We are excited to invite you to the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, a free public event showcasing the latest scientific advancements! Queen Mary University of London’s Dr Maria Crespo, a lecturer in Green Energy, will be exhibiting their groundbreaking work on sustainable battery technology.
Dr Maria Crespo leads a team developing techniques to transform plastic packaging, food scraps, and even used tires into components for a new generation of batteries at Queen Mary’s School of Materials Science and Engineering. These sustainable alternatives aim to address the environmental and geopolitical concerns associated with traditional lithium-ion battery materials.
The reliance on lithium-ion batteries for powering everything from phones to large-scale electricity grids presents challenges. Dr Crespo estimates that for the UK to meet the 2050 energy storage requirements projected by the National Grid with lithium-ion batteries alone, would require lithium equivalent to 14 times the weight of The Shard, London.
But the critical elements used in lithium-ion batteries are relatively scarce. Lithium accounts for just 0.002% of the Earth’s crust and often elements like nickel and cobalt are scarce and often sourced from environmentally sensitive or politically unstable regions.
Dr Crespo's team is exploring promising avenues:
- Utilising waste tyre particles to create parts for sodium-ion batteries, a more sustainable alternative, in collaboration with The Tyre Collective.
- Converting waste nylon packaging and other plastics into components for lithium-ion batteries, reducing reliance on virgin graphite.
- Developing lithium-sulfur batteries using lignin, a waste product from paper manufacturing, as a replacement for harmful cathode materials.
Dates: July 2nd - 7th, 2024
Location: 6 – 9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG
Free Entry
Meet Dr Crespo and her team, learn about their revolutionary battery research, and even try your hand at building your own battery!