Faraday Challenge

On 24th July 2017, Business Secretary Greg Clark announced significant investment to boost expertise in batteries.

The Industrial Strategy’s £246 million ‘Faraday Challenge’ is a 4-year coordinated programme of competitions to encourage research and development in battery technology. This is intended to ensure the UK builds on its current strengths in this area, and leads the world in the design, development and manufacture of electric batteries.

A Faraday Challenge Advisory Board will be established to oversee the programme and ensure its coherence and impact.

The competitions are divided into 3 streams:

• Research: A £45 million competition to create a virtual Battery Institute.
• Innovation: The most promising research from the Institute will be taken closer to market.
• Scale-up: A competition to identify the best proposition for a new development facility to ensure real-world use and application of the technology.

The Faraday Challenge forms one of six key challenge areas identified through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). These are areas in which government, academia and industry believe research and innovation can help unlock future markets and industries in which the UK can become world-leading.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said; “The work that we do through the Faraday Challenge will – quite literally – power the automotive and energy revolution where, already, the UK is leading the world.”

Professor Philip Nelson, Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), said; “Batteries will form a cornerstone of a low carbon economy, whether in cars, aircraft, consumer electronics, district or grid storage. To deliver the UK’s low carbon economy we must consolidate and grow our capabilities in novel battery technology. EPSRC’s previous research investments mean we are in a world-leading position.”

Richard Parry-Jones, newly appointed Chair of the Faraday Challenge Advisory Board said; “The power of the Faraday Challenge derives from the joining-up of all 3 stages of research from the brilliant research in the university base, through innovation in commercial applications to scaling up for production. It will focus our best minds on the critical industrial challenges that are needed to establish the UK as one of the world leaders in advanced battery technologies and associated manufacturing capability.”

For more information, see Gov.uk.

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