Professor Martin Freer joined the Faraday Institution as CEO in September 2024. Contact online >>
Professor Martin Freer joined the Faraday Institution as CEO in September 2024.
Professor Freer is a nuclear physicist. Between 2015 and 2024 he served as the Director of the Birmingham Energy Institute (BEI) at the University of Birmingham, a pan-discipline research centre with research activities from hydrogen, energy storage and battery technologies, through to nuclear energy, which is focused on creating technology and guiding policy that will shape future energy solutions. He also served as Director of the Energy Research Accelerator (which comprises eight internationally renowned Midlands universities that are part of the Midlands Innovation partnership, together with the British Geological Survey) delivering a £200m programme to accelerate university research into regional, national and international impact linked to 1,400 researchers.
Previously, Martin was Director of the Birmingham Centre for Nuclear Education and Research, which he established in 2010. He oversaw the development of the BEI and helped establish Energy Capital (a regional energy partnership for the West Midlands that brings the public and private sectors together to deliver place-based energy solutions). He also co-led the establishment of the joint University of Birmingham–Fraunhofer Germany research platform, the development of the Birmingham Energy Innovation Hub, and the co-development of Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham.
In 2015 Professor Freer co-led the BEI Commission "Doing Cold Smarter" chaired by Lord Teverson. From 2012 he led or co led a number of Birmingham Policy Commission reports including "Future of Nuclear Energy in the UK" and "Pathways for Local Heat Delivery" and he has championed the establishment of a National Centre for the Decarbonisation of Heat. Professor Freer also co-led the Policy Commission with Sir David King, which saw the creation of Energy Innovation Zone in the West Midlands.
His main research area is the study of the structure of light nuclei, using nuclear reactions. He received the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Prize, Humboldt Foundation, in 2004 and the Rutherford Medal from the Institute of Physics in 2010.
Matt Howard is the Chief Strategy Officer for the Faraday Institution. He is responsible for working with the Executive Team to drive the organisation’s overall strategic direction. He oversees a portfolio that includes developing and stewarding new strategic partnerships, international and government relations and relationships that build the Faraday Institution’s impact, visibility, value, thought leadership and longevity.
Matt is a thirty-year veteran in communications and engagement, specialising in research communications for some of the world’s leading universities and scientific institutions, including the University of Chicago, University of Michigan and Columbia University among others.
For a decade, he served as the Chief Communications Officer and director of the communications, education and public affairs division for the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, where he was responsible for communicating the distinctive scientific culture and the ground-breaking impacts of one of the largest science and engineering research laboratories in the US. In this capacity, he was responsible for communications strategy, brand and visual identity, media relations, crisis communications, internal communications, educational programmes and community engagement.
He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a master’s degree from Miami University, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester.
Prior to joining the Faraday Institution, Susan was Chief Financial Officer of Velocys, the AIM-listed renewable fuels company, a position she held for 10 years through the company''s transformational years from early stage start-up to the point of having a commercial plant in operation. Prior to that, she was at the BOC Group (now Linde Group) where she held various senior-level financial management and business development positions in the UK and in Japan. Susan helped to set up and then, from 2003 to 2006, served as Vice President and CFO of Japan Air Gases (JAG), a joint venture between The BOC Group and Air Liquide.
Susan has an honours degree in economics from the University of Cambridge and is a chartered accountant (FCA) having originally trained with Arthur Andersen in London.
Professor Sir Peter Bruce FRS is a founder and Chief Scientist of the Faraday Institution. He is also leading the research project on solid state batteries and a member of the senior leadership team of the solid-state battery commercialisation initiative. He is the Wolfson Professor of Materials at the University of Oxford as well as Physical Secretary and Vice-President of the Royal Society. In this year’s Birthday Honours List, Peter received a knighthood for his services to science and innovation.
Peter’s research interests embrace materials chemistry and electrochemistry, especially lithium and sodium batteries. Recent efforts have focused on the synthesis and understanding of new anionic redox cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries,, the challenges of the lithium-air battery and understanding the processes taking place in solid-state batteries.
His research has been recognised by a number of awards and fellowships, including from the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the German Chemical Society and The Electrochemical Society. In June 2022 he received the RSC’s Longstaff prize for pioneering research on the chemistry of materials with applications in renewable energy. He was elected to the Royal Society (UK Academy of Sciences) in 2007 and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (Scottish Academy of Sciences) in 1994. He has appeared on the Thomson Reuters/Clarivate list of highly cited researchers since 2015.
Ian joined the Faraday Institution after six years in central government where he worked on designing and implementing innovation programmes in the energy sector. He was responsible for the government''s energy innovation programme in the Department of Energy and Climate Change and continued in the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as Head of Disruptive Energy Technologies and Green Finance Innovation.
Ian is an engineer who graduated from University of Cambridge with an M.Eng. in Manufacturing Engineering in 1993 and is now an experienced technical manager who has worked with small, medium and large corporates, academia and government. His early career was spent working on Gas Turbine engines with the Ministry of Defence before moving to project management at QinetiQ where he was responsible for research programme management and delivery of the large test programmes. He left QinetiQ to join Meggitt Defence Systems that developed and operated new technical products. As UK General Manager Ian set up and ran a new R&D and manufacturing facility.
Stephen Gifford joined the Faraday Institution in March 2019. His focus is on making the organisation the go-to place for insights into the technological, economic and social benefits of batteries and electrical energy storage. He is developing techno-economic models of supply, demand and cost, covering both global and the UK markets.
Stephen has around 30 years of economics experience, including as the Chief Economist at Grant Thornton, the Director of Economics at the CBI and as a senior economist at KPMG, Oxford Economics, Civil Aviation Authority and the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. Stephen is currently also a Non-Executive Director of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and member of the Regulatory Policy Committee.
Stephen brings particular skills and expertise in economic policy, transport economics, infrastructure, market assessment and the role of the public sector. He has a first-class degree in Economics from the University of Liverpool and a MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics from the London School of Economics.
Since 2021, Nick has served as the Commercialisation Director of the Faraday Institution.
Prior to this, 2015 Nick set up the Energy Systems Catapult on behalf of UK Government. He was an Executive Director there for 5 years, helping to build it into a £20m, 200 staff organisation. His achievements included enabling the Catapult to leverage and acquire the Energy Technologies Institute’s 10-year legacy including its Strategic Analysis capabilities and the Smart Systems and Heat Programme and also supporting the origination of the Industrial Strategy PFER programme.
In 2008 Nick co-founded and was CEO of PowerOasis Ltd, a spin-out from Motorola. PowerOasis developed energy solutions for telecoms networks in parts of the works where the electricity grid is unreliable or unavailable. Nick built the company into a micro multinational with business in Asia, Africa, Europe and the US before exiting after securing a large round of venture capital investment to further grow the company.
In 2002 Nick co-founded and was MD of SETsquared, the leading global technology accelerator that works with the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey. SETsquared has supported over 4,000 entrepreneurs and helped raise over £1.8bn of venture investment.
James Gaade joined the Faraday Institution as Research Programme Director in April 2021, focusing on research portfolio delivery and working with the Expert Panel, industry and the wider team on the organisation''s research priorities and direction.
James has led an independent consultancy, working with clients across electrified propulsion systems in research and technology delivery. He previously worked for Jaguar Land Rover for 20 years on vehicle propulsion systems in various leadership roles in product engineering, research and technology and commercially in product marketing, with his last role as the Head of Powertrain Research and Technology.
James is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering and a member of the Department for Transport Science Advisory Council that provides strategic level scientific advice and challenge to the DfT. He graduated from De Montfort University with a B.Eng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and from Loughborough University with an MSc in Automotive Systems Engineering.
Emily Baird joined the Faraday Institution in December 2022 as Events Manager, leading the delivery of the Faraday Institution''s Conference and annual events calendar.
Emily has 10 years'' event management experience. Before this role she oversaw the scientific and technical events portfolio at Diamond Light Source, the UK''s national synchrotron, delivering up to 40 in-person and online events per year including international conferences, workshops, training courses and networking events. Prior to that, she was a Senior Events Manager for The Sunday Times Fast Track, which organised awards dinners for Founders and CEOs of UK private companies, and has also managed events for a not-for-profit life sciences membership organisation.
Emily holds a degree in English Literature, Communications and Culture from Keele University.
Andrew joined the Faraday Institution in July 2023 as the International R&D Partnerships Manager. His focus is on leading the Ayrton Challenge on Energy Storage which will convene, coordinate and collaborate with other government programmes. The challenge aims to create and commercialise innovative battery technologies and associated business models for fossil fuel generator displacement and mobility applications in developing countries, to expand and accelerate the clean energy transition. This includes leading the delivery of an RD&D programme to reduce the cost and improve the performance of battery energy storage system technologies for use in these regions.
Prior to joining the Faraday Institution, Andrew enjoyed a near 27-year career at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK''s national measurement institute. There he held a number of technical and managerial roles, most recently as the Group Leader for the Electrochemistry Group. Here he led a group of 20 scientists and engineers who apply world-leading measurement techniques to help improve the performance, safety and lifetime of materials and devices important for the energy transition, including batteries, fuel cells and electrolysers. In 2019 he was seconded to both the Faraday Institution and the Global Battery Alliance.
A physicist, who holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Applied Physics from the University of Portsmouth, Andrew''s technical expertise is in spectrometry, specifically the measurement of the transmittance, reflectance, and colour of materials.
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