UNI FOCUS: FUTURECAT PROJECT
“The key to the success
of a material will be a high
capacity, whilst at the
same time providing
structural stability”
Professor Serena Corr,
chair in functional nanomaterials,
Sheffi eld University
adoption of electric vehicles that are not
only environmentally friendly but
comprise the best and most suitable public and
private transportation on the roads.
Consequently, adoption becomes a positive
choice, rather than a legislated enforcement.
“Our fi rst new materials have already been
synthesized and are undergoing
characterization. The rich expertise of our
members translates to an increasingly
streamlined materials–performance design
cycle. Within our fi rst quarter, we will be in
a position to propose better performing
materials that we can fast-track to scale-up.
We anticipate a long-term dialogue with
materials and battery manufacturers that
optimizes technical performance given
commercial constraints, such as management
of the supply chain.”
Other institutions
The department will be working closely with
the Faraday Institution and its panel of experts
to ensure maximum impact and uptake of new
discoveries made by FutureCat researchers,
says the team lead. “Our consortium is a close
and collaborative partnership between
universities. Our approach is highly integrated,
130 // January 2020 // www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com
with
research teams
working across universities where
they can access leading expertise and state-ofthe
art facilities to enable cutting-edge research. Our
eff orts will also be guided by our partnerships with the
industry to ensure our eff orts are closely aligned and to
fast-track our discoveries to scale-up.
“FutureCat deploys a hybridized management strategy
that combines the agility of academic work with the
goal-focussed drive of agile management,” says Corr.
“Feedback is key to connecting our diverse members and
identifying critical connections. Our research teams have
regular meetings to share results, collaborate eff ectively
and ensure our project is delivering across our milestone
goals. Facilities for synthesis, characterization and testing
exist across our institutions and our partnership with NPL
ensures that robust testing criteria will be applied to
emerging cathode technologies.”
Another team, led by the department’s Dr Denis
Cumming, is also partnering in two of four other Faraday
research projects, including a University of Oxford-led
project called Nextrode, aiming at a new generation of
smart, high-performance electrode manufacturing, to
assist in extending the range and increasing the
performance of EVs. These researchers from the University
of She eld are also collaborating in a University of St
Andrews-led project, Nexgenna, to speed up the
development of sodium-ion battery technology. There’s no
question that the Steel City is playing a big role in shaping
the battery technology of the future.
3. Working with the
Faraday Institution,
breakthroughs will be
fast-tracked to industry
3
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