Elizabeth Ashton
Bio
Dr. Ashton graduated in 2017 from Loughborough University, UK. After completing her materials chemistry Ph.D in 2021, with the research group of Prof. Dann, she has continued her studies in hydrogen research as a postdoctoral research associate. She was part of the team, alongside Prof. Wijayantha, that delivered the Ten Point Green Growth plan for the Midlands Engine. She has recently joined the research group of Prof. Strickland, investigating battery electrolysers for green hydrogen production.
Dr Wilson has expertise in systems architecture, systems design, automotive systems, hardware design and low cost manufacturing. He has been engaged on a number of projects from concept through to commercialisation. He is currently focussing on the development of a battery electrolyser from lead acid battery technology. He is engaged on an Innovate funded project utilising a system engineering approach for the national deployment of next generation wireless charging solutions for electric vehicles. He has also led a low-temperature selective catalytic reduction research program at Loughborough University and is the inventor of Ammonia Creation and Conversion Technology (ACCT). The technology has been successfully developed from concept to commercially viable prototype utilising EPSRC Impact Acceleration funding and has attracted several industrial partners to license the intellectual property.
Dr Wilson has won numerous awards for his research including the Times HEA 2017 for Technological Innovation of the Year and the Autocar Sturmey Award 2018 for Innovation and Achievement in the Motor Industry for his work on ammonia.
Co- author: Jonathan Wilson
A variety of metallic impurities inherent to lead-acid batteries can catalyse undesired reactions, leading to an increased production of hydrogen and oxygen gases within the battery cell. However, our research at Loughborough University has enabled the design and development of an integrated battery and electrolyser system, facilitating controlled overcharging to yield pure hydrogen gas. As a result, the previously undesired gassing of the lead acid battery can be utilised to improve the cells performance when operated as an electrolyser. We have developed this combined battery and electrolyser by utilising lead battery technology, for low-cost green hydrogen production. The design of our system is such that complete separation of the oxygen and hydrogen gas has been achieved. There is currently no low-cost electrolyser on the market that works with a poor load factor such as renewable generation. However, we can improve load factor by balancing energy supply and demand with the combined battery and electrolyser. The battery-electrolysers operates as a lead battery to store electrical energy, however once the cell is fully charged then additional energy allows production of hydrogen gas by electrolysis of the electrolyte solution. Using gas chromatography, we have demonstrated that the hydrogen gas collected is pure and can be used for clean cooking, where the only waste product is water. Additionally, we have investigated the catalytic effects of various additives on hydrogen production within a lead battery-electrolyser system for sustainable hydrogen production. This is especially pertinent within the framework of low-cost, circular, plug-and-play, off-grid energy for remote locations including the Hydrogen (LoCEL-H2) project, which aims to provide clean energy solutions for off-grid communities in Africa.
