Deputy EU Ambassador meets Imperial researchers

The Deputy EU Ambassador and Dr Qilei Song look at battery technologies

The Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the UK Nicole Mannion visited the College earlier this week to meet members of the College community.

Imperial’s President Professor Hugh Brady welcomed Ms Mannion and Cyril Robin-Champigneul, First Counsellor and Head of the Economic and Trade Affairs Section to the College. They discussed the wide range of European science partnerships the College has and how critical these are to EU-UK relations. The EU delegation to the UK is one of 143 EU diplomatic missions around the world and was established following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU to represent the EU and engage with the UK. Its core mission is to build and strengthen the new EU-UK relationship post-Brexit.

We have been involved in setting up European space-based radio-navigation systems for over 25 years. It is essential that we can continue to work closely with our partners to ensure critical infrastructure - like airports, which are relying on these systems - can continue to function safely. Professor Washington Yotto Ochieng FREng Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Hosted by Professor Washington Yotto Ochieng FREng, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ms Mannion visited the Intelligent Infrastructure and Transport Systems Lab and learnt about the work Imperial has been doing with European partners on regional and global navigation satellite systems, including the EU Galileo system.

Ms Mannion also met Dr Ana Mijic, Reader in Water Systems Integration and Director of the Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation and Prof Cedo Maksimovic PhD, Emeritus Professor of Water and Environmental Systems to hear about two current Horizon 2020 projects. euPOLIS is focussed on improving public health in cities by introducing nature-based solutions into urban planning practices with 28 partners and HEART which is developing innovative planning of urban spaces to enhance public health and wellbeing with 18 partners across Europe.

The ERC grant’s prestige has helped me to attract funding and build exciting new collaborations in the area of renewable energy conversion and storage with industrial partners in the EU and non-EU partners. Dr Qilei Song Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor)  

In the lab of Dr Qilei Song, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Ms Mannion saw cutting-edge research on batteries and water electrolysers that will help develop energy storage with bigger capacity at lower cost, supporting energy security. She also heard about how Dr Song’s European Research Council funding had been vital in supporting this work and how he is working with businesses across the UK and Europe to develop clean energy technologies.