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 ✉ e-mail me
đź“ž + 44 7587 159 875
 ✉ e-mail me
đź“ž + 44 7587 159 875

My Experience

Owner and founding Director of Lithiumionsafety Ltd.

Professor of Pure and Applied Electrochemistry, Newcastle University, UK 2004 – 2024: Professor Emeritus 2024 –

View my presentation at the Motorola Foundation-funded AFAC Knowledge Event, 2022

Awards

2003

SPE Polymer Analysis Division Netzsch Instruments Frank Giblin Award in Polymer Analysis.

2021

Learning Pool Awards, Judges Impact Award  for saving a life. Ben Quail of the National Fire Chiefs Council led a team including myself in creating a digital learning package on EV fires and explosions.

2022

Motorola Foundations Knowledge Event Series award from the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council for lecture tour of Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand.

2023

Faraday Institution Public Engagement Award for “Outstanding contributions to communicate our research on battery safety to the wider scientific community, first responders, policy makers and the general public”.

2024

Electrical Safety First Safety Innovation Award for ..“its valuable and detailed scientific research, and ….engagement with first responders”.

Other recognition

Recognised as National Expert by CEN.

My research team is recognised as the first to link vapour cloud explosions to lithium-ion battery energy storage systems.

Formal Positions

  • Senior Advisor to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).
  • Special Advisor to Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (FRS).
  • Advisor to the UK Faraday Battery Challenge on lithium-ion safety.
  • Subject Matter Expert, DSTL.
  • Advisory Board Next-Ion.

Academic

  • Over 39 years as an academic electrochemist.
  • Over 180 papers in international, peer reviewed journals, H-index of 57.
  • Editorial Board member, Nature Special Reports, Invited Guest Editor for Nature Scientific Reports Collection on Solid-State Batteries, June 2024.

Working groups

  • UK CAA Flight Operations Stakeholder Working Group
  • Technical Expert Advisory Group for M/V Genius Star XI ship fire incident. Dec 23/Jan 24.
  • Invited member of CEN/TC 191/WG 6 (fixed firefighting systems), CEN/TC 191/WG 6 (Gas extinguishing Systems) and FSH/18/6/2 “Automatic fire extinguishing test protocol for fires of Lithium-Ion batteries”.
  • FSH/2/-/20 Project group for Lithium/Ion battery and SGG/0 Energy Storage Health and Safety Governance Group.
  • Cross-government Technical Steering Group for EV fire safety.
  • MoD Battery Safety Standards Working Group.
  • Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue Service and Envision-AESC Gigafactory Fire Safety Group.
    • UK Energy Storage Health and Safety Governance Group.
    • BSI PAS 63100 (domestic energy storage systems) Steering Group.
    • BSI Review Group (RG) to develop a BSI base document on the storage of Lithium-ion battery cells, modules and packs.
    • BSI FSH/2/-/20 – Working Group (lithium-ion battery extinguishers).
    • Chamber of Shipping Lithium-ion Batteries Working Group.
    • London Fire Brigade Stored Energy & Zero Emission Pump Appliance Working Groups.
    • Special Interest Group of the Fire Industry Association.
    • UK FRS National Operational Learning User Group.
    • Derbyshire Police Electric Vehicle Safety Working Group.
    • Tyne & Wear FRS and AESC Gigafactory working group.

    Informal advice and assistance 

    • Provided training to UK and World Rescue Organisations.
    • UK Americas Cup team re portable LiBESS.
    • Informal advice on regular basis to DfT and OZEV.
    • I manage a network of over 200 members that reaches all UK, Australian and New Zealand FRS, as well as UK Government departments/ministries, and safety institutions including IFV Netherlands and INERIS in France, in order to exchange experience, information and advice on all aspects of lithium-ion battery fire safety.
    • Assisted the NFCC in preparing guidelines on EV firefighting in the National Operation Guidance (NOG) system. Assisting with updating of online digital training packaged re LiB fires.
    • Many invitations to address national and international conferences.

    Consultancy includes

    • Danko Meredith class action vs Vistra Corp.
    • Airport electrification risk assessment: East Midlands & Bristol Airports.
    • Canal & Riverboats Trust.
    • Freelance Consultant to Burgoynes – multiple projects including Felicity Ace & Fremantle Highway marine incidents and electric bus collision.
    • NSW Health and Australian Building Codes Board re EV charging.
    • Current projects with TfL (eBuses), HS2 (eHGVs), Eurotunnel and multiple grid-scale battery energy storage developers.
    • Freelance consultant to a number of international companies in a range of industries including: grid scale battery storage developers and owners, insurance, civil engineering, fire detection & suppression, mining, EV production, chemical production and international government organisations.
    • Commissioned by UK Office for Product and Safety Standards & BEIS to research the Safety of Second Life Batteries in Domestic Battery Energy Storage Systems: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-of-second-life-batteries-in-battery-energy-storage-systems.
    • Advised Nissan on all aspects of lithium-ion battery safety for three years from 2010/2011 during the construction of the battery plant and have maintained excellent working relationship since. Provided advice to Nissan in Milton Keynes re EV post-crash safety. PAC also has an excellent relationship with Envision-AESC (now AESC), who bought the Nissan battery plant a few years ago.
    • Assessed planning applications for grid-scale lithium-ion battery energy storage systems in the UK and abroad on the basis of safety systems, access, emergency response plans etc.

    Experiments

    • Experiments carried out on the thermal runaway and ignition of electric vehicle modules at the DNV GL site in RAF Spadeadam and the Fire Services College.  

    • Both in collaboration with Draeger, DNV GL, Envision-AESC, London, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland FRS, and King’s College London.  Observers from the HSE, Transport for London, a range of first responder organisations, lithium-ion battery manufacturers & assemblers and other related industrial companies.

    • Training video[1] produced during the FSC experiments funded by LFB, the Met Police and Transport for London, this is now available to all FRS via a Digital Learning Package created by the National Fire Chiefs Council with further input from myself.  Training videos recorded for the Fire Services College and the UK Rescue Organisation.

    • Further experiments carried out over 3 weeks in April and May 2021 on modules and packs in collaboration with Nissan & with observers from HSE. 

    • Experiments carried out in March 2022 testing “lithium-ion battery-specific” fire extinguishers & ongoing.

    • Experiments with DSTL/MoD throughout 2022 and continuing.

    • Ongoing experiments with Akzo Nobel on passive fire protection systems.

    • Test on fire extingusihers for 10 kWh domestic BESS 3 weeks Feb/March 2024.

       

      [1] https://vimeo.com/440839570 Password: Lithium1