Keynote Speakers


Prof. Petra Cameron
University of Bath, UK

Petra is a Professor of Energy Materials at the University of Bath. She is an electrochemist whose research focuses on the advanced characterisation of perovskite solar cells, as well as on the development, preparation, and characterisation of new energy materials and electrochemical systems. She is currently the Director of Research in her Department and leads the internationally recognised Bath Electrochemistry and Impedance Schools. She is a core member of the Bath Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change, she is also the secretary of the Royal Society of Chemistry Electrochemistry Interest Group. 


Prof. Elizabeth A. Gibson
Newcastle University, UK

Libby is a Professor of Energy Materials at Newcastle University. Research in her group focuses on developing materials and devices for sustainable power, fuel and feedstocks. This involves materials development, device assembly and characterization of the underpinning photophysics and electrochemistry. Her current roles include being the academic lead for the Northern Net Zero Accelerator PB-IAA, the EPSRC Northeast Transient Absorption Spectroscopy & Microscopy Facility, Institution Director of the EPSRC CDT Renewable Energy at Northeast Universities (ReNU and ReNU+), and she is the engagement lead for the UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy. Libby is the Co-Director of Post-graduate Research in the School of Natural and Environmental Science at Newcastle University. 


Dr. Jessica Higgins
Amentum, UK

Jess is a Senior Nuclear Engineer at Amentum UK with over 10 years’ experience in the nuclear energy sector. In her current role, Jess provides independent assurance and technical advice to support the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deliver and maintain their fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Jess has worked on the Naval Nuclear programme since 2021 and specialises in reactor plant chemistry and core materials corrosion.

Prior to joining the world of nuclear submarines, Jess completed a PhD at the University of Manchester on the corrosion of spent nuclear fuel under long-term storage conditions. This work involved the manufacture of uranium dioxide fuel pellets which were exposed to a gamma radiation field under simulated groundwater conditions. Jess does not miss working in a glovebox! 

Jess is a Chartered Chemist, mentor and active member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. She has served as Chair of the Energy Sector interest group of the RSC since 2023 providing a steer on all Energy Sector events, bursaries and awards. Under Jess’ leadership, the Energy Sector has grown to over 2,800 members and remains the largest interest group at the RSC.


Prof. Emma Kendrick
University of Birmingham, UK

Emma's research focuses on the design and development of sustainable battery technologies and chemistries. Materials lifecycle, from raw material to component, manufacturing, lifetime, and recycling. Prior to academia, she led innovations in the battery industry, as Chief Technologist in Energy Storage at SHARP Laboratories of Europe Ltd (SLE) and as Lead Scientist of two lithium-ion battery SMEs, Fife Batteries Ltd and Surion Energy Ltd. Her work on battery parameterisation was spun out into a company, About: Energy, in 2021, and is currently chair of their scientific advisory board. Prof Kendrick holds a PhD from Keele University, obtained as part of a postgraduate transfer partnership (PTP) scheme with CERAM Research, an MSc in new materials from the University of Aberdeen and a BSc in chemistry from the University of Manchester. She has been recognised for her research in sustainable batteries, including, as part of RELIB, the 2024 RSC Horizon Prize for work in battery recycling. 2021 Faraday Institution (FI) Researcher Development Champion, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) 2021 Environment, Sustainability and Energy Division Mid-Career Award, and the 2019 Hothersall Memorial Award for outstanding services to Metal Finishing.


Prof. Ifan Stephens
Imperial College London, UK

Ifan has published 100 papers on topics including oxygen reduction, oxygen evolution, CO2 reduction, nitrogen reduction and battery degradation.  Stephens is the recipient of several awards including the Peabody Visiting Associate Professorship from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2015), European Research Council Consolidator Grant (2021), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)’s John Jeyes Award for his collaborative work on hydrogen peroxide production (2021), the Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher list (2022 onwards) and the RSC’s Geoffrey Barker Medal (2024). Ifan’s research on H2O2 electrosynthesis led to the establishment of the spinout HPNow, which he co-founded; it has raised over €30 million in funding and now sells electrolysers in 20 countries.


Prof. Aron Walsh
Imperial College London, UK

Aron Walsh began his career at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) where his PhD focused on the computer simulation of solids. Following a postdoctoral stay at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (USA), he held a Royal Society University Research Fellowship at the University of Bath (UK), and joined Imperial College London as the Chair in Materials Design. He was awarded the EU-40 Prize for his work on the theory of solar energy materials and the RSC Corday-Morgan Prize for his contributions to computational chemistry. Aron features in the Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers list and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Chemical Society covering energy materials and artificial intelligence.   

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