EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Energy Storage and its Applications

The UK is building a centre to train the next generation of researchers who will design the batteries, thermal stores, and other devices that make renewable energy usable on demand. This matters because wind and solar power are intermittent—they generate electricity only when the wind blows or the sun shines. Without ways to store that energy, grids cannot rely on them as primary power sources. The same problem applies to homes with rooftop solar panels and to electric vehicles that need to replace petrol engines. Energy storage is not a single technology; it includes electrochemical batteries, supercapacitors, mechanical storage, thermal storage, and superconducting magnetic storage. Each has different strengths, and no single solution fits all applications. If the centre succeeds, it will produce dozens of highly trained specialists who can move into industry, academia, and policy. They will have hands-on experience with a grid-connected lithium-ion battery and direct contact with industrial partners. Over time, this pipeline of expertise could help the UK become a major player in a global energy storage industry that will employ hundreds of thousands of people. The research projects themselves will advance fundamental understanding of how to store and release both electrical and thermal energy more efficiently.