Multidisciplinary collaboration awarded Royal Society of Chemistry prize

The ReLiB project has been named winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Horizon Prize, which celebrates discoveries and innovations that push the boundaries of science. The RSC awards are among the oldest and most prestigious research prizes in the world, having recognised excellence in the chemical sciences for more than 150 years.

The ReLib Project is a multidisciplinary collaboration between the universities of Edinburgh, Leicester, Newcastle, Oxford and Imperial College, and led by the University of Birmingham. The prize recognises ReLiB’s transformative research towards establishing a technology pipeline for low cost, high-throughput, and low environmental impact lithium-ion battery recycling.

Oxford’s involvement in the ReLiB project is led by Professor Paul Shearing (Statutory Professor in Sustainable Energy Engineering and Director of the ZERO Institute) and Dr Wenjia Du. Professor Shearing says, "With the growth of the electric vehicle sector, we urgently need to consider the full life-cycle of lithium-ion batteries, from the mining of critical materials, to recycling at the end of life. Only with responsible materials stewardship and robust decarbonisation throughout supply chains can we reach net zero in the transport sector. ReLiB is playing a critical role in advocating for the battery circular economy, and in developing the technologies and policy measures that will help us achieve this".

Dr Helen Pain, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said: "Our prize winners come from a vast array of backgrounds, all contributing in different ways to our knowledge-base and bringing fresh ideas and innovations. We recognise chemical scientists from every career stage and every role type, including those who contribute to the RSC’s work as volunteers. We celebrate winners from both industry and academia, as well as individuals, teams, and the science itself. Their passion, dedication and brilliance are an inspiration. I extend my warmest congratulations to them all."

Further information about the RSC Prizes can be found on the RSC website.

Four other Oxford academics have won Royal Society of Chemistry awards - for full details see the Oxford University news item.