Faraday Institution Industry Sprints

Faraday Institution Industry Sprints

Offers short-term battery-industry projects addressing concrete technical challenges with direct company partnerships.

Faraday Institution Industry Sprints are short-term, continuously open research projects designed to address specific technical challenges of direct benefit to the UK battery industry. The Faraday Institution, the UK's independent institute for electrochemical energy storage research, convenes more than 500 researchers across 25 UK universities and engages 148 UK industry partners; Industry Sprints sit within the broader portfolio of mechanisms — alongside Industry Fellowships, Entrepreneurial Fellowships, and multi-year named research projects — through which FI accelerates knowledge transfer between its academic network and industry. The Institution is funded through the Faraday Battery Challenge via UKRI/EPSRC and Innovate UK, which represents £190 million or more of the £610 million programme.

Sprints are distinguished from the Institution's larger research projects (typically £3–10 million, three-year consortia) by their shorter duration and more applied, industry-defined scope. They are intended to provide rapid-turnaround research capacity to UK battery manufacturers, cell developers, and supply chain companies seeking evidence-based answers to immediate process, materials, or performance questions. Calls are listed as open continuously on the Faraday Institution opportunities index; award amounts and specific project durations are not published at programme level and are confirmed per call. Applications are submitted via the Flexi-Grant portal, and applicants must be affiliated with UK universities or research organisations that meet UKRI/EPSRC eligibility requirements.

The strongest Sprint applicants enter with a clearly articulated industry problem — typically one that falls within the Faraday Institution's three research strands covering materials and pack design, sustainable manufacture and recycling, or next-generation demonstrator technologies — and an established relationship with a UK industry partner willing to co-define the research question. Individuals and institutions interested in current Sprint briefs should contact the Faraday Institution at Harwell Campus, Didcot, or monitor faraday.ac.uk/opportunities/ for active call documentation.