Long duration storage

About us

Long-duration energy storage (LDES) is a broad research theme that is pivotal to the achievement of Net Zero. It concerns electricity generation, hydrogen and de-fossilised fuels at a time where energy infrastructure, policy and investment are going through a radical transformation.

The meteoric rise of wind and solar assets globally and the implication of being in an intermittent energy infrastructure is a huge challenge with far-reaching research opportunities. This research theme aims to capitalise on Lancaster University’s LDES expertise, position it within the funding and policy landscape to formulate a roadmap for future projects and programmes and correspondingly establish strategic cross-disciplinary collaborations.

Theme lead

Professor Kathryn Toghill

Professor in Sustainable Electrochemistry and Energy Materials

Renewable energy sources have advanced tremendously in the past 20 years, but these developments are fundamentally limited by a lack of suitable long duration energy storage systems. My research aims to further harness intermittent wind and solar generation by developing flexible, low-cost electrochemical energy storage systems (i.e. redox flow batteries) and explore electrochemically generated "green" fuels (hydrogen, CO₂ reduction). My focus is on creating sustainable versions of these technologies, using low cost, environmentally friendly and abundant materials that have long-term potential as viable energy carriers in the future global energy network. Beyond energy I also look at transformative electrochemical health care platforms, looking to advance disease diagnostics.