Powering Britain's
Battery Revolution
Powering Britain's
Battery Revolution
Distinguished leaders to guide energy storage research programmes and future strategy
Two new members have joined the Faraday Institution’s Board of Trustees, further strengthening its strategic, industrial and research expertise: Professor Neville Jackson and Dr Fabrice Stassin.
The Board of Trustees, with the newly appointed trustees, brings multifaceted perspectives and experiences to the role of advising the Faraday Institution on strategy and delivery.
Announcing the new appointments, Chair of the Board Professor Sir Steven Cowley commented:
It is a great pleasure that we welcome our new trustees. Professor Neville Jackson brings decades of leadership in transport, energy systems and industrial R&D, with deep experience of working at the interface between academia, industry and government. His insight into low-carbon propulsion, vehicle electrification and innovation policy will be invaluable to the Board.
In Dr Fabrice Stassin, Secretary General of BEPA (Batteries European Partnership Association), we have a direct link into the centre of European battery research at a time when the Faraday Institution is strengthening its role as a trusted partner in global battery research and innovation, particularly as the UK participates in Horizon Europe.”
Professor Jackson has spent nearly 40 years in industrial research & development, primarily in transport and energy systems at Ricardo plc, where he served as Chief Technology and Innovation Officer from 2009 to 2019. He has led and contributed to a wide range of technology roadmaps at national and European level, defining pathways for transport energy, propulsion systems, vehicle electrical and electronic architectures and digitalisation/virtual product development.
He is Chair of the RAC Foundation and the UK Automotive Council Strategy Group, and a Non-Executive Director on the UK Advanced Propulsion Centre Board, giving him a central role in shaping the UK’s approach to low‑carbon mobility, innovation and infrastructure.
An engineering graduate of Imperial College, he has also received an honorary doctorate from City University and is a visiting Professor at the University of Brighton. He is a Fellow of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering where he is a member of the Policy Fellowship programme, offering independent advice to senior policymakers.
His past roles have included Chair of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, a member of the EPSRC Strategic Advisory Network, Vice Chair of both the European Automotive Research Partners Association and the European Road Transport Research Advisory Council (ERTRAC). He was also a member of the Industry Delegation for the European Green Vehicles Initiative (EGVI).
On accepting the position, Professor Jackson commented:
I am passionate about innovation; exploiting great ideas that can deliver new products and services to market, particularly in the UK. In my view, the Faraday Institution together with the Battery Innovation Programme is the benchmark on how to join up leading edge research and industrial development right through to commercialisation. To be successful in the future, the UK needs to accelerate the pace in which the great ideas developed in our world class universities are exploited and brought to market at scale for the benefit of UK plc.”
Fabrice holds a PhD in Chemistry and Materials Science, as well as an MBA from the University of Liège, Belgium. After several years in strategy consulting across Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States, he joined Umicore in 2008 as an Innovation Manager focused on clean energy and clean mobility technologies.
Since 2012, he has been part of Umicore’s Brussels-based Government Affairs team, working on electromobility projects spanning both battery and hydrogen technologies. Fabrice played a key role in the development of EMIRI, the Brussels-based association promoting advanced materials, which he managed for five years until 2018.
In recent years, his work has focused on advancing the role of batteries, hydrogen technologies, and recycling in the decarbonisation of energy, mobility, and industry. At Umicore, he also coordinates Asian affairs.
Since January 2024, Fabrice has served as part-time Secretary General of BEPA (Batteries European Partnership Association), supporting the European Commission’s R&D partnership on batteries.
Dr Fabrice Stassin commented:
I am honoured to join the Faraday Institution’s Board of Trustees at such an important moment for battery research and innovation in the UK and Europe. The Faraday Institution is a trusted partner linking world-class science to industrial impact. I look forward to bringing my experience from BEPA and Umicore to strengthen collaboration and accelerate the deployment of sustainable battery and energy storage technologies that support the decarbonisation of energy, mobility and industry.”
Posted on July 2026.
Posted on July 13, 2026