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Newcastle University to play key role in UK’s upcoming £65m battery research institute

Business Secretary Greg Clark has announced the consortium of UK universities that will form the Faraday Battery Institute, a new £65m research institute responsible for building the UK’s status as a global leader in battery research and technology.

The Institute will bring together the expertise and insight from its seven founding partner universities, industry partners and other academic institutions to accelerate fundamental research to develop battery technologies.

The universities forming the institute are, Imperial College London, Newcastle University, University College London, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and University of Warwick.

Greg Clark said: “Through the Faraday Research Challenge we are cementing our position as the ‘go-to’ destination for battery technology so we can exploit the global transition to a low carbon economy.

“The Faraday Battery, Institute will have a critical role in fostering innovative research collaboration between our world-leading universities and world-beating businesses to make this technology more accessible and more affordable.

“We have huge expertise in this area already and the Faraday Battery Institute collaboration between our seven founding universities provides a truly unique opportunity for us to bring together our expertise and an effort in this area behind a common set of strategic goals to ensure the UK exploits the jobs and business opportunities.”

With £65 million of funding through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Institute will invest an initial £13.7 million to set up a headquarters.

EPSRC Chief Executive Professor Philip Nelson said: “Climate change and moving towards low carbon economies mean the demand for clean energy production and effective energy storage, in the UK and globally, is rising.

“The Faraday Institute will bring leading academics in the field of battery development together to explore novel approaches that will meet these challenges and accelerate the development of new products and techniques.

“EPSRC is pleased to be helping establish the Institute, and the drive to keep the UK a prosperous and productive nation.”