Centre for Advanced Materials for Integrated Energy Systems (CAM-IES)

The Centre of Advanced Materials for Integrated Energy Systems (CAM-IES) is a partnership between four UK universities, Cambridge, Newcastle, Queen Mary and University College London, focused on the development of advanced materials for energy conversion and energy storage based on solid-state, higher voltage, and flow batteries, solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), CO2 gas separation membranes, hybrid thin film photovoltaics (PVs) and large-area thermoelectrics for future renewable and clean energy systems. The overarching goal of CAM-IES it to help build a UK-wide community of cross-disciplinary materials researchers focused on energy applications. We target off-grid/grid-tied applications, large-/grid-scale centralised energy generation and storage and energy solutions for mobile internet communication technologies. CAM-IES will provide a forum for scientific collaboration and exchange as well as access to state-of-the art characterisation and growth equipment to the wider UK energy materials community, in particular the unique facilities of the Sir Henry Royce Institute currently being installed in Cambridge. We exploit currently unexplored synergies between these different energy fields, and combine fundamental energy materials research aimed at making significant scientific breakthroughs, including, discovery of new materials, understanding and controlling interfaces, novel integrated device concepts, achieving enhanced device performances, all with strong industry engagement. The latter will include early shaping workshops with industrial partners to identify requirements for materials in specific applications and the establishment of effective methods for evaluating new materials discoveries for industrial scale-up. The research programmes are focused around six work packages (WPs), aimed at addressing key scientific challenges for each of the devices, e.g., ionic transport across interfaces in solid state batteries and SOFCs membranes, increased efficiency in PVs, and methods for self-assembly in thermoelectrics. WP6 directly attacks the challenges associated with the integration of new materials into working devices and optimising their performance. An overarching theme is to pioneer new metrologies to characterise interfaces under operando conditions, including NMR, magnetic resonance imaging and transmission electron microscopy and pulsed isotope exchange methods. Integration of different devices is enabled by the development of a bespoke tool to enable the controlled deposition and integration of a wide range of low-temperature battery, SOFC, solar cell and thermoelectric materials in a common, inert processing environment. The scope of the work and academic/industrial participation with be expanded via three flexible funding calls, with topics including emerging new research areas, industry driven/partnered, and materials integration research. We will provide UK academia and businesses with a forum for knowledge exchange and collaboration, coupled with access to world-class facilities to accelerate new concepts to commercial reality. The development of strong modes of collaborative working and networking between individual EPSRC Centres for Advanced Materials for Energy Generation and Transmission, together with our University partners, industry and stakeholder groups, is an important goal. A series of high visibility symposia and workshops involving all the stakeholders, to identify synergies between the EPSRC Advanced Materials Centres and key industry challenges, to disseminate research findings to the community and to train users on CAM-IES facilities, is a key strategy to identify and engage users and disseminate results. We will provide support for students and PDRAs from outside the 4 original partner universities to attend these events and use CAM-IES equipment. Strategic advice to Centre will be provided by a broad and highly experienced, international advisory board from industry and academia.