Energy is one of the primary challenges of the 21st century, and is driven by a need to decarbonise the energy sector and increase energy security and supply. These issues are well documented and do not require reiterating, except to highlight that success is paramount for continued economic and societal growth. Batteries have an important role to play here in the areas of portable electronics, electrified vehicles and grid storage. To date, lithium-ion has revolutionised energy storage, but UK lithium reserves are limited and globally the majority is located in only four countries, placing future UK industry subject to external market and geopolitical forces. Technology diversification is essential and batteries based on abundant sodium (Na ~ 2.6 % vs. Li ~ 0.005 % in the Earth's crust) must be developed. The sodium-ion battery has the potential to meet performance and cost targets in emerging battery markets. The battery benefits from the use of widely available and abundant sodium and unlike the lithium-ion battery, does not rely on cobalt for its electrode materials, making it a sustainable alternative to lithium-ion. This project will accelerate delivery of this technology, which will provide UK PLC with an alternative high performance battery technology. A number of key challenges limit development of this battery and these include identification of stable high performance battery electrodes and electrolytes. Significant progress has been made in this space and numerous advanced materials have been reported, but development of the negative electrode lags behind the other components. The main reason for this is that current electrolytes used in these batteries react with the negative electrode. The goal of this research programme will be to understand how changing this electrolyte affects the fundamental chemistry at the negative electrode in the battery and to build on this to identify new battery components able to provide a high performance and long life sodium-ion battery. This programme will be supported by close interaction with leading industrial stakeholders in the field to ensure technology relevant outputs and to provide a route to commercialisation.

Materials that can dissipate, reflect or absorb heat, are electrically insulating, have high-tensile strength, and are stable at high temperatures are crucial for many high-performance applications. Such materials find use in transport (heat resistance, friction, extreme loads); aerospace and space systems (robust wave transparent materials); electronics (non-conductive, heat dissipating materials); and functional woven textiles (thermal management). One example, of many, in the use of these so-called "next generation materials" comes from their potential for deployment in aeronautics or space technologies (hypersonic aircraft), where electrically insulating materials are required for high-voltage applications that can withstand atmospheric re-entry conditions and extreme levels of radiation. Such materials must also be easily processable, of relatively low cost, and amenable to efficient and scalable manufacture, especially of continuous fibres that allow for the shaping of the complex forms necessary for specific applications. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is one such material. A close cousin of graphite/graphene (having a very similar structure where "BN" replaces "CC"), h-BN has excellent heat conductivities, is an electrical insulator, is chemically very stable (to over 1000 C in air), and is considered non-hazardous. However, current routes to continuous h-BN fibres are very expensive, use difficult to obtain precursors and have not been demonstrated on a commercial scale. This is in contrast to societally and technologically ubiquitous carbon fibres, that are produced on a huge scale (120kton/pa) from polymer precursors such as polyacrylonitrile. Equivalent h-BN fibres would possess all the benefits of carbon fibre (low weight/thermal expansion and high tensile-strength/shock resistance) but also have desirable thermal management, electronic (insulating) and chemical stability benefits that carbon fibre does not. In many respects, h-BN is the perfect next generation material. What is needed to overcome current roadblocks in h-BN fibre production is a relatively simple, cost-effective, and scalable source of polymer pre-ceramic, that can then be processed in a continuous and efficient manner to form h-BN fibres. We propose that a relatively new type of BN-containing polymer, polyaminoboranes (PAB), could be such ideal precursors. While PABs are made by atom-efficient catalytic coupling of smaller, accessible, precursor amine-borane units, e.g. H3B.NMeH2, they have not been used as fibre precursors due to the historical lack of reliable, scalable and controlled routes for their synthesis. This proposal directly addresses this technological gap by bringing together expertise in two complementary fields: organometallic catalysis and mechanism for the controlled and efficient synthesis of PAB on scale (Weller), and the manufacture of high-performance nanomaterials using continuous fabrication methods (Grobert). Recent breakthroughs by Weller (scalable PAB synthesis) and Grobert (proof of principle PAB-fibre production) now show that PAB are perfectly poised to be processable preceramics to h-BN fibres. Encouraged by these exciting joint preliminary results we will develop scalable routes to high-quality h-BN fibres. This will be done through developing straightforward, controlled and efficient routes to the precursor polyaminoboranes, for which mechanism-led design strategies will be used to optimise catalytic control over the polymer characteristics. The production of bespoke B-N main chain polyaminoborane systems on scale will fully unlock their use as precursors for the fabrication of ultra-light-weight, mechanically strong, continuous h-BN ceramic fibres. The translation of our scientific breakthroughs into a broader industrial context will be enabled through close engagement with our industry project partners Boron Specialties, Strathclyde Light Weight Manufacturing Centre & Williams Advanced Engineering.

Energy Storage (ES) has a key role to play as a part of whole UK and global energy systems, by providing flexibility, enhancing affordability, security and resilience against supply uncertainties, and addressing the huge challenges related to the climate change. Following UKRI investment over the last decade, the UK is in a strong position internationally in ES research and innovation. Although areas of UK expertise are world leading, there is little interaction between these areas and interplaying disciplines e.g. artificial intelligence, data and social sciences. This fragmentation limits the community's ability to deliver significant societal impact and threatens the continuity of delivering research excellence, missing opportunities as a result. Consequently, there is now an urgent need for the ES community to connect, convene and communicate more effectively. The proposed Supergen Storage Network Plus 2019 project (ES-Network+) responds to this need by bringing together 19 leading academics at different career stages across 12 UK institutions, with complementary energy storage (ES) related expertise and the necessary multidisciplinary balance to deliver the proposed programme. The aim of the ES-Network+ is to create a dynamic, forward-looking and sustainable platform, connecting and serving people from diverse backgrounds across the whole ES value chain including industry, academia and policymakers. As a focal point for the ES community, we will create, exchange and disseminate ES knowledge with our stakeholders. We will nurture early career researchers (ECR) in ES and establish ambitious, measurable goals for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). We will complement existing activities (e.g. Faraday Institution, UKERC, Energy Systems Catapult, CREDS, other Supergen Hubs) to serve the UK's needs, delivering impact nationally and internationally. The ES-Network+ will convene and support the ES community to deliver societal impact through technological breakthroughs, generating further value from the UKRI ES portfolio. It will be a secure and inclusive eco-system for researchers in ES & related fields to access, innovate, build and grow their UK and international networks. It is distinctive from the current Supergen Storage Hub: We have a PI with non-electrochemical background, an expanded investigator team with complementary expertise in energy network integration, mechanical and inter-seasonal thermal ES, hybrid storage with digital knowledge, cold storage, transport with ES integration, ES materials measurement & imaging and social science with policy implications. Early career researchers will hold key positions within the ES-Network+ and we will underpin all of our work with EDI values. We will develop an authoritative whitepaper for steering ES related decision-making, giving an overview of the ES community and a technical view on how ES research should be steered going forward. The team is extremely well-connected to the ES industry and the wider energy community and has secured 57 supporting organisations, including energy production, transmission, distribution & network operation, specialist aggregators of heat & power, storage technology developers and integrators; ES related manufacturers, ES related recycling; and research institutes/centres/hubs/networks/associations both nationally and internationally. The supporting organisations also bring in a significant amount of extra resources to ensure a successful delivery of the ES-Network+.