The Faraday Undergraduate Summer Experience (FUSE)

The Faraday Undergraduate Summer Experience (FUSE) internship programme provides internships for undergraduate students to enable them to undertake paid eight-week placements with battery researchers from partner organisations.

Applications for FUSE internships 2026 will open in March 2026.

Goals of the internships are:

• To provide opportunities to gain research experience
• To inspire young people to pursue careers in the fields of battery technology and energy storage
• To diversify the pool of talent
• To increase participants’ knowledge, skills and aspirations
• To give contact with positive role models

Participating institutions construct project research topics that connect to the Faraday Institution research projects and select interns on a competitive basis from a diverse pool of applicants. Working alongside a supervisor, students have access to other research scientists. Interns are invited to join cohort video calls on a range of topics. At the end of the summer, and with the assistance of their supervisor, each intern prepares a poster detailing their scientific research project.

35 of the 162 former FUSE interns from 2018 to 2022 whose destination is known have gone on to start a PhD in batteries or renewable energy. 

Discover more by reading the testimonials of FUSE 2025 students and looking at their scientific posters.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Be registered full-time undergraduate student from a UK university.
• Undertake the internship within the years of their undergraduate study (i.e., not in final year or during a subsequent Masters’ programme).
• Not have been a FUSE intern in a previous year.

Application processes vary by university.

FUSE cohort calls 

The 2025 FUSE cohort calls were open to the public:

• FUSE Cohort call 1 “Welcome and Introduction to Batteries”.
  Learn about the Faraday Institution and get an overview of the battery sector. Watch the recording.
• FUSE Cohort call 2 “A Day in the Life of a Battery Researcher in Industry”. Hear directly from professionals working in battery research across the UK. Watch the recording.
• FUSE Cohort call 3 “Doing a PhD in Battery Technology”.
  Explore the journey and experiences of current PhD students in the field. Watch the recording.
• FUSE Cohort call 4 “Why Batteries? The road to the future”. Discover why batteries are at the heart of a greener future and how you can be part of it. Watch the recording.