The Faraday Institution is the United Kingdom's research institute aiming to advance battery science and technology. It was established in 2017 as part of the UK's wider Faraday Battery Challenge. It states its mission as having four key areas: "electrochemical energy storage research, skills development, market analysis and early-stage commercialisation". The Institution is headquartered at the

Harwell Science and Innovation Campus The Harwell Science and Innovation Campus is a 700-acre science and technology campus in Oxfordshire, England. Over 6,000 people work there in over 240 public and private sector organisations, working across sectors including Space, Clean Energ ...

near

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. It is a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

and is a registered charity with an independent board of trustees.

Name

The Faraday Institution is named after

Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the study of electrochemistry and electromagnetism. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

, an English scientist who contributed to the basic understanding of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. He popularised the now common battery terminology "

anode An anode usually is an electrode of a polarized electrical device through which conventional current enters the device. This contrasts with a cathode, which is usually an electrode of the device through which conventional current leaves the devic ...

", "

cathode A cathode is the electrode from which a conventional current leaves a polarized electrical device such as a lead-acid battery. This definition can be recalled by using the mnemonic ''CCD'' for ''Cathode Current Departs''. Conventional curren ...

", "

electrode An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or a gas). In electrochemical cells, electrodes are essential parts that can consist of a varie ...

" and "

ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

". Faraday lectured on education at the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

in 1854 and appeared before a Public Schools Commission to give his views on education in Great Britain. Between 1827 and 1860 at the Royal Institution, Faraday presented nineteen Christmas lectures for young people. The

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including yo ...

series continues today, broadcast on the BBC. Following this tradition, the Faraday Institution runs education and public engagement activities. In 2019, it launched a public discussion series on batteries with the Royal Institution and continued the programme from 2020 through 2024.

Research programmes

The Faraday Institution currently focuses on research in

lithium-ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energy ...

, "beyond" lithium-ion battery technologies and energy storage for emerging economies. Research is conducted in multidisciplinary teams with expertise that ranges across

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, data and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

materials science Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origins of materials sci ...

maths Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, theories and theorems that are developed and proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include num ...

and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Lithium ion

* Battery degradation * Multi-scale modelling *

Battery recycling Battery recycling is a recycling activity that aims to reduce the number of batteries being disposed as municipal solid waste. Batteries contain a number of heavy metals and toxic chemicals and disposing of them by the same process as regula ...

and reuse *

Electrode An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or a gas). In electrochemical cells, electrodes are essential parts that can consist of a varie ...

manufacturing * Cathode materials * Battery safety

Beyond Lithium ion

Solid-state batteries A solid-state battery (SSB) is an electrical battery that uses a solid electrolyte (''solectro'') to conduct ions between the electrodes, instead of the liquid or gel polymer electrolytes found in conventional batteries. Solid-state batteries t ...

Sodium-ion batteries A Sodium-ion battery (NIB, SIB, or Na-ion batty) is a rechargeable batteries, rechargeable battery that uses sodium ions (Na+) as Electric charge, charge carriers. In some cases, its Lithium-ion battery#Electrochemistry, working principle and Lit ...

* Lithium-sulfur batteries

Batteries for Emerging Economies

With funding from the FCDO, in 2020 the Faraday Institution commenced research on battery technologies for use in developing countries and emerging economies. * Soluble lead flow batteries * Graphite polysulphide single liquid flow batteries

Founding universities and participating universities

The Faraday Institution was founded by seven universities: *

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

The Faraday Institution's research projects are competitive and open to all academic battery researchers and research groups in the UK. In 2020, university participants included the following: *

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

Coventry University Coventry University is a Public university, public research university in Coventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be linked to the Coventry School of Art and Design, Coventry School of Design in 1843. It was known as Lancheste ...

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

University of Portsmouth The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Comprising five Faculty (division), faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in Unde ...

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

University of St. Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

Impacts on policy

The Faraday Institution publishes

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...

s and reports to inform both government and industry on energy storage science, technology, economics, supply chains and employment. Its report on UK battery demand was used to evidence the requirement for UK based automotive battery gigafactories and the need for the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) to support establishing them.

Battery Sustainability, Recycling and Reuse

The Faraday Institution participates in international efforts on sustainability and the recycling and reuse of lithium-ion batteries in emerging economies and developing countries. An effort with

NREL The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and ...

as part of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

Energy Storage Partnership led to the 2020 publication of "Global Overview of Energy Storage Performance Test Protocols" that provides support and knowledge across the developing world on opportunities and technologies for energy storage in the electric sector. It contributed to the 2020 study "Reuse and Recycling: Environmental Sustainability of Lithium-Ion Battery Energy Storage Systems", which offers an assessment of the role developing countries can play in this area. It is a member of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Global Battery Alliance, an international consortium focused on a

circular economy A circular economy (also referred to as circularity or CE) is a model of resource Production (economics), production and Resource consumption, consumption in any economy that involves sharing, leasing, Reuse, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and ...

and sustainable value chain for batteries and contributed to the 2019 report "A Vision for a Sustainable Battery Value Chain in 2030."

Outreach and education

The Faraday Institution maintains outreach and education programmes that extend across

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

, undergraduate attraction, doctoral training and early career professional development to generate trained battery scientists and engineers. To ensure the public has the best information on the opportunities and challenges of energy storage, and that future generations of scientists and engineers from all backgrounds are inspired to pursue promising STEM careers, the Faraday Institution has engaged delivery partners including the Royal Institution, SEO London,

WISE Campaign The WISE Campaign (Women into Science and Engineering) is a United Kingdom-based organization that encourages women and girls to value and pursue science, technology, engineering and maths-related courses in school or college and to move on into ...

, The Curiosity Box and the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT).

Notable scientists associated with the Faraday Institution

Steven Cowley Sir Steven Charles Cowley (born 1959) is a British theoretical physicist and international authority on nuclear fusion and astrophysical plasmas. He has served as director of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics ...

, Chair of the Board of Trustees * Peter Littlewood, Former Chair of the Board of Trustees * Pamela Thomas, Former Chief Executive Officer *Sir

Peter Bruce Sir Peter George Bruce, is a British chemist, and Wolfson Professor of Materials in the Department of Materials at the University of Oxford. Between 2018 and 2023, he served as Physical Secretary and Vice President of the Royal Society. Bru ...

, Chief Scientist *Dame Clare Grey, Principal Investigator * Saiful Islam, Principal Investigator * Kristina Edström, Former Trustee * Emma Kendrick, Principal Investigator

References

External links

*{{URL, https://faraday.ac.uk/ Electric battery Lithium-ion batteries Research institutes in England 2017 establishments in the United Kingdom Energy storage Battery recycling Grid energy storage Research institutes in Oxfordshire Research and development in the United Kingdom