Advancing battery research for real-world impact

Rao, Harding Lecturer in Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory, is one of the 102 successful frontier researchers to receive the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) funding in the third and final competition round of 2023.

Worth €150,000, the recent ERC grant will help Rao and his group bridge the gap between the results of their pioneering research on battery material development and the early phases of its commercialisation. The Proof of Concept Grants are designed to enable researchers to take an idea from the lab into the world of business and to transform ground-breaking research into tangible innovations. The grant scheme is part of the EU’s research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe.

One of the keys to creating a cleaner and more sustainable energy system is improved battery storage. Scientists worldwide are working hard to improve batteries so they can store more energy, charge faster, and last longer. To do this, Rao’s group is exploring how batteries charge and discharge, and what makes them age and wear out. The project called OptoBAT, which will be supported with this grant, will develop a new microscopy platform to help accelerate this research for both industry and academia. OptoBAT uses charge photometry to rapidly identify which materials have the right properties to reduce the effects of aging and capacity loss in batteries.

Rao’s group specialises in studying a variety of materials, such as those used in solar cells, batteries, and LEDs, to gain insights into their behaviour at the nanoscale and to radically improve energy technology. With OptoBat, Rao and his team are hoping to make charge photometry an indispensable part of battery research and an accelerant for the development of new battery technologies for a greener future.

Rao is the co-founder of two companies: Cambridge Photon Technology, which is developing next-generation materials designed to increase the performance of existing silicon solar panels, and Illumion, which develops highthroughput optical tools to accelerate battery material development.

Find out more about Akshay Rao’s research at rao.oe.phy.cam.ac.uk.