Parliamentary Drop-In Session | Supergen Energy Storage and Networks for Net Zero. Hosted by Supergen Energy Storage.
Net Zero Week in Parliament is openly inviting MPs and policy aides, Peers and civil servants to attend events between Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th July.
Please feel free to drop-in and speak to the team. For more information, feel free to email the host Lada Zimina at L.zimina@bham.ac.uk
Drop-in details:
Tuesday 8th July 2025 | 10:45 – 12:15 | Room U, Portcullis House.
Drop-in synopsis:
Energy storage technologies have emerged as a cornerstone of modern energy systems that can enhance system flexibility, reliability and efficiency. Energy storage solutions of different scales (20kW to 10MW), durations (seconds to weeks/months), types (electrochemical, thermal, thermochemical, mechanical) and modalities (stationary or mobile) will have a range of applications across industries and networks. This will significantly impact the electricity, gas and heat network infrastructure, with increased focus on resilience against climate events and economic impacts. With Supergen industry-focussed hubs serving as focal points for energy research across the UK, the session will bring together key experts across the sector.
*This event is Sponsored by Will Stone MP.
Experts:
Yulong Ding, Founding Chamberlain Chair of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham.
Prof. Ding is founder of the Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage and director of Supergen Energy Storage Network+. He published close to 500 academic articles and registered more than 100 patents related to energy storage and industrial decarbonisation. His inventions include Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) and developments in composite phase change materials for heat storage and cold-chain transportation. His recent awards include IChemE Clean Energy Medal in 2021, J&E Hall Gold Medal in 2023 and Humboldt Research Award in 2024. He was elected to a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020.
Seamus Garvey, Professor of Dynamics and Director of the Rolls-Royce UTC in Gas Turbine Transmission Systems, University of Nottingham.
Prof. Garvey’s work is focussed on integrating energy storage into modern energy systems to help accommodate high penetrations of renewable energy. He leads a task group on medium-duration energy storage for the IEA technology collaboration programme and is a sought-after expert on hydrogen storage in caverns. He is especially motivated by integrating energy storage directly with wind turbines, a topic of particular relevance for the UK. He also serves as Chief Technology Officer at Cheesecake Energy Ltd, a company developing advanced thermal and compressed air energy storage systems.
Grant Wilson, Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham.
Dr. Wilson specialises in transforming energy data into insights across various scales and energy types. With extensive experience in energy systems across natural gas, electrical, and liquid fuel energy data, his work spans from national to local energy systems. Recent projects have expanded to include geographical information analysis, meteorological data and larger datasets with greater detail on timescales and locations, addressing the challenge of providing energy system flexibility without relying on fossil fuels. He also serves as a Co-Director of the Birmingham Energy Institute and Chair of the recently created NESO Gas Advisory Council.
Sara Walker, Professor of Energy and Director of Birmingham Energy Institute, University of Birmingham.
Prof. Walker has been working in the energy sector since 1996, with a career spanning industry and academia. Her research focus is on renewable energy and energy efficiency in buildings, energy policy, energy resilience, and more recently she has focused on whole energy systems. She is Director of the EPSRC Hub on Hydrogen Integration for Accelerated Energy Transitions (HI-ACT), and Co-Director of the EPSRC Energy Demand Research Centre. She is an Advisory Committee Member for the UK Energy Research Centre and the UK CCS Research Centre, and also contributes to the EPSRC Scientific Advisory Committee for Energy and Decarbonisation.
Haris Patsios, Professor in Smart Energy Systems and Director of the Centre for Energy, Newcastle University.
Prof. Patsios is co-director of Supergen Energy Storage Network+ and EPSRC Centre for Energy Systems Integration. He has significant experience in the design, modelling and control of electrical power systems including energy storage, renewables and power electronics. His research involves the development of models, grid interfaces and control techniques for energy systems. His engagements with industry include Digitalised and Decarbonised Port Transition Roadmap for the Port of Tyne, Siemens Mindsphere Applications Centre for Batteries, and Customer-led Distribution System with Northern Powergrid.
Daniel L. Donaldson, Assistant Professor in Electrical Power Systems, University of Birmingham.
Dr. Donaldson is Deputy Head of the Resilient Systems and Climate Action research group at the University of Birmingham. He leads interdisciplinary research to support the design and operation of resilient energy networks and is a co-investigator of the Supergen Energy Networks Hub. In 2011-18 he worked for one of the largest US electric utilities in California, before completing his PhD at the University of Birmingham in 2018-22. He is also Chair of the UK and Ireland IEEE Power and Energy Society chapter.
Attendance:
Please feel free to drop-in and speak to the team. For more information, feel free to email the host Lada Zimina at L.zimina@bham.ac.uk
