Faraday Challenge aims to boost UK battery know-how

The government is set to announce a £45 million ‘Battery Institute’ competition to establish a centre for battery research.

The ‘Faraday Challenge’ is part of the government’s Industrial Strategy and aims to deliver a coordinated programme of competitions to boost research and development.

Business Secretary Greg Clark will deliver a keynote Industrial Strategy speech to the Resolution Foundation in Birmingham, where he will also outline plans to break down barriers to new technologies.

An overarching Faraday Challenge Advisory Board will be chaired by Professor Richard Parry-Jones, a senior engineering leader who recently chaired the UK Automotive Council.

Parry-Jones said: “The power of the Faraday Challenge derives from the joining-up of all 3 stages of research from the brilliant research in the university base, through innovation in commercial applications to scaling up for production.

"It will focus our best minds on the critical industrial challenges that are needed to establish the UK as one of the world leaders in advanced battery technologies and associated manufacturing capability.”

The Faraday Challenge is the first phase of a £246 million investment into battery technology.