EPSRC funds advanced materials research for energy sector

A £6.5m grant will support research into longer-lasting batteries and more efficient solar panels

EPSRC grant to fund research into materials for more efficient solar panels

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has awarded a £6.65 million grant for research aimed at accelerating the discovery and application of new advanced materials for the energy sector.

The grant, awarded to a team led by Professor Matthew Rosseinsky of the University of Liverpool, will support a programme called Integration of Computation and Experiment for Accelerated Materials Discovery.

Rosseinsky will head up an expert team at Liverpool and University College London that will work to tackle the challenge of designing and testing new materials at the atomic level and aims to keep the UK ahead in the global materials competition.

Rosseinsky said: “The controlled arrangement of atoms and molecules to create function is a grand scientific challenge. With the approaches we will develop, we aim to address problems such as how to create materials for sustainable energy production and storage such as safer new battery technologies or the efficient capture and utilisation of solar energy.

“Our team will include specialists in prediction of the structures and properties of materials, in measurement and materials synthesis. We will combine computation and experiment to discover new materials, developing methods that combine calculation with chemical understanding.”

The programme will exploit its discoveries and share its approach with its commercial partners via the Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry and the new Materials Innovation Factory, a state-of-the-art materials research facility for both academic and industrial users.

Minister for universities and science Jo Johnson said: “Advanced materials will be crucial for future energy storage technologies like smaller, longer-lasting batteries and more efficient solar panels. With this £6.65 million investment from government, researchers will be able to develop a smarter design process from the single atom all the way up to new materials that will speed up discovery and strengthen commercial capabilities in this increasingly important field.”