Powering our future
Innovative Southampton research to develop better batteries
The need for better batteries is clear. Fossil fuels are limited in their supply and are damaging our world. Energy from renewable sources such as the sun and wind is only available when the sun shines and the wind blows. And current batteries are expensive, don’t last long enough, and are heavy and bulky.
Pioneering research by Southampton’s Electrochemistry Group is changing this fast – the batteries of the future are within our grasp. There are several strands of ongoing research into different types of batteries and alternative power sources, including hydrogen, thermo-electrics and finding alternatives to, and ways to recycle, lithium.
We’re working on electricity production and use, taking carbon out of the electricity cycle. If we want to tackle climate change, we can either take the CO2 out of the atmosphere, or we can stop putting it out there in the first place. We are working on that second option.
Read the full story in Re:action, the University’s research and enterprise magazine.
Related Staff Member
Dr Iris Nandhakumar Dipl.Chem. MPhil Cantab PhD
Dr Iris Nandhakumar received a first-class Dipl.-Chem. degree (MSc in Chemistry) from the Technical University of Berlin and gained her PhD in Chemistry at the University of Southampton. She also holds an MPhil in Physics from the University of Cambridge, Cavendish Laboratory. Following several post-doctoral appointments at the University of Southampton and visiting research fellow positions at the University of Georgia Athens and the University of California in the USA, Dr Nandhakumar was appointed to a joint faculty position at the University of Southampton in both Physics and Chemistry. Her research focuses on the nanoscale fabrication and characterization of materials, in particular on semiconducting materials. She has given numerous invited talks and seminars at leading international conferences such as MRS, ACS meetings and Gordon research conferences
Read moreRelated Staff Member
Dr Nuria Garcia-Araez
Nuria Garcia-Araez is an associate professor in electrochemistry at Southampton. She has a multidisciplinary background on fundamental electrochemistry and in-situ characterization techniques and her current interests are the development of the next generation of rechargeable batteries, with focus on lithium-oxygen and lithium-sulfur batteries, and new methods of lithium production and recycling.
Read moreRelated Staff Member
Professor Andrew L Hector BSc, PhD, PGCert, FRSC, FHEA
Professor Andrew L Hector is a Professor of Inorganic Chemistry within the Electrochemistry group in the School of Chemistry at the University of Southampton.
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