Our research is underpinned by the strong collaborative nature of our work ethics, where cross-disciplinary studies allow for a thorough understanding of the materials under examination. Our students are supported throughout their time in the group by established study groups, which focus on specific areas of interest and take place on a weekly basis. In addition, we get together once a week with other groups in the inorganic division to share our work, and have regular group meetings to share our experiences, creating a robust support network. This approach ensures that we invest in the core professional development of the individual, uphold a highly skilled and motivated group as a whole, and push boundaries to work at the frontiers of modern materials research.

The overarching goal of our research is to develop sustainable materials for energy and climate. Achieving stable, adequate and sustainable energy supplies is essential for humanity. At the core of every sustainable energy technology there is a material that is responsible for the basic mechanism in converting or storing energy. However, many so-called green energy technologies rely on a plentiful supply of critical raw materials, many toxic to the environment, extracted with great difficulties from the Earth’s subsurface, often requiring extensive processing to purify, and, perhaps most crucially, becoming increasingly scarce and vulnerable to supply disruptions. In other words, many of the current materials making sustainable energy are not themselves sustainable. It is our ambition to contribute to true sustainability by performing world class research merging materials fabrication, application and recovery.