PRESS RELEASE : St Andrews dry lab will power up battery research and innovation in Scotland [February 2023]

The press release issued by the Secretary of State for Scotland on 15 February 2023.

The next generation of battery technology will benefit from a new research facility at the University of St Andrews Eden Campus, helped by UK and Scottish Government funding.

UK Government Minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord was given a preview of the new battery prototyping facility, or ‘dry lab’, located at the campus at the former paper mill in Guardbridge.

The special ultra-low humidity environment is the first of its kind in Scotland, and will enable companies and researchers to develop and evaluate battery prototypes before they are manufactured in battery gigafactories.

In the dry lab the atmosphere is treated to greatly minimise moisture, creating conditions that allow battery materials to be handled and tested for the most efficient battery operation.

The principal technology produced will be pouch cells – these are stacked together to form large-scale batteries for either electric vehicles or static power storage, both of which are essential to the transition to a net-zero economy.

Commenting on the dry lab UK Government Minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord said:

This dry lab is exactly the sort of facility that Scotland and the UK require to develop our future battery industry.

This will help to deliver on the Prime Minister’s priorities to grow our economy and create better-paid jobs by putting the country at the cutting edge of the transition to net-zero.

The UK Government is investing £24.5 million in the Eden Campus as part of more than £2.2 billion for levelling up right across Scotland.

The £4.7 million Dry Lab Project is supported by £3.3 million from the UK Government as part of its £24.5 million investment in the Eden Campus through the Tay Cities Region Deal.

The Scottish Government is also investing £2 million in the Eden Campus through the deal, and further funding for the lab is coming via the Scottish Enterprise Advancing Manufacturing Challenge Fund and the Faraday Institution.

The University of St Andrews is pioneering new battery chemistries and leads the Faraday Institution sodium-ion project.  Through this cross-UK research, scientists hope to create a next-generation sodium-ion battery that is cheaper, more efficient and better for the environment than current technologies.  This is important as there are concerns about the environmental impact of supplying the increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries.

Last autumn the UK Government awarded a further £211 million to the Faraday Battery Challenge to boost research and development across the batteries sector, including key industries such as Electric Vehicle batteries.

University of St Andrews Quaestor and Factor Derek Watson said:

The development of the Eden Campus as a centre for innovation and entrepreneurship with state-of-the-art facilities like the dry lab, provides opportunities for academia and industry to forge dynamic new partnerships and work on world-leading research together.

This is so important to achieving a sustainable, low-carbon future, as well as the wider economic transformation of Scotland and the UK.

Professor Pam Thomas CEO at the Faraday Institution said:

This new battery facility at St Andrews marks a significant step forward in our mission to support the UK commercialisation of sodium-ion batteries. The state-of-the-art equipment will enable researchers to combine and test cutting-edge materials, paving the way for the development of commercially relevant cells.

The dry lab is part of the Eden Campus at Guardbridge and sits alongside the renovated historic buildings of the old paper mill.

Situated four miles outside of St Andrews, the village of Guardbridge was in steady decline following the closure of the papermill in 2008 and the loss of over 400 local jobs. The Eden Campus is re-purposing the historic buildings to create a new centre for enterprise and innovation. Over 500 people now work at the Campus and by 2030, this number is expected to double.