Calling all students of Chemistry from GCSE to A Level to university! We’re inviting you to hear from a researcher at the cutting edge of green energy and electrochemical research - Professor Darren Walsh, Professor of Chemistry, University of Nottingham. 

Talk title

From the Daniell Cell, to lithium-ion batteries and beyond: The evolution of high-energy batteries and the prospects for battery-powered flight

Talk description

Lithium-ion batteries have changed how we communicate, work, are entertained, and even travel around our planet. However, these batteries are too heavy for use in some emerging applications, including in the aviation sector. For this, scientists need to develop new types of battery chemistry that exploit lightweight electrode materials. The most promising of these “beyond lithium-ion” systems are the lithium-sulfur and lithium-air batteries, both of which are being developed in the laboratories of Professor Darren Walsh.

In this lecture, Professor Walsh will describe the operating principles of these new types of batteries and compare them to those of other systems, including the Daniell Cell and lithium-ion batteries. He'll share the advantages of these new systems and some of the chemical problems that are hindering their use. He'll then cover how tackle these problems, and whether they could really lead to the world-changing possibility of battery-powered flight.

About the speaker

Darren Walsh was born and raised in Dublin Ireland and was awarded his PhD degree from Dublin City University in 2002. He then spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas, Austin, after which he moved to Newcastle University as a Lecturer in Physical Chemistry.  In 2007, he moved to the University of Nottingham, where he is currently Professor and Head of Physical Chemistry.  

He teaches physical chemistry to undergraduate chemistry students at Nottingham and does research in electrochemistry. He is especially interested in electrochemical energy storage and conversion, including developing next-generation batteries for storing energy, and making new electrocatalysts for splitting water to make H2 as a fuel. A lot of his work is done in collaboration with the Faraday Institution, the UK’s independent institute for electrochemical energy storage research. He is a member of its Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity working group and is also a training champion for the institute.

Darren is also passionate about public outreach and has given lectures for schoolchildren and members of the public all over the world. He is a member of the team that produces the Periodic Table of Videos, a chemistry YouTube channel that, as of September 2025, has 1.63 million subscribers and has been viewed over 293 million times.

Schedule

15:00 - Event opens; registration, refreshments and research poster exhibition

15:05-16:15 - Lab tours and demonstrations (in groups)

16:00 - Theatre doors open

16:30-16:40 - Welcome and housekeeping

16:40-17:00 - Research talk from King's Chemistry PhD student

17:00-18:00 - Professor Darren Walsh talk and Q&A

 

Important information

Attendance
This event is aimed at those aged 16+. Younger attendees are welcome, but please note that attendees under the age of 14 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. If you are aged 14–18 and booking for yourself, please check with a parent or guardian before booking your place. For school groups, tickets are limited to 20 students per booking, to ensure a larger number of schools can attend.

Registration for this event will take place in reception in the main entrance to the Franklin Wilkins Building. The address is 150 Stamford Street London, SE1 9NH.

This event is organised by the Department of Chemistry at King’s College London. If you have any questions or would like any further details, please email nmes-outreach@kcl.ac.uk. For in-person events we operate a policy of overbooking, given drop-out rates. Please ensure you arrive in good time to avoid disappointment on the day. You must pre-book a free ticket to attend this event. We are not able to book tickets on the door, or admit anyone without a pre-booked ticket.

Livestream
This event will be livestreamed from 16:30 to 18:00 and a recording will be shared on the NMES Faculty YouTube channel. Please book a ticket here to view the live stream.

Accessibility
This talk will take place in the B5 Lecture theatre, on the ground floor of the Franklin Wilkins Building. There is step free access to this lecture theatre, with dedicate spaces for wheelchair users. Read more about accessibility for this space. The lab tours will take place on the fifth floor of the building, which is accessible via lift. The nearest step-free underground station is Waterloo, which is also the closest station to this building.

Photography and privacy notice
The event you will be attending will have photography and/or videography. If you do not wish to appear in any recordings or photographs, please approach our registration team on the day of the event or email nmes-outreach@kcl.ac.uk beforehand. Photographs and recordings taken may feature in our publications or on the King’s website and social media channels. All personal data will be processed in accordance with King’s privacy policy available here.

We collect and process your personal information to help us manage and run the event. In accordance with the King’s College London Data Retention Schedule, we will keep your information until the completion of the event. To find out more about how the university deals with your personal information, including your rights, please see the university’s core privacy notice. Your personal information will be transferred to the United States via Eventbrite. Please read this article where you can find out more on how Eventbrite protects your data.

 

About the Daniell Lecture

The Daniell Lecture is annual schools outreach lecture delivered by the Department of Chemistry at King's and sponsored by the Chilterns & Middlesex branch of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Each year, a guest speaker is invited to share their research and journey into science with an audience of local school students. Kickstarted in 1995, the series is in memory of John Frederic Daniell, who was appointed the first Professor of Chemistry at King’s College London in 1831. The first chemical laboratory was founded a few years later in 1834. Daniell remained at King's until 1845 and in 1846 the Daniell Scholarship was founded in his honour. Daniell invented the first electrochemical cell, laying down the foundations of the study of electrochemistry and hence influencing the study of Physical Chemistry. Today, the cell named after him, the ‘Daniell Cell’, can be found in Chemistry textbooks in schools and colleges the world over.