International EV Batteries, 6-7 November 2018, Twickenham Stadium, London
Ahead of speaking at International EV Batteries 2018, we caught up with Billy Wu, Senior Lecturer in the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London. Billy explained his role and involvement in the development of EV/HEV battery technologies, the critical challenges, five year vision and what he is looking forward to at the event.

Q: Could you briefly explain your current role and involvement in batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles?
Billy Wu (BW): In my role as a Senior Lecturer in the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London, I lead a team of PhD and post-doctoral researchers. Our Electrochemical Science and Engineering group focuses at the interface between fundamental science and engineering application for energy storage devices. From a fundamental research perspective, we are involved in projects such as multi-scale modelling to understand rate limiting processes in lithium-ion batteries and also to better predict battery lifetime. From an engineering perspective, we work closely with industry to investigate how the thermal management of lithium-ion battery packs affects their performance and lifetime.
Q: What is the number one challenge facing engineers working across vehicle engineering for increased electric mobility the moment?
BW: Whilst the energy and power density of lithium-ion can still be improved their current performance is enough to enable early stage commercialisation, however a remaining challenge is the lifetime of these cells. Due to the varied nature of how vehicles are used, predicting and mitigating degradation is a major challenge that will require innovations in materials, cell design and pack design.
Q: Where do you see there being significant developments in EV technologies over the next five years?
BW: As more and more of the global vehicle fleet electrifies, the demand for high quality lithium-ion cells will continue to grow. A significant part of the cost of a lithium-ion battery is in its manufacturing in addition to the material costs. I believe that we will see cost reductions in lithium-ion batteries in a similar way to solar cells due to improvements and innovations in battery manufacturing techniques and supply chain optimisation.
Q: What are you most looking forward to by attending and presenting at International EV Batteries 2018?
BW: Electrification of road transport is undoubtedly well underway but it will be interesting to see how other transport sectors react to electrification and if the rate of technology adoption will be faster than road vehicles due to the lessons already learnt. Beyond seeing these developments, I look forward to the fantastic networking opportunities that the conference has to offer.
Billy will be speaking at International EV Batteries 2018 on 6–7 November in London. Join him and other experts from the European Commission, UK Research and Innovation, Jaguar Land Rover, Williams Advanced Engineering, ThermoAnalytics, Ricardo Innovation, Cidetec, Hyperdrive Innovation, Johnson Matthey, IHS Markit, Mahindra Electric and more.
International EV Batteries 2018 takes place on 6-7 November:
Hear from vehicle OEMs, tier one manufacturers, researchers and regulators on the cutting-edge technology for EV batteries
Understand the direction of UK industry and how this fits into the global market with contributions from Innovate UK and the European Commission
Engage in interactive discussion panels addressing key industry challenges including materials resources, the interface between different engineering functions and the future of the UK industry
Gain unique access to innovators, thought leaders and budget holders in our networking breaks, including speed networking and infrastructure experts from our co-located EV Battery Engineering seminar
For further information, please visit the International EV Batteries 2018

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