Monday 30 July 2018

Former BP executive to lead UK’s battery initiative

Neil Morris, a former BP executive, has been appointed to lead the UK Government-backed initiative aimed at driving research and development of battery technologies.

He has joined the Faraday Institution, launched by Energy Secretary Greg Clark in October last year, as CEO effective immediately.

Mr Morris has more than 30 years of international operations, business and commercial experience in the energy sector as CEO for Klesch Petroleum and in various leadership roles for BP.

He served as BP’s Vice President of Engineering & Technology, Global Refining and Vice President of Gas, Renewables, Supply and Trading business prior to joining the Faraday Institution.

He said: “The UK has some of the world’s top researchers and research universities, an auto industry committed to moving to fully electric vehicles and a public that wants cleaner energy. By bringing together the industry experts with the research capabilities we have in a highly collaborative environment, we are uniquely positioned to be able to make technological advances that will benefit the environment and create new jobs in the UK.”

Mr Morris added the Faraday Institution’s most immediate impact will be in education and training as the UK needs a pipeline of diverse talent for energy jobs – a national curriculum is to be created to nurture students from secondary education to advanced degrees.

In the medium term, technological advances are to create opportunities for investment in energy storage and new jobs.