Diagram of the Geaney Group's methods including Material Characterization, Material Design and Synthesis, Mechanistic Understanding, and Electrochemical Testing.

Research Approach

The overall approach of the Geaney group is to combine materials design and synthesis expertise with state of the art characterization and electrochemical testing, to generate mechanistic understanding of energy storage processes. The research is focussed on high capacity active materials, which often come with complicated capacity fade mechanisms. Investigating and mitigating these performance challenges is key to these materials being practical in future energy storage applications.

About the Group

Hugh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Sciences in UL and the research group is based in the Bernal Institute in UL. The group is part of a multi-PI collaborative lab environment the ‘battery and nanomaterials lab’ with state-of-the-art materials synthesis and electrochemical testing facilities. Bernal is home to a range of large-scale materials characterization tools, making it a one-stop shop for battery materials development. Hugh is co-director of the AMPEiRE research centre, an interdisciplinary research hub focussed on energy related materials development.

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Logo of the University of Limerick Department of Chemical Sciences on a green background.
Hugh holding a Swagelok cell, wearing safety glasses and gloves.
Image of Bernal Institute
AMPEiRE Logo, showing 7 research themes

Video Presentations & Podcasts

Research Week 2025

Research Week 2023 Launch Event

Bernal Research Seminar

Scanlon Seminar Series

Graphic for a research podcast titled 'Tackling the global energy storage challenge - one ion at a time,' featuring Dr. Hugh Geaney, President's Research Excellence and Impact Award Winner, with icons for Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Research Areas

Silicon & Germanium Anode Development for Li Batteries

Diagram of silicon nanowire used in various nanowire applications, divided into three sections: one for beyond LiB batteries, one for model systems, and one for practical lithium-ion anodes.

Silicon & Germanium nanowires have been used extensively in the group as a model system for investigating fundamental Li-ion charge storage mechanisms within. We have also been working on upscaling the growth of the materials and using them in new applications, such as metal anode batteries.

Large-Scale Collaborative Projects

Diagram of a lithium-silicon graphite battery illustrating anode, cathode, electrolyte, separator, and various benefits like high energy, increased range, long cycle life, safety, low cost, and circular economy.

The University of Limerick is involved in Horizon Europe projects on battery development and has coordinated 2 EU projects. SiGNE is examining Si/Graphite anodes for next generation Li-ion batteries. UL are investigating upscaling of the anode material using wet chemical approaches, for testing at TRL 6 and validation for EVs.

Sodium-ion Battery Development

Diagram showing the process of nanowire synthesis, including substrate preparation, amorphization, mesh formation, and their use in sodium-ion batteries with sodiation and desodiation cycles.

Sodium is 1000x more common in the Earth’s crust than Li and as a result, it is highly attractive for large scale stationary storage. In the Geaney group we are investigating anode materials for Na-ion batteries. We are focused on a) the mechanism of Na alloying compared to Li alloying and b) the development of Earth abundant active materials.

Li Metal Anode Systems

Comparison of corrosion mechanisms showing dead metal and dendrite formation on a metal anode versus uniform metal deposition without dendrites using advanced metal anodes.

Metal anode batteries are attractive for increasing energy density values beyond state of the art Li-ion. They are hampered by dead metal and dendrite formation, which lead to rapid performance fade and serious safety concerns. In the group we are working with a range of hosted and modified anode architectures that allow uniform metal deposition over extended cycles. These offer potential for increasing the energy densities of future batteries.

Earth Abundant Active Materials

Diagram of a chemical process with a solution being heated for 1 hour at 280°C, then purified. It shows a graph of specific capacity over cycle number comparing desorption and sodiation, and a schematic of the galvanostatic cycling of a copper sulfide (CuS) anode.

To move fully away from fossil fuels, sustainable materials need to be produced for energy storage applications. In the Geaney group we are investigating sustainable materials that use Earth abundant elements like Fe,Cu,O and S.

Alloying Mode Anode Development

Diagram showing volume expansion and contraction in core-shell nanowires mitigated by alloying with lithium, featuring copper substrate, and layers labeled Si coating, Cu1-5Si1A NWs, and Si coating with arrows indicating alloying process.

The SAND project funded by Science Foundation Ireland is investigating the use of inactive/active core/shell architectures for Li-ion batteries. The project is specifically addressing aspects of synthesis, focused on preparing tunable structures via wet chemical approaches.