Battery Research Projects Land New Funding from the UK’s Faraday Institution

The U.K.’s Faraday Institution is pouring £22.6 million (equivalent to approximately $30.9 million USD) into five battery research projects with commercial potential. 

The Oxford-based research organization is backed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, an arm of the government’s U.K. Research and Innovation (UKRI) program. Through its Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, the UKRI invested £108 million into the Faraday Institution’s battery challenge research projects, focused on EV battery production for the U.K.’s transition to low-carbon technologies. 

 

Image via Faraday Institution on Twitter

 

The Faraday Institution launched in 2017, aiming to provide funding and support to energy storage research ventures as part of the U.K. government’s £246 million investment into battery and energy storage programs. In 2018, the organization received £42 million from the U.K. government to fund its four consortia exploring extending battery life, battery system modeling, recycling and reuse, and next-generation solid-state batteries. Projects in those four research areas were all included in the latest round of funding, along with a new venture focused on battery safety. 

As its existing projects deliver viability, the Faraday Institution is pouring more resources into its commercialization strategies, assembling a team to identify new market opportunities.

“With our projects maturing and now delivering scientific discoveries we have bolstered our commercialization team and capability and strengthened our commercialization strategy,” Faraday Institution CEO Pam Thomas stated in the announcement. “In doing so we are directing even more effort towards those areas of battery research that offer the maximum potential of delivering commercial, societal and environment impact for the UK.”

The new funding will fuel the following projects through March 31, 2023: 

The University College London-led SafeBatt battery safety project is receiving £1.52 million (starting this month) to study the root causes of lithium-ion battery cell failure and the mechanisms of failure propagation. 

A University of Cambridge-led project focused on extending battery life has received £16 million since March 2018 to broaden researchers’ understanding of the causes and effects of lithium-ion battery degradation in automotive applications. 

A multi-scale battery modeling project led by Imperial College London received £17.9 million since March 2018 to develop new battery simulation methodologies and techniques.

ReLiB (Recycling and Reuse of Li-ion Batteries), led by the University of Birmingham, has received £14.1 million since March 2018 to develop systems enabling the safe recycling and reuse of lithium-ion batteries as they’re removed from electric vehicles. ReLiB project recently installed new battery testing and storage facilities at the University of Birmingham.

The University of Oxford-led SOLBAT project has received £15.3 million since March 2018 to study the challenges of constructing solid-state batteries, new manufacturing approaches and other solutions.