Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage (EECS) Cluster in the Energy and Material Institute (EMI) aims to improve energy conversion efficiency, enable greater adoption of renewable energy, and expand the use of fuel cells and batteries in mobile applications through the development of novel electrochemical materials, devices, and production processes.  Traditional approaches to electricity production involve combustion followed by one or more heat engine cycles.  Electrochemical energy conversion, implemented through fuel cells, can achieve efficiencies comparable to the largest most complex traditional system in a relatively small modular package. Photoelectrochemical devices can also be used for the production of electricity or fuel using solar energy.  Electrochemical energy storage devices such as flow batteries offer the prospect of inexpensive bulk electrical energy storage that can allow utilities to match the intermittent power from renewable energy to time varying demand profiles. At a smaller scale, high energy density batteries such as Li-ion batteries provide the ability to operate vehicles from grid-power, which can be derived from a variety of sources (fossil, nuclear, renewable), instead of transportation fuels derived exclusively from petroleum.  All of these electrochemical energy conversion and storage technologies rely on two fundamental elements – high surface area porous electrodes and ionically conductive liquids or solids.  Expertise in the development of novel materials for these fundamental elements is the core competency of the EECS Cluster.