The UK battery industry is to receive public funding to boost research. The Faraday Institution energy storage research institute announced on 5 September a £19 million ($24 million) investment in four key battery research projects.
Existing projects in three research areas are sharpening focus on the areas with the greatest potential for success, it said.
James Gaade, Faraday’s research programme director, said: “We are pleased that the reshaping process has bolstered the capabilities and expertise of researchers on the four projects.
The realignment includes a focus around research into sustainable manufacturing methods and materials, and the need to further develop and scale up manufacture of promising materials discovered in the first three years of the projects.”
The areas for funding include:
- research into smart electrode manufacturing
- cathode material including nickel, high-energy density cathode materials
- sodium-ion batteries.
Separately, the UK government’s Faraday Battery Challenge research and innovation programme has provided £3.2 million ($4 million) to three leading universities to identify and address needed skills for the UK’s electrification transition.
They include Coventry University, University College Birmingham and Newcastle University.
Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani said: “This government has shown time and time again that we are committed to creating the right conditions to make the UK the best location in the world to manufacture.”
Last month, the US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office announced a conditional commitment to a single company, Eos Energy Enterprises. It is for up to $398.6 million in loan guarantees for the construction of up to four state-of-the-art production lines. They will produce the Eos Z3 industrial-scale zinc-bromine battery energy storage system in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania.
