Call for Expressions of Interest for new Faraday Institution project Ultrastore

The Faraday Institution is adding a Transformational Challenge programme to its research portfolio.

Applications should be submitted by 11:59pm, on 25 April 2025 via Flexigrant.

The Faraday Institution is adding a Transformational Challenge programme to its research portfolio. These Challenges will target energy storage application challenges that have extraordinary impact potential, and where there are currently only conceptional solutions or ideas at the very earliest stages of research and development.

The first Transformational Challenge will be to develop ultra-low cost long duration energy storage solutions and will be known as UltraStore.

The Faraday Institution intends to fund up to two large research projects from April 2026. The Institution invites expressions of interest from individuals and small teams to work closely as Research Consultants with the Institution in 2025 to formulate and develop novel methods, approaches and radical ideas in a Co-creation and Planning phase of work ahead of the large research projects.

The Faraday Institution is seeking ideas for projects that look beyond incremental improvement of existing storage technologies, and instead consider new possibilities that have not yet been the subject of significant research, let alone commercial development.

Scope

All energy storage types (electrochemical, electrical, thermal, mechanical, chemical energy storage or other) are in scope, provided that the technology meets the Technology Specification. Applications are encouraged from as wide a field of disciplines as possible.

Output

The outputs of this Co-creation and Planning phase of work will be 3-4 year research project roadmaps, along with detailed 12-month work plans and high-level IP and commercialisation strategies.