Miraslau Barabash
Work package 1, 2, 3
Miraslau is a Research Fellow at the Electrochemical Innovation Lab (EIL) at University College London. He received his PhD in physics at Lancaster University (UK) in 2020, focusing on developing and applying theoretical and computational methods for describing the correlated ionic motion in narrow ion channels. After continuing the research in the field of sub-nanoscale ionic transport during the post-doctoral positions at Lancaster University and Rice University (Houston, USA), he joined the EIL in 2024 to propel modelling of LiS electrodes using the 3D X-ray CT microstructure characterization techniques.
Vikram Kishore Bharti
Work package 2
Vikram is a Faraday Institution Fellow at the University of Southampton, specialising in electrolyte development for lithium-sulfur batteries. He earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in Chemical Engineering from BIT Sindri, followed by a Master of Technology in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. Vikram later pursued a Doctor of Philosophy at IIT Hyderabad, focusing his research on bacterial cellulose-derived carbon nanofibres for next-generation metal-sulfur (metal: Li, K) batteries.
Liam Bird
Work Package 5
Liam is a Faraday Institution Research Fellow based at University College London working on Li-S cathode microstructure characterisation in Work Package 1. They completed their MEng at the University of East Anglia in 2017 and MRes in Graphene Technology at the University of Cambridge in 2018, where they are in progress to complete their PhD in 2023 developing techniques for operando Raman mapping of Li-S cells.
Martin Black
Work Package 2
Martin is a postdoctoral research fellow on a UK-Japan collaborative project funded by ISPF at the University of Nottingham whose current research focuses on catalysts for the Li-S battery. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham in 2024, under the supervision of Dr Ben Pilgrim on the structural transformation of tetrazine-based metal-organic cages through alkene reactivity.
Liwei Dai
Work Package 3
Liwei is a Faraday Institution Research Fellow based at the University of Oxford. He earned his BEng from Imperial College London and completed his PhD at Oxford, where his research focused on the conversion mechanism of transition metal fluoride cathodes. As part of work package 3 in the LiSTAR project, his current research aims to advance the development of solid-state lithium–sulfur batteries.
Jana Fritzke
Work Package 5
Jana is a Faraday Institution Research Fellow based at the University of Cambridge working on spectroscopic investigations of performance limiting reactions in the electrolyte as a part of Work package 2. She graduated with an MSc Chemistry at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany) in 2016 and she is in progress to complete her PhD at the TU Dresden (Germany), with the aim to investigate the electro-oxidation of alcohols at MOF-functionalized catalysts via in situ spectroscopic methods (NMR, Raman).
Matthias Golomb
Work package 1,2,3
Matthias is a Research Fellow based at the University of Surrey in Guildford, utilizing computational quantum chemistry and machine learning to study materials at the atomic scale. He obtained his MSc degree in solid-state physics at the RWTH Aachen in Germany, before moving to Imperial College London to obtain his PhD studying metal-organic frameworks for energy storage. His focus in the LiSTAR project lies particularly on the interplay of electrolyte and the electrode surface, the behaviour of the resulting solid-electrolyte interphase and the transport of ions through these domains.”
Agata Greszta
Work Package 4
Agata is a Faraday Institution Research fellow based at Coventry University and was a Faraday Institution Industry Fellow, in partnership with Nyobolt, helping demonstrate and develop their technology into commercially relevant prototype devices. She has over 10 years’ experience in battery development including at Oxis Energy and WMG University of Warwick, with extensive experience development of prototype battery cells, from ink and electrode development through cell engineering and testing. She is working on cell prototyping and cathode development as part of work package 4.
Jung-In Lee
Work Package 1
Jung-In Lee is a Faraday Institution Research Fellow based at the University of Cambridge working on anode development as part of Work Package 1. She gained a PhD in energy engineering from the Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST in South Korea) in 2014. Her PhD research was focused on silicon-based anodes for Lithium-ion batteries with high energy density. So far, she has studied anodes and electrolytes for next-generation batteries.
Huanxin Li
Work Package 1
Dr. Huanxin Li obtained a Bachelor's degree (2014) and a Master's degree (2016) from Hunan University in Changsha, China. He completed his PhD (2016–2019) through a joint program between Hunan University and King’s College London (KCL), UK. His key invention during this time was fast-charging electrode materials for Li-, Na-, and K-ion batteries. After earning his doctorate, Dr. Li worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, UK (2020–2022). His research focused on 2D materials for energy storage devices, including lithium-sulphur batteries and supercapacitors. Subsequently, Dr. Li joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford (2022–2023), where he gained foundational knowledge and skills in electrochemistry under the supervision of Prof. Richard Compton. A notable achievement during this time was the development of novel fast-charging potassium-ion batteries and electrochemical sensors. Currently, Dr. Li is a Research Fellow at the Faraday Institution, working with Dr. James Robinson since 2023 in the Department of Chemical Engineering at University College London, UK. His current research focuses on the development of quasi-solid-state lithium-sulphur batteries aimed at commercialization.
Yi Li
Work Package 2
Yi Li is a Faraday Institution Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham, contributing to Work Package 2 with a focus on electrolytes and active additives. She has over seven years of experience in the development of conversion-type Lithium-Chalcogen batteries, specializing in cathode material preparation and lithium anode protection.
Kai Ling
Work package 1
Kai Ling is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the electrode dynamics of conventional and quasi-solid-state lithium-sulphur batteries. Prior to her current role, she contributed to the Faraday Institution’s Industry Sprint project, where she investigated the safety performance of next-generation semi-solid-state battery technologies.
Kai Ling completed her PhD at the University of Oxford, with research focused on the sustainable synthesis of two-dimensional materials. She holds a Master degree from Imperial College London, where her research centred on developing transition metal phosphides electrocatalysts for fuel cells.
Huw Parks
Work package 4
Huw is a Research Fellow at University College London’s Advanced Propulsion Lab, contributing to Work Package 4 of the LiSTAR programme. He holds an MChem from Cardiff University and completed his PhD at UCL in 2024, where he focused on the in-situ X-ray characterisation of degradation mechanisms in NMC811 particles as part of the Faraday Institution’s Degradation Project. Following his PhD, he worked on the safety testing of solid-state batteries through a Faraday Institution industrial sprint project, developing insights into their thermal stability and failure behaviour. This work has led to his current research on the LiSTAR project, where he is focusing on the thermal stability and safety of lithium-sulfur batteries using accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC). Huw has particular expertise in pouch cell assembly and the design of custom in situ cells for advanced X-ray imaging and electrochemical testing.
Letizia Liiro Peluso
Work Package 2
Letizia is a Faraday Institution Research Fellow based at the GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry, University of Nottingham. She joined the LiSTAR project in May 2024 as part of Work Package 2, where her research focuses on the mechanistic understanding of reaction pathways and kinetics in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery technology.
Prior to joining LiSTAR, Letizia was awarded the EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship, conducting research on the fabrication and characterisation of next-generation organic-based photovoltaics. She earned her MSc in Supramolecular Chemistry and Nanotechnology from the University of Messina, Italy, and completed her PhD in Materials Chemistry at the University of Nottingham in March 2023. Her doctoral research focused on developing methodologies to characterise thin films of organic semiconductors for photovoltaic applications. Letizia has developed expertise in atomic force microscopy (AFM) applied to soft matter, as well as in the spectroscopic investigation of thin films exhibiting chiroptical activity.
Neda Shateri
Work Package 4
Neda Shateri is a Research Fellow based at Cranfield University, working on battery systems testing, modelling, and state estimation. She received her MSc degree in Systems and Control from Coventry university in 2018. After that, she started her PhD in Advanced Vehicle Engineering Centre at Cranfield University. Her PhD research was focused on degradation modelling and state estimation of Lithium-Sulfur batteries in real-world applications.
Roby Soni
Work Package 3
Roby is a Faraday Research Institution Research Fellow based at UCL working on cell design and diagnostics for anode-free Li-S battery as a part of work package 4. He obtained his PhD at National Chemical Laboratory, Pune in 2018 on developing strategies to improve the performance of redox materials in solid-state flexible electrochemical capacitors. Before joining UCL, he was a researcher at the Tokyo Institute of Technology where he worked on performance optimization in solid alkaline water electrolyzer and synthesis of metal oxide-based electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction.
Prakhar Verma
Work Package 4
Prakhar is a Faraday Institution Research Fellow based at the Mechanical Engineering Department of Imperial College London. Before joining ICL, he completed his doctoral research on developing continuum-scale dendrite growth models for Li metal and anode-free Li metal batteries from IIT Kharagpur (India). His research included studying the interplay between nucleation and growth kinetics at the electrochemical interface and its overall effect on the electrodeposition morphology. He has also worked on investigating the effect of electrolyte additives on mitigating dendrite growth in Na metal batteries.
We would like to thank all LiSTAR Phase 1 and 2 Research Fellows for their invaluable research and contributions to The LiSTAR project which ran from 1st October 2019 to 31st March 2023 (phase 1) and 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2025 (phase 2). The project is now in phase 3a which runs from 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026.