Dr Lizzie Ashton is one of 24 outstanding early-career researchers awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship this year. The fellowship programme is supported by the Department for Business and Trade, UK Research and Innovation and the Government Office for Science. Lizzie will use her five-year fellowship to advance her work on battery-electrolyser systems for renewable energy storage and green hydrogen production.
Her fellowship project, AIM-Hy: Advanced Imaging and Materials Development for Hydrogen Production from Battery-Electrolyser Systems, will investigate the materials and processes needed to improve the performance and scale-up of systems that can store renewable electricity and produce green hydrogen within a single device.
Battery-electrolysers combine renewable energy storage and green hydrogen production in a single system. The technology could help make better use of wind and solar power while supporting more flexible and reliable energy systems.
Lizzie completed both her degree and PhD in Chemistry at Loughborough University. She then moved into engineering through her postdoctoral work, taking responsibility for the chemistry within the battery-electrolyser programme. Her research focuses on keeping the hydrogen and oxygen produced by the system safely separated. Her work also covers materials compatibility, catalysis and the safe scale-up of the technology.
Lizzie said: “This fellowship gives me the opportunity to build on our work developing the battery-electrolyser and investigate the materials and processes needed for it to operate safely and effectively on a larger scale. I’m looking forward to developing my own programme of research and contributing to more flexible renewable energy systems and wider access to clean energy.”
Lizzie has played a leading role in developing EnerHy’s hydrogen exhibits and presenting its research to public audiences, including at the Festival of Tomorrow and the Royal Society’s Summer Science on Tour at Jodrell Bank. She has also mentored EnerHy researchers in explaining their work clearly and answering questions from different audiences.
Lizzie will also be joining the EnerHy management team to support the Centre’s outreach activities and help its researchers communicate their work to public audiences.
The award follows Lizzie’s appointment to a permanent lectureship at Loughborough University. The fellowship will support five years of independent research and the next stage of her career as a research leader. Since 1999, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Research Fellowships have supported almost 300 early-career researchers.
Congratulations from everyone at EnerHy, Lizzie!