchange Workshop
30 August – 2 September 2022 – Acceleration Consortium Conference on Accelerated Materials Discovery