Powering Britain's
Battery Revolution
Powering Britain's
Battery Revolution
Faraday Institution Community Award Winner 2025
Congratulations to the FACET team – Arthur Fordham and Brandon Frost (UCL) and Roksana Jackowska and Marcus Tuchel (University of Birmingham) – for winning the 2025 Faraday Institution Community Award for Collaboration.
Picture: Award winners at the Faraday Institution Conference 2025. From left to right: Gyen Ming Angel from Prosemino (Award sponsor), Marcus Tuchel, Arthur Fordham, Roksana Jackowska, Brandon Frost and Prof Martin Freer (Faraday Institution CEO).
This outstanding group of PhD researchers demonstrated exceptional initiative in addressing unanswered research questions about the formation process – one of the most underexplored challenges in battery manufacturing. Their success showcases the transformative potential of interdisciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration in advancing battery science.
The group, early career researchers (ECRs) from the SafeBatt, LiSTAR, and Multi-scale Modelling projects, initiated this research entirely independently, driven by intellectual curiosity and a shared commitment to building impactful collaborations. They successfully applied for a Faraday Institution ECR Collaboration Award, securing £5,000 to lead independent cross-project research and benefit from career development opportunities.
The FACET (Formation, Analysis and Control through the linking of acoustic, Electrochemical, and topographical Techniques) project addressed a longstanding challenge in lithium-ion battery manufacturing: the formation process, during which the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) forms. This phase is critical to battery performance and safety yet remains poorly understood. FACET approached the problem using a unique combination of techniques, including acoustic emission, electrochemical atomic force microscopy, and intermittent current interruption (ICI), correlated with advanced characterisation methods, including at synchrotrons. This multi-scale approach provided new insight into SEI evolution across chemical, structural and electrochemical dimensions.
From left to right: Brandon, Marcus and Roksana in UCL’s X-ray Computed Tomography suite
Guided by supervisors Rhodri Jervis, Rhodri Owen and Thomas Miller (UCL), Emma Kendrick (University of Birmingham) and Wesley Dose (University of New South Wales – UNSW), the team enabled breakthroughs such as the novel use of ICI during formation (a first for the field), and refined operando acoustic emission methods for monitoring gas evolution. As a result, the researchers have deepened the understanding of SEI behaviour and its dependence on electrolyte composition and importance of specific additives.
The collaboration has generated a robust dataset, with the first publication now ready for submission and more expected. Equally important, the project paved the way for new methodological standards and fostered cross-institutional relationships.
The impact of the collaboration extends beyond the core group. An estimated 20 researchers and beamline scientists contributed to or were directly involved in the project. This includes Louis Piper’s group at WMG through joint synchrotron beamtime investigating heterogeneity of interfaces using spatially resolved X-ray diffraction, and discussions with Dominic Wright’s group at the University of Cambridge (NEXGENNA) to extend the use of the techniques to Na-ion batteries.
The project has also attracted external recognition. Arthur Fordham received a £3,000 STFC Early Career Research Grant to support a research visit to UNSW, including a successful beamtime at the Australian Synchrotron, as well as a £500 Royal Society of Chemistry travel award.
Arthur (left) with Wesley Dose at the National Centre for Synchrotron Science in Australia.
Arthur at the National Centre for Synchrotron Science in Australia.
Arthur has actively sought industrial and translational pathways: pitching this work to Ian Ellerington, Technology Transfer Director at the Faraday Institution and to UKBIC. He secured winning places on three competitive commercialisation programmes: the Greenhouse incubator (£20k), London Business School’s Mini MBA in Innovation to Market (Best DeepTech Pitch), and the LBS Launchpad (£10k prize), where he will represent the UK in Berlin.
FACET demonstrates what can be achieved by early career researchers when innovation is driven by trust, openness and scientific curiosity. Knowledge-sharing between labs, co-development of protocols, and open exchange of data have made this a model for effective, diverse teamwork. The collaboration generated not only novel scientific methods and data, but new commercial possibilities and lasting international partnerships. The FACET team exemplifies the collaborative, entrepreneurial and impact-driven ethos that the Faraday Institution champions.
It’s been a huge privilege to receive a ECR Collaboration Award. I’m grateful to have been involved in developing and executing the project from start to finish. The highlight was summarising our findings into a journal article (in progress) and building rapport between our institutions, leading to a follow-up study on sodium-ion battery chemistry. My favourite aspect was working with all the collaborators and creating a project where everyone contributed something unique, with each skill set complementing the others.”
Roksana Jackowska, University of Birmingham
The Early Career Researcher Collaboration award has been a brilliant experience – highly rewarding and enjoyable.”
Brandon Frost, UCL
The Early Career Researcher Collaboration award has been incredible, enabling opportunities and collaborations like working in Wes’ lab in Sydney, alongside making developing special working relationships with UK colleagues. Thank you so much to the Faraday Institution!
Arthur Fordham, UCL
Congratulations to Arthur, Brandon, Roksana and Marcus!
Posted on September 16, 2025