Meet the team 

David is part of the Energy Materials group, moving from Electrochemical Energy Materials within the Energy Innovation Centre (EIC) at WMG. Prior to this he was in the Chemistry Department of the University of Warwick, undertaking masters, doctorate and postdoctoral work under Professor Richard Walton.

His research over the last 7 years was primarily focused on the synthesis and characterisation of mixed metal oxides, metal organic frameworks and co-ordination polymers, for use in PEM fuel cells and Biomass conversion. Before transitioning into battery research, with focus on electrode formulation and the production of demonstrator cells, working on several innovate projects, most recently the SCALE-UP project, aiming to produce both high power/high energy Li-ion cells.

Now working on the CatMat project for the Faraday institution, with the aim of scaling up the synthesis of high energy density cathode materials for lithium ion batteries.

Lin Chen received her Ph.D. degree in Chemistry and Materials from Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Genova, Italy).

She is currently holding a research fellow position on NATIVE project in Energy Materials Group in School of Metallurgy and Materials, conducting research on the development of materials and electrolytes for Na ion batteries.  

Dr Elizabeth (Lizzie) Driscoll is a research fellow within the Energy Materials Group chaired by Prof. Emma Kendrick at the University of Birmingham, UK and working on the Faraday Institution’s ReLiB project. Lizzie obtained a PhD in Chemistry in 2022 from the University of Birmingham on the topic of “Novel Electrode Materials and Educational Resources for Li-/Na-ion Batteries”, where her work focused on the synthesis of novel sodium metal polyanion cathode systems, as well as high power niobium anode systems.

Prior to this work, Lizzie’s research was in the form of energy generation, having interned with Oxford PV Ltd and completing a Masters in greener alternatives for photovoltaic materials. 

Her work over the past 2 years has focused on the physical and chemical processing in the recycling of Li-ion batteries – with consideration towards reclaiming lithium, and now more recently understanding processing effects associated with the direct recycling of LiFePO4. As of May 2023, Lizzie is also working part-time on an Industrial Fellowship with Prof. Peter Slater with Echion Technologies.

Lizzie has won awards for the delivery of battery education and outreach, notably her ‘Battery Jenga’, which has been recognised by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Faraday Institution. Her outreach work has been featured in the National Geographic, Discover magazine and The American Ceramic Society. Her most recent accolade is the award of the M. Zouhair Atassi thesis prize in September 2023.

Hira is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Energy Materials Group chaired by Professor Emma Kendrick at the University of Birmingham, UK.

Hira is working on a large multi-institutional project called CATMAT for the Faraday institution, with the aim to develop green and sustainable synthesis routes to scaling up new cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, and to produce pouch cells for testing and characterisation.

Hira obtained her PhD in Chemistry in 2023 from Shanghai Jiao Tong university, Shanghai. During her PhD, she also worked in Bogazici University, Istanbul, where she synthesized novel materials for Li-S batteries.

Dominika Gastol is a Faraday Institution Research Fellow working in the ReLiB Project at the University of Birmingham. 

Dominika completed her PhD in electrochemical microfabrication of titanium for medical devices in Precision Engineering Institute at Cranfield University. 

She has an extensive experience in assembly and electrochemical testing of supercapacitors, hybrid devices and batteries. 

In her research, Dominika focuses on additive manufacturing of batteries of different chemistries, designed for an optimised performance and disassembly. 

Dominika is a recipient of an Early Career Award from Science and Technology Facilities Council in 2023 for the project dedicated to 3D printing of dual-chemistry Li-ion batteries. 

Sam is a Research Fellow who splits his time between the Energy Materials Group, and the Mixing and Multiphase Flow Group in Chemical Engineering, as part of the NEXTRODE project.

With his work focusing on the formulation and mixing of electrode inks, he uses techniques such as Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) to study the mixing behaviour of slurries, as well as benchmarking industrially relevant mixer designs, to better understand processing parameters to assist in scale-up.

His work also includes improved characterisation of battery materials to help understand the colloidal interactions that determine the slurry microstructure, rheology, and final electrochemical performance. 

Hyeyeon Lee is a research fellow within the Energy Materials Group at the University of Birmingham and is currently involved in the REBLEND project. She obtained her PhD in Environmental Chemistry in 2022 from Cranfield University, focusing on the topic of "Occurrence and distribution of organic compounds in landfill leachate and their influence on metal mobility and recovery." Her research aimed to develop chemical interactions that could increase opportunities for metal recovery while remediating land. 

Since completing her PhD, she worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Heriot-Watt University before joining the University of Birmingham. Her work involved the development of a new building product that has the potential to replace existing materials in commercial small and medium-sized enterprises and academia. This innovation aimed to reduce energy input and costs by utilizing waste and recycled materials, thereby supporting the circular economy and resource efficiency while reducing carbon dioxide emissions. 

Dr Bowen Liu is a research fellow with Prof. Emma Kendrick in the Energy Material Group at the University of Birmingham. He is working on the Horizon 2020’s SIMBA project, which focuses on recycling and reuse anode and cathode materials for sodium-ion battery.  

Bowen obtained his PhD in Chemistry in 2023 at the University of Southampton and his work focused on synthesis high-performance anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. He received his MSc degree in Electrochemistry in 2018 at the University of Southampton and completed his BSc degree in Chemistry in 2017 at Jilin University. 

Dr Subha Samanta is a Research Fellow working with Prof. Emma Kendrick (Energy Material Group) in the School of Metallurgy and Materials, University of Birmingham. She is engaged with the Horizon 2020’s SIMBA project, which focuses on recycling and reuse anode and cathode materials for sodium-ion battery.  Her research interests rely on using a wide range of experimental approaches to better understand battery technology. 

She received her PhD in Materials Science on exploring fast-ion conduction in silica-based nanoglass systems from Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, India (2022), working under Professor Dipankar Chakravorty and Professor Saurav Giri, and her M.Sc. in Applied Physics from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad (2016). Following her PhD, Dr Samanta gained one year of postdoctoral research experience at the RISE-TCG CREST, India (2022) where her work was focussed on halide-based solid-state electrolytes with the group of Professor Satish Ogale and Dr Abhik Banerjee. She was recruited by the University of Birmingham in November 2023. 

Rob Sommerville is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with a focus on reutilisation of waste and the circular economy of Lithium Ion Batteries. He is a Faraday Institution Research Fellow working on the ReLiB (Recycling and Reuse of Li-Ion Batteries) project funded by the Faraday Institution, looking at physical separation techniques in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries.  Rob is also a Researcher Co-Investigator on REBLEND (Innovate UK) and REVITALISE (European Commission).

Rob studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, gaining Masters Degrees in 2011 and 2012, and a PhD in 2017 on the utilisation of fly ash in the manufacture of zeolites. Rob worked at the University of Warwick for a year on Lithium-ion battery recycling under Professor Emma Kendrick, before returning to Birmingham to join the ReLiB project.   

Tengfei Song joined the Energy Materials Group, University of Birmingham as a Ph.D. student in September 2019 under the supervision of Prof Emma Kendrick. Currently, he is holding a research fellow position on the Faraday NEXGENNA project, conducting research on the development of cathode materials for Na-ion batteries. 

Before joining the Energy Materials Group, he worked as an R&D Engineer of Lithium-ion Battery in the industry (China) for 4 years. His research focuses on advanced positive electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries.

Dongrui is a Research Fellow in the School of Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birmingham. Prior to the University of Birmingham, he was a research assistant at Loughborough University, working on MAP-IT project from the Faraday Institution.

Dongrui has done his BSc in Materials Physics at Sichuan University, while he joined LCMP (Loughborough China Materials Partnership) project in 2016. He has obtained his MSc and PhD degree from Loughborough University in 2018 and 2023.

He is currently working on the innovations in metrology for the electrode manufacturing process within NEXTRODE project from the Faraday Institution. His research interests include ceramic material, additive manufacturing, microwave processing and battery manufacturing. 

Pengcheng Zhu is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Energy Materials Group at the University of Birmingham. He is working on the NEXTRODE project which focuses on manufacturing the next-generation Li-ion battery electrodes.

Pengcheng received his MSc and PhD degrees in Materials Science from the University of Liverpool in 2014 and 2019. Prior to joining Birmingham University, he was a research fellow at WMG, University of Warwick and worked on the recycling of lithium-ion batteries.

His current research includes manufacturing 3D structured electrodes, surface modification on metallic current collectors, and sustainable electrode manufacturing.

Giar commenced his tenure with the Energy Materials Group in September 2020 as a newly enrolled PhD student, operating under the guidance of Professor Emma Kendrick. Presently, he is actively engaged in the execution of the NEXTRODE project, which is dedicated to advancing knowledge in the realm of next-generation electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. Giar assumes a pivotal role within the WP2 group, which is tasked with investigating electrode manufacturing processes, pioneering new electrode processing methodologies, and developing metrology tools, with a specific emphasis on anodes in sodium-ion batteries.

Prior to his doctoral pursuits, Giar successfully earned his master's degree in Material Science and Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. During his academic tenure, he demonstrated proficiency by fabricating and assembling a standard Lithium battery, with the overarching goal of enhancing its energy storage capacity. 

Izzah, with a background in chemistry during her bachelor's and polymers during her master's degrees, began her career at Malaysia's research institute in 2008. Since then, she has been involved in sodium-ion battery technologies, organic solar cells, and solar thermal technologies.

Currently on study leave to pursue a Ph.D. with Energy Materials Group. Izzah now directs her focus toward polymer electrolytes for solid-state sodium-ion batteries, encompassing both catholyte and anolyte.

Jacob joined the Energy Materials group in 2023 after completing his undergraduate degree in materials science and engineering at the University of Birmingham. 

He is currently studying with the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Formulation Engineering and working on the 3D-printing of battery electrodes. This work he is conducting with support from the MTC with the aim to produce high-performance batteries whilst reducing the proportion of critical materials used.

Joanna joined the Energy Materials Group in partnership with Lubrizol Ltd. company to pursue her Engineering Doctorate (EngD) in September 2020 under Professor Emma Kendrick and Professor Mark Simmons supervision.

Her work consists of research into the effect of additives  for the Ni-rich cathode stability and ink formulations, and their influence on the final microstructure and performance of the electrodes.

Joanna holds degrees in Material Science (MEng) and Biotechnology (BEng) from Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. Her practical experience in the lithium-ion batteries field was gained during her industry placement as a Senior Development Engineer at LG Energy Solution.

Sam joined the group in 2020 after obtaining his Masters in Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham and is now a PhD researcher working on the Nextrode project under the supervision of Professors Mark Simmons and Emma Kendrick.

His research focuses on using electrical impedance techniques to study the influence that process parameters have on Li-ion slurry conductivity. 

Ze He (Barry) joined the group in 2020 after obtaining his Master's in Material Science and Engineering at the University of Birmingham and is now a PhD student working on the Li-ion Battery Recycling project under the supervision of Professors Emma Kendrick and Paul Anderson.

His research focuses on recovering the low value waste, like Li and graphite, of end-of-life Li-ion Battery. 

Irma is a PhD student at the University of Birmingham, looking at developing novel sensing methodologies to monitor battery performance. She completed her MSci in Chemistry at the University of Birmingham and after graduation, worked as an Engineer at WMG in the Energy Innovation Centre, most recently in the Battery Scale-Up team.

Now, Irma is interested in finding novel ways to monitor battery and material performance over time for aerospace applications, using additional instruments such as optical sensors and reference electrodes.

Roksana has joined the Energy Materials Group as a Faraday Institution PhD Researcher in September 2021. She is currently working on the Multi-Scale Modelling project.  

Roksana completed her MChem at the University of Central Lancashire working on luminescent titanium silicates. She started her career in industry where she began to study materials for energy storage applications.

Roksana is now developing monitoring and analytical methods to better understand cell degradation mechanisms and further develop her skills in coupling electrochemistry with materials science.

Halima is a Faraday Institution PhD researcher at the University of Birmingham, working on the Nextrode project. She completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry, and after graduation gained industrial experience developing high performance coatings for the construction sector.

Halima is now interested in the 3D printing of Prussian White cathodes for Na-ion cells and developing versatile methods to create thick, structured electrodes. She is keen to gain further industrial experience in electrode manufacturing. (She also enjoys baking, so expect baked goods in the office).  

Kawinkorn has a background in electrical engineering and chemical engineering (MSc in Global Chemical Energy Technologies and Systems from the University of Birmingham) and is pursuing a PhD supervised by Professor Emma Kendrick.

His research focuses on the fast-charging features of hybridisation between supercapacitors and battery technologies aligned with multi-scale modelling.

The supercapacitors and batteries are parameterised and modelled for the hybrid system between two devices, focusing on the fast-charging features.

PhD student working on challenges associated with upscaling novel cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries (NEXGENNA).

Reda is also looking into developing high voltage electrolytes for supercapacitors and hybrid energy storage devices.

Previously, Reda worked at Umicore R&D where she was a member of solid-state battery development team. 

Issy completed her MChem from the University of Oxford in 2021, and is now doing a PhD in Metallurgy & Materials at the University of Birmingham on the CATMAT project.

She is working on the sustainability of batteries from a materials angle, and is interested particularly in supply chain resilience and making the best use out of the minerals mined possible.

She is also a contributor to the battery and climate newsletter Intercalation Station. Issy is passionate about climate justice and wants to use batteries as a vehicle to improve global equality.

Marcus Tuchel is a PhD student in the Birmingham Energy Materials Group, under the supervision of Prof. Emma Kendrick and Professor Gerard Fernando. He is an associated PhD as part of the Faraday Institution MSM project.

His research focuses on investigating Li-ion batteries using in-operando sensors to measure processes directly and novel experimental techniques to explore mechanisms.

He hopes to use these methodologies to optimise the formation process, determine a battery’s state of health, and for the early detection of faults.

Ethan joined the group in October 2020 after completing his MChem at Durham University and has since been completing a PhD at the University of Birmingham, working on the CATMAT project as an affiliated Faraday Institute researcher.

Ethan’s research concerns the development of next generation lithium-ion cathode materials, as well as the optimisation of Ni-rich cathode materials. During his PhD, Ethan has also worked part-time as a research technician for the University and for About: Energy, carrying out the experimental parameterisation of Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.

More recently he has completed an internship at Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, where his work focused on the supply chains and commercial landscape for Na-ion batteries. 

Chenglong Wu is currently a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Emma Kendrick in the School of Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birmingham.

He completed his bachelor's degree in Materials Science and Technology at University of Science and Technology Beijing, then received his master's degree with Distinction in the School of Metallurgy and Materials at University of Birmingham.

His research is to investigate new cathode materials and optimize synthesis routes for next-generation lithium-ion batteries in CATMAT project.

Having completed his Masters in Chemistry, Anton joined the Kendrick group as a PhD student at the end of 2019.

His current research is looking into the recycling of lithium and sodium ion cells with a focus on recovery of cathodic material. 

Aviva currently works as a Senior Research Technician on the REBLEND project focusing on the recycling of Li-ion batteries. Aviva completed her MSc in Analytical Chemistry from St. Aloysius College in India.

Prior to working at UoB, she worked as a chemistry lecturer at St. Aloysius College and as a Senior Research Technician at Cardiff University, and CSIR-CECRI (Karaikudi). 

Ben graduated with a Batchelor's Degree in Chemistry from the University of Birmingham in 2010. After a brief time working for the UAE education authority's school inspection system, he joined a secondary school as the lead science technician. 

Ben joined the Energy Materials group in 2019 supporting the ReLiB and R2LiB recycling projects as a technician, and supported the group in a variety of other aspects. In 2020, Ben joined the Nextrode project, providing technical assistance in coating and printing.

Yongxiu Chen obtained his PhD degree in Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Science in June 2019 and the research in his PhD focused on the inhibition of lithium dendrites in rechargeable batteries.

Then, he gained the postdoc research fellow position for the Multi-Scale Modelling (MSM) project in the Energy Materials Group from October2019. Now, he is incorporating the parameters from experiments into simulation to establish reliable models for LIBs.

Kieran joined the Energy Materials Group as a new PhD student in October 2018. He is currently working under the Faraday Institution on the Multi-Scale Modelling fast-start project. He is looking into the effect of electrode manufacturing on model parameters, specifically, the effect of calendaringon electrode microstructure and its influence on battery performance – the projects aim is to determine a structure-property relationship for electrodes.

Kieran has been researching energy materials and devices for the past three years at Nottingham University, Warwick Manufacturing Group, Southampton University, Johnson Matthey, and the Research Complex at Harwell. He completed a degree in Natural Sciences (MSci) and a dissertation on ‘developing novel ionic liquid electrolytes for thermoelectrochemical cells’, afterwards spending a year studying advanced characterisation (X-rays, neutrons, and muons) of lithium-ion battery materials.

Samuel joined the Energy Materials Group as a new PhD student in October 2017. He carried out a joint PhD with WMG, at the University of Warwick, and the University of Birmingham. His research is focused on the manufacture of electrodes for Na-ion batteries.

Samuel completed his integrated masters in Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham; where he researched zeolite materials for thermochemical energy storage, focused on improvements to thermal conductivity.

Yazid obtained a Master’s Degree in Materials Science in 2014 from Polytech Lille in France, which included several academic and industrial placements on the themes of polymer composites and fibre reinforcements. In 2015, he joined the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Additive Manufacturing at the University of Nottingham to do a PhD on 3D Printing of Advanced Ceramics.

Yazid joined the Energy Materials Group as a Research Fellow in November 2019 to work on the UKRI SUPErB project, investigating novel electrode materials and conditioning procedures for ultra-power lithium-ion batteries.

Brij Kishore received his Ph.D. degree from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India. He joined as a research fellow in the Energy Materials Group.

His working was on the NATIVE Innovate UK project which looked into Na-ion batteries for automotive power applications. His research interests are development of novel electrode materials, electrolyte additives, and formation methodologies for Na-ion batteries.

 

As a Research Fellow in The Energy Materials Group, Stavros worked on the IDMBAT-HESTIA project, which aimed to successfully design a database for battery manufacturing, combining information from electrode manufacturing to electrochemical testing. Such database will result to more efficient battery design under the scope of industrial and academic environments.

• B.Sc. In Materials Science, University of Patras, Greece (2011 – 2016).
• Ph.D. in Materials Engineering, Loughborough University, United Kingdom (2016 – 2019).
• Associate Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2018 – present).
• Member of the International Dielectric Society (2018 – present).
• Research experience on: polymer physics, polymer composites, polymer processing, broadband dielectric spectroscopy.
• Co-author of 1 book chapter on the dielectric properties of semicrystalline polyolefins and 8 peer-review publications that have received 70 independent citations according to Scopus as of April 2020.

Scott was a Research Fellow in the Energy Materials Group at the University of Birmingham. His research focused on the development and scale-up of new materials, manufacturing processes, and testing of energy storage/conversion technologies.

Scott received his PhD from the University of Southampton, in electrochemical engineering developing electrically rechargeable zinc-air flow battery technology. Since 2015 he has contributed toward projects on energy storage technologies spanning from micro-batteries to automotive with a variety of chemistries.

This included projects at WMG (University of Warwick) as well as at the spin-out company Ilika Technologies Ltd. He is currently working in the area of all-solid-state lithium-ion battery materials and manufacturing aiming to produce solid-state batteries via scalable manufacturing processes.

Azar carried out her undergraduate qualification Bachelor (Hons) and first postgraduate qualification Master (research) in Chemical Engineering. She went on to complete her PhD in organic and macromolecular chemistry at the University of Lille, France.

Since then, Azar has worked as a postdoctoral /research fellow in a wide range of research laboratories in France, Brazil, Norway, China, and the UK.  In 2017, she joined the University of Birmingham, to take up a Research Fellow position funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in the school of Chemical Engineering.

This project was a collaboration between the Universities of Birmingham, Nottingham (Centre for Additive Manufacturing) and Reading, and industries. Azar then joined the School of Metallurgy & Materials as a Research Fellow in the Energy Materials Group. She worked on battery manufacturing and developing processes and data.

Julian was a Research Fellow in the Energy Materials Group at the University of Birmingham. He was a member of the Multi-Scale Modelling (MSM) team investigating Li-ion battery parameterization and in situ reference electrode development.

His PhD thesis research at the University of Western Cape (Cape Town) focussed on the development of aqueous hybrid batteries. Following his PhD, his research on Li-ion and Na-ion batteries and supercapacitors continued at various universities in China.

Keiron joined the Energy Materials Group as a PhD student in October 2017 under the supervision of Professor Emma Kendrick, Professor Richard Walton (University of Warwick), and Dr. Claire Dancer (WMG – University of Warwick). His project consisted of work on hybrid sodium-potassium battery materials, primarily looking at sulphates and mixed polyanion compounds.

The aim of the project is to explore the relationship of two different intercalating ions and the effect on the material’s voltage. The project hopes to produce novel high voltage materials for the purpose of grid storage while also demonstrating the first hybrid-ion battery.

Keiron started his research career initially investigating novel perovskite and pyrochlore nickel-based materials for the dry reforming of syn-gas into stable chemical feedstocks. This research was carried out during his undergraduate master’s (MChem) at Keele University under the supervision of Dr. Richard Darton. However, previous projects he has undertaken have included investigation of methane reforming catalysts and the biosynthesis of cuticular hydrocarbons in Formica lugubris and Myrimca ribra via synthesising deuterium labelled substrates.