Durham University receive £7m grant to support research into new combined energy and structural composite

By Milly Moore

Durham University’s Engineering, Chemistry and Anthropology departments have received a £7m grant for research into energy storage solutions.

The research aims to combine multiple functions in a single material, combining structural use with energy storage.

According to the University website, this five-year project aims to develop a “new generation of multifunctional materials that challenge conventional ideas about batteries and structures”.

The project is called EleComp (Electric Composites) and combines expertise from  Durham University with Imperial College London and the University of Bristol to explore materials that can combine energy storage with structural performance.

Backed by the £7m Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) programme grant, researchers will focus on ‘structural power composites’ which combine mechanical strength with energy storage.

While most products that we use today require us to use separate batteries that are encased in protection and have to plug in or use structures around them in order to generate energy, this research instead aims to develop objects that have energy storage as part of their structure rather than as a separate component.

While most products that we use today require us to use separate batteries that are encased in protection and have to plug in or use structures around them in order to generate energy, this research instead aims to develop objects that have energy storage as part of their structure rather than as a separate component

Researchers say this could mean developing products for consumers or even aircraft components that store energy as well as fulfilling their structural role, so potentially creating lighter, more efficient product designs.

Durham’s contribution to the EleComp research, coordinated by Dr Natasha Shirsova of the Department of Engineering, comes after the World Economic Forum recognised structural energy storage materials as one of its leading emerging technologies in 2025.

Durham’s researchers from the Departments of Engineering and Chemistry will develop the key materials at the heart of the structural batteries.

This includes developing structural electrodes and electrolytes, which will be designed to have a mechanical as well as an electrochemical function.

This means that the technology could support advances in transport, aerospace, healthcare, infrastructure and consumer electronics. As well as its potential practical implications, the research will open up societal discourse on how multifunctional materials like this could influence design and use of technologies in the future.

The grant for this research was awarded as part of the UK Research and Innovation Strategy (UKRI) which received £9 billon of public money to invest in research and innovation for the UK public as part of their 2026 to 2031 strategy.

In their published ‘UKRI Strategy 2026 to 2031’ they say, “Our mission is simple but powerful and ambitious: advance knowledge, improve lives and drive growth.”

Photography: Rose Stacy