General News

Local legislators visited BATT CAVE this week as part of a Charlotte Regional Legislative Caucus meeting held on UNC Charlotte’s campus.  

Tiefu Zhao, associate professor in the William States Lee College of Engineering’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, was named interim director of UNC Charlotte’s Battery Complexity, Autonomous Vehicle and Electrification Research Center, or BATT CAVE, effective Sept. 1. He succeeds Jun Xu, the center’s founding executive director who departed August 2023.

The roar of engines has been joined by the hum of innovation as the UNC Charlotte’s inaugural 49ers Racing Electric Vehicle (EV) team embarks on an exhilarating journey in electric vehicle racing.

Amir Ghasemi, Assistant Professor in the William States Lee College of Engineering, earned the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award in June of this year to support his investigations in the area of human-robot interaction.

“This is another incredible success story that we have to continue to build on,” said U.S. Senator Thom Tillis as he joined several other legislators and industry partners on a tour of BATT CAVE on Monday.

It isn’t the secret, subterranean headquarters of a masked superhero and a turbocharged car, but the North Carolina BATT CAVE Research Center may very well transform the future of battery technology and the vehicles that use it.

Jun Xu, recognized internationally as a battery safety and modeling expert, leads UNC Charlotte’s BATT CAVE— the North Carolina Battery Complexity, Autonomous Vehicle and Electrification Research Center — the only university-led battery research center in the state.

A delegation of 16 Taiwanese electric vehicle executives received an inside look at how UNC Charlotte is building a talent pipeline and creating innovation for the state and region’s emerging electric vehicle industry during a campus tour.

Tiefu Zhao, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and his team of faculty and student researchers have developed the innovation of wireless power transfer for trains, a first in the U.S. This innovation, developed in partnership with Belmont Trolley, Inc., has resulted in substantial opportunities for rail transportation, including elimination of emissions and increased efficiencies by removing charging lines and cables.

UNC Charlotte’s William States Lee College of Engineering recently introduced a new innovation alongside an existing local heirloom. Community leaders, dignitaries and academia gathered to gain a first-hand look at the new lithium ion battery power cart and the historic Belmont Trolley cars that it will soon power.