The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee will hear
from leading researchers about anticipated developments in
batteries and fuel cells over the next ten years that could
contribute to meeting the net-zero target.
It can be followed live at www.parliamentlive.tv
from 10am tomorrow (Tuesday 16 March
2021).
The Committee will ask a panel of experts
about batteries, hearing about the current state-of-the-art in
technologies that are currently in deployment, primarily
lithium-ion batteries. It will explore the potential of next
generation technologies currently in development and the
challenges in scaling them up to
manufacture.
The Committee will then ask a second
panel about fuel cells, hearing about the different types
available and their applications. It will explore challenges that
need to be overcome in the development of the technology and will
consider the UK’s international standing in the
sector.
Witnesses
10am
-
Professor Serena Corr, Chair in
Functional Nanomaterials, and Director of Research, Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of
Sheffield;
-
Professor Paul Shearing, Professor in
Chemical Engineering, University College
London;
-
Dr Jerry Barker, Founder and Chief
Technology Officer, Faradion Ltd;
and
-
Dr Melanie Loveridge, Associate
Professor, Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of
Warwick.
11am
-
Professor Andrea Russell, Professor of
Physical Electrochemistry, University of
Southampton;
-
Professor Anthony Kucernak, Professor
of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department
of Chemistry, Imperial College London;
and
-
Professor John Irvine, Professor,
School of Chemistry, University of St
Andrews.
Possible questions
-
What research is being undertaken to
improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries, and does this
technology have fundamental limits?
-
What advantages do ‘next-generation’
battery technologies offer, and what potential do they have for
deployment in the near-term?
-
What are the challenges facing the
scaling-up of new battery technologies and materials from the
lab to wider manufacture and usage?
-
What are the current uses of fuel cells
in the UK, and what makes them suited to these
applications?
-
What advances in fuel cell technologies
are expected in the next decade, and what challenges are
envisaged?
-
Is there coordination between battery
and fuel cell research and development in the
UK?
