Why would Tesla Motors partner with some Canadian? Extending the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries from a few years to many decades

Jeff Dahn will discuss his research group's new 5-year research partnership with Tesla Motors - the company's only university partnership. Lithium-ion batteries are used in Tesla's vehicle and energy storage products, and Dahn's research focuses on extending the lifetime of lithium-ion cells into the range of multiple decades, which is critical for energy storage applications. The key question that Dahn will address at this seminar is: How can one be "sure" a lithium-ion cell will last many decades in experiments that last only a few weeks?