Over the past few years, the field of battery research has accelerated to new rates driven by the electrification of transportation and the wide adoption of green energy technologies. In 2019, the recognition of critical innovators in lithium-ion batteries by winning the Nobel Prize in chemistry was a signal that this field of research is in focus and will likely remain in focus till the end of this decade. As lithium-ion batteries approach their theoretical energy and power densities, technologies beyond lithium-ion batteries are emerging. Batteries such as lithium-air and lithium-sulfur have energy densities that are few folds higher than their lithium-ion counterparts and therefore have garnered much attention. However, they face many challenges that affect their capacity retention and cyclability. For example, both battery systems suffer from sluggish kinetics and irreversibilities in their charge and discharge reactions which cause high over-potentials. Our strategy to remedy these problems is to redesign the cathodes to incorporate nanocatalysts then to develop new electrolyte compositions that are compatible with these redesigned cathodes. Developing tools to interpret the capacity fade mechanism caused by active materials loss and electrolyte decomposition is vital in getting these batteries closer to a commercial reality.