UK battery research body the Faraday Institution appointed a new CEO, Prof. Martin Freer. He takes up his position on 2 September.
Prof. Sir Steven Cowley, Chair Elect of the Faraday Institution, said: “In Martin Freer, the organisation has found a proven leader and scientist who knows first-hand what it takes to work with industry and policymakers to translate research into future energy technologies on the ground.”
Freer, a nuclear physicist, said energy storage will play a huge role in the future technology mix. Since 2015 he has been director of the Birmingham Energy Institute at the University of Birmingham, a pan-discipline research centre with research activities including hydrogen, energy storage and battery technologies.
He has also been director of the Energy Research Accelerator (comprising eight Midlands universities in the Midlands Innovation partnership, together with the British Geological Survey) delivering a £200 million ($254 million) programme of university research.
He was formerly director of the Birmingham Centre for Nuclear Education and Research, a body he established in 2010 and co-led the establishment of the joint University of Birmingham – Fraunhofer Germany research platform. He has held other research and energy-related positions.
