Liverpool Secures £1.5 Million for Shared Clean-Energy Research Facility

Understanding what happens at electrode surfaces is central to improving energy technologies. The University of Liverpool has announced a £1.5 million EPSRC award to establish ULSOMEI, a laser facility for studying electrochemical interfaces under operating conditions.

Based in the Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy, the facility will support molecular-level investigations relevant to batteries, fuel cells, electrolysers and catalysts. Access is planned through Liverpool Shared Research Facilities.

Professor Alex Cowan and centre manager Dr Adrian Gardner will lead the facility, bringing together spectroscopy, electrochemistry and specialist technical expertise. The funding supports new research capability, not yet demonstrated improvements in commercial devices.

Why this matters for policymakers

• Infrastructure: Support shared access to specialist research equipment.
• Skills: Pair capital investment with technical careers and expertise.
• Impact: Track how fundamental insights inform cleaner technologies.

Sources: University of Liverpool announcement.

Image: Illustrative laser and spectroscopy laboratory in Medellin, Colombia; not the planned Liverpool ULSOMEI facility. Medios Digitales, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to JPEG for display.