£42m for energy storage research

The Faraday Institution has announced up to £42m in new government funding to four UK-based consortia to conduct application-inspired research aimed at overcoming battery challenges to accelerate the electric vehicle (EV) revolution. This research has the potential to radically increase the speed with which we are able to make the move to electric vehicles, as well as the speed with which we can decarbonise our energy supply.

The topics for the four projects were chosen in consultation with industry, who will partner closely with each of them. This collaboration will help to ensure that the research is producing findings and solutions that meet the needs of business. In addition, industrial partners will contribute a total of £4.6m in in-kind support to the four projects: Extending battery life, Battery system modelling, Recycling and reuse, and Next generation solid state batteries.

Peter B. Littlewood, founding executive chair of the Faraday Institution, said: “To deliver the much-needed improvement in air quality in our cities and achieve our aspiration for cleaner energy targets we need to shift to electric vehicles quickly. These research programmes will help the UK achieve this. To be impactful on increasing energy density, lowering cost, extending lifetime, and improving battery safety requires a substantial and focused effort in fundamental research.”