Is there life after CUCo? An interview with FAIR Battery

A little while ago Caspar sat down with Sanli Faez and Peter Ngene of the FAIR Battery team to hear what is happening in the project during this year. Unfortunately, the project was not funded during the lottery for the ‘23 UCo grants. However, the idea of a FAIR Battery is still very much alive!

So is there life after CUCo? How’s the FAIR Battery project doing?
Sanli: Right now we are still struggling to write a project report for CUCo after the end of the UCo ‘22, but the challenge lives on. I’m pretty sure that at some point an open source battery will come to be! As of right now we have already been approached from two different fronts; from the energy side of Eindhoven and from completely outside the alliance. Of course when they start they will also have their own vision. But the idea is alive! And also the student team has received an award and location in Eindhoven. With the hope of creating a spin off of TU/e to actually develop the battery. So it is living its own life out of our control. The part that we’d like to work on now - and this is Peter’s idea- is that it is important to have a real connection with the actual users. 

How is that going? 
Peter: I think if I come back to your first question: We are alive but it is challenging. For example, I have not seen Sanli for a long time, but before we talked almost every week to brainstorm for the FAIR Battery project. Since the end we don't have this regular interaction. 
Then how it is going: we have been making some connections with some professors in Africa. I have some contacts in Kenya, in Ghana, and also in Nigeria. But I think that Nigeria is what I push a bit more, since I have more of a personal connection. Because I’m from there. So it is easier to know exactly what is happening there. We have contacts within some universities. And what we are trying to do is see how to use the limited resources best. We want students there to be involved in field demonstrations for example. So one of the ideas that we have been talking about is; Can we have at the local hospital or clinic some solar panels installed as well as the battery and then have some students do real time collection of data? Gathering information on: What is needed? What is happening? Which is not as easy as it sounds. Where do you place it? For example, you have to make sure that it is not only safe but also accessible for the students in the rural area.

I was also curious whether the team is looking to apply for the grant in the next round. What is your current feeling around that? 

Sanli: I won’t lead it this time. Not because I do not like it. But it needs a different vision to move at a different pace in a different direction. That is something that one needs to be conscious of and ask: At what point am I blocking or helping? I think that if I lead too much this time, I will not be helping. I think we have to approach it from another side, less an engineering approach to keep the Interdisciplinarity alive.
Peter: I would be disappointed if Sanli is not going to be leading it. I think the project needs a stronger embedding, this one year approach is not really enough to be able to push to a level that we want. I also agree that what we might be able to do is focus more on the application instead of the engineering. Then we can really work from existing technology and focus more on how such technology can be implemented in such a way that the local people have access to it. 

What would you say to new UCo projects?
Peter: I think that they should have great expectations and to open themselves to meeting new people and new ways of working. This is very interesting! But I warn them to not expect too much. This is not a direct way to enhance your career or your publications. That might still come indirectly, just expect more in terms of the social enrichment of your network amongst peers. That is just what I think. And it is fun! But in terms of the scientific output it is not a lot. Because you just have to learn quite a lot from each other before you can get there and invest time.
Sanli: I would advise to reflect and adjust earlier and more frequently and also be critical. That is part of it. And I would say that one has to have not one promise but work from an optimum and a minimum. If at some point you cannot reach the optimum, then reach the minimum.