Success Stories
From research discoveries to commercial spin-outs, policy guidance to career development and engagement, this selection of case studies from the Faraday Institution and its research community demonstrates the impacts we are making on UK science, the economy and future generations of researchers.
The avalanche effect: a new understanding of lithium ion movement in graphite
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have used a new optical technique developed by Illumion to show that in the early stages of charging lithium ions enter the graphite lattice in sudden, localised, intermittent jumps – like microscopic "avalanches".
Top paper for research influence: Prospects for lithium-ion batteries and beyond – a 2030 vision
As of July 2026, the Nature Communications scientific paper published in 2020 by Faraday Institution researchers has the most research influence (as measured by FWCI*).
Flagship paper: Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles
A Nature Recycling paper on lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles as an output from the Faraday Institution’s ReLiB project from 2019 is as of July 2026 the flagship paper from the Faraday Institution community and the top paper as ranked by number of citations.
Scaling UK cathode materials towards commercial battery manufacturing
Industry Sprint between Redoxion and UCL validates UK-produced LFP materials in commercially relevant battery cells.
The interplay between stack pressure, mechanical expansion and degradation pathways
Researchers from the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick and Sydney have discovered a simple way to double the lifetime of commercial lithium-ion batteries without changing their chemistry.
Faraday Institution Conference 2025 Wins Award
The Faraday Institution Conference 2025 has been awarded the Gold Award for Best New Conference/Event at the Conference and Events Awards 2026, recognising its rapid growth into the UK's flagship event for the battery research and innovation community.
WMG research provides new insights into how battery cathodes store energy
The Battery Cells and Materials Group at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) has published a new paper in Nature Nanotechnology that provides fresh insights into one of the fundamental questions in battery science: where does the charge come from?
36 PhD studentships in battery research leverage government funding and grow the pipeline of talent
The PhD/EngD studentships have been enabled thanks to £3.2 million funding from the Battery Innovation Programme, through the Department for Business and Trade and delivered by Innovate UK, leveraging £1.34 million co-funding pledged from partners across industry, universities and research technology organisations.
Powering battery innovation – new spin-out set to strengthen UK supply chain
ENV Energy - a spin-out from Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick has the potential to provide a strategically independent, UK-sourced electrode material for various sectors including automotive and aerospace. Article by WMG, University of Warwick,
Demonstrating a direct recycling route for Echion’s high-power anode materials
An Industry Sprint between Echion Technologies and the University of Birmingham has demonstrated the feasibility of direct recycling routes to efficiently recover, at high yield, Echion’s niobium-based anodes for fast-charging, high-power lithium-ion batteries.
UK Battery Ecosystem Aids Gelion’s Success in Lithium-Sulfur Battery Development
Coordinated support from the UK battery ecosystem has been instrumental in enabling Gelion’s progression from early-stage lithium-sulfur (Li-S) research to commercially relevant sulfur-based battery technologies.
Advancing Battery Safety: WMG’s Role in the SafeBatt Project
As part of the SafeBatt project, WMG’s Battery Systems research team worked collaboratively with industry partner, AceOn, to improve collective understanding of whether its supply of sodium-ion batteries was compatible with the supplied documentation, composition and safety.
Accelerating EV Battery Innovation at JLR with the Battery Parameter eXchange Standard
As the automotive industry rapidly transitions to fully electric, battery simulation is becoming an increasingly important tool in EV development. Battery models, and the parameterisation data that underpins them, have become valuable engineering assets.
Turning the screw on electrode mixing
Researchers at WMG, University of Warwick, have laid the foundations to boost the sustainability of battery manufacturing with a new method for mixing electrode slurries that uses significantly less toxic solvent than traditional processes.
Unlocking silicon’s promise: a novel process for making high-performance anode material
University of Sheffield spin‑out, AmpliSi, has developed a new process for producing porous silicon anode material that goes some way to overcome both challenges – opening a path to higher‑performing, and more sustainable batteries.
Finding a needle in a haystack: mapping binders in battery anodes unlocks insights
Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a new patent-pending staining and imaging process that allows previously “invisible” binders in lithium-ion battery anodes to be mapped and quantified.
Polymer binders – towards more practical solid-state batteries
Polymer chemists at the University of Oxford, working as part of the interdisciplinary SOLBAT project team, have filed two patent families for novel cathode binder materials for solid-state batteries.
LF Energy Battery Data Alliance Announces the Battery Data Format (BDF)
A new open, community-driven standard for battery data interoperability. BDF provides a unified, machine-readable schema and ontology-aligned metadata to make battery data shareable, reproducible, and model-ready across labs, vendors, and software.
Batri and Swansea University Announce Landmark UK Milestone in Sodium-Ion Cell Development
Batri's article announces a landmark moment for the UK battery industry has arrived; a new cylindrical sodium-ion cell built with Welsh materials and homegrown innovation.
Scaling multi-layer sodium-ion pouch cells towards commercialisation
Case study: NEXGENNA has advanced sodium-ion battery technology by scaling the synthesis of active materials and developing a low-cost, scalable flow process for electrolytes.
Developing models to predict hysteretic behaviour in LFP and emerging chemistries
A collaboration between universities and About:Energy as part of the Multi-scale project developed a simple and rational model of hysteretic lithiation.
Understanding the degradation of single-crystal LiNiO2 cathodes under stressed conditions
Case study: Researchers from the Universities of Warwick and Sheffield and Diamond Light Source as part of the FutureCat project, studied single-crystalline LiNiO₂, a cobalt-free cathode for high-energy lithium-ion batteries.
Rapid and economic recycling route to produce battery active materials
Case study: A new patent-pending technology developed at the University of Leicester as part of the ReLiB Project allows recycling of lithium-ion battery black mass.
Leading the charge on cobalt-free lithium-rich layered oxide cathode materials
Case study: CATMAT researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a Li1.2Mn0.5Ni0.3O2 cathode material, optimised for performance, stability and scalability.
Extending lifetime with quasi-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries
Case study: As part of the LiSTAR project, researchers have developed a new cell that avoids the formation of liquid polysulfides to improve performance and extend lifetime.
Deepening the understanding of cracking during electrode drying
Case study: Nextrode project researchers at UCL have advanced the understanding of how spontaneous electrode cracking during drying may serve a similar purpose while theoretically eliminating the need for additional process steps and capital costs.
Optimising formation protocols for anode-less lithium metal batteries
Case study: Researchers from the Degradation Project have identified a critical link between formation protocols and long-term performance in anode-less lithium metal batteries.
Developing a digital twin to inform safer design
Case study: Researchers at the University of Oxford and University of Warwick as part of the SafeBatt project have developed and experimentally validated a digital twin representation of a cell cluster
What is the future cost? A technoeconomic assessment of solid-state batteries
Case study: A consortium of academic and industry experts, led by scientists from the SOLBAT project have assessed how thin the lithium anode layer must be to unlock the higher energy density of solid-state batteries, key to longer-range EVs.
AI unlocks the manufacturing secrets of LMFP
Industry Sprint, between WMG University of Warwick and Imperial spin-out Polaron, has demonstrated the power of AI and machine learning to inform and accelerate battery materials development.
#FaradayPathways to Career Success
These Faraday Pathways showcase the career success of talented individuals throughout our community and how Faraday Institution training programmes, interventions, collaborative ways of working and community building initiatives are helping to deliver future skills needed.