A researcher from Great Britain has made an outstanding contribution to optimizing batteries. For this she is recognized by the Körber Foundation.
Hamburg – The British battery researcher Clare Gray (56) receives the Körber European Science Prize, endowed with one million euros. Gray was doing pioneering work in optimizing batteries with the help of NMR spectroscopy, announced the Körber Foundation in Hamburg on Tuesday.
This method enables insights into batteries – similar to magnetic resonance tomography, with which doctors “x-ray” patients. Their investigations helped to significantly increase the performance of lithium-ion batteries, which supply cell phones, notebooks and e-vehicles with electricity.
The chemist was also involved in the development of new types of batteries – including lithium-air batteries, which have a ten-fold higher energy density, and batteries that charge very quickly and are particularly reliable. In addition, Gray is researching cost-effective and long-lasting storage systems for electricity from renewable sources. “The Briton sees her basic research as an important contribution to the European Union’s declared goal of climate neutrality by 2050,” it said.
Gray studied chemistry at Oxford University, UK. After completing her doctorate in 1991, she went to Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. After working in the USA, she became a professor at the University of Cambridge, UK, in 2009.
The Körber Prize, one of the world’s most highly endowed research prizes, has been awarded since 1985. So far, six winners have also received the Nobel Prize. The award is to be presented to Clare Gray on September 10th in the Hamburg City Hall. dpa
