Global experts gather for World Energy Storage Conference in Birmingham

Experts from academia and industry have gathered at the University of Birmingham for the Second World Energy Storage Conference (WESC).

On 12 October over 200 delegates gathered for the opening plenary session of the World Energy Storage Conference. Chaired by Professor Stephen Jarvis the session highlighted the vital role Energy Storage solutions will play in the decarbonisation of our energy systems to achieve our global Net-Zero ambitions

Over the course of this three-day conference researchers and practitioners across academia, industry, government agencies and non-government organisations were able to share their work and build collaborations to identify possible solutions for the key technological and policy challenges associated with energy storage.

A key emphasis of this conference was to form collaborations that would further accelerate the application of energy storage solutions to support the transition to a Green Energy Revolution.

Reflecting on WESC, conference chair Professor Yulong Ding, Director of the Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage said: “It was an honour to host the second World Energy Storage Conference at the University of Birmingham. The energy crisis is a colossal challenge, one that can only be addressed through national and international collaborations, like the ones formed at this conference over the past few days."

The event was supported by, the University of Birmingham Energy Institute’s Centre for Energy Storage, UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Supergen Energy Storage Network Plus Programme, European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (CO-COOL Program), The British Council UCEER programme, and International Energy Storage Alliance.

Amongst the 80+ oral presentations delivered during the conference, distinguished speakers included:

• Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford,
• Professor Nigel Brandon, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London
• Professor André Thess, Director, Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics, Professor of Energy Storage, University of Stuttgart

At the end of the conference, it was announced that the third WESC will be organised by National Renewable Energy Laboratory and it will be held in the United States of America.