Advanced Propulsion Laboratory

The centre brings together experts in the fields of batteries, hydrogen generation and utilisation, electric motors, and power electronics to deliver nationally unique research and teaching capabilities at scales directly relevant to industrial partners. Its location in London and the South-East of the UK positions the centre adjacent to key industrial partners.  Its multidisciplinary approach coupled with the scale achievable at the facility will ensure the facility becomes a unique opportunity for industrial/academic collaboration.  

The centre is uniquely designed to facilitate the creation, construction, characterisation, and validation of cutting-edge industrial-scale propulsion systems, leveraging this capability to deliver ambitious educational opportunities for post graduate students while simultaneously supporting the UK government's commitment to achieving zero-carbon targets. 

People

Selected Publications 

Influence of cavity geometry on the bubble dynamics of nucleate pool boiling 
Whiting, MS, Van den Bergh, WJ, Theodorakis, P, Everts. Physics of Fluids, Vol. 30(8), 087102, 2024.   

SIEMS: A Secure Intelligent Energy Management System for Industrial IoT Applications
Pedram Asef, Rahim Taheri, Mohammad Shojafar, Iosif Mporas, and Rahim Tafazoli. IEEE. Transactions on Industrial Informatics, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 1039-1050, 2023. 

Improved predictive current controller for variable flux memory machine drives considering magnetization state manipulating operations
X. Liu, H. Yang, S. Cai, H. Y. Lin, F. Yu. Y. Yang. IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, early access. 

Key considerations for cell selection in electric vertical take off and landing vehicles: a perspective
Reid, Hamish T; Singh, Gaurav; Palin, Emma; Dai, Yuhang; Zong, Wei; Somerville, Limhi; Shearing, Paul R; (2025). EES Batteries

Enhancing solid-state battery performance with spray-deposited gradient composite cathodes
Matt P. Tudball, Will J. Dawson,  Joshua H. Cruddos,  Francesco Iacoviello,  Andrew R. T. Morrison,  Alexander J. E. Rettie , Thomas S. Miller. Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2025,9, 1379-1386.

Quantifying Heterogeneous Degradation Pathways and Deformation Fields in Solid-State Batteries
J. Hu,  R. S. Young,  B. Lukic,  L. Broche,  R. Jervis,  P. R. Shearing,  M. Di Michiel,  P. J. Withers,  A. Rettie,  P. P. Paul. Adv. Energy Mater.  2024, 2404231.   

Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Polyoxotungstates As Configurable Charge Carriers for High Energy Redox Flow Batteries
Catherine L. Peake, Alexander J. Kibler, Graham N. Newton, and Darren A. Walsh. ACS Applied Energy Materials 2021 4 (9), 8765-8773. 

Mixed convective laminar flow through non-circular channels heated at a constant heat flux 
Chen, Q, Harris, N, Craig, KJ, Everts, M, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, Vol. 210, 109664, 2025 

Optimal Pole Number for Magnetic Noise Reduction in Variable Speed Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines with Fractional-Slot Concentrated Windings
Pedram Asef, Ramon Bargallo, and Andrew C. Lapthorn. IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 126-134, 2019. 

Toward zero-excess lithium sulfur batteries: a systematic cell parameter study. Journal of Physics: Energy
Cruddos, Joshua H; Robinson, James B; Shearing, Paul R; Rettie, Alexander JE; (2025). 7 (2) , Article 025006. 

Visualising the Effect of Areal Current Density on the Performance and Degradation of Lithium Sulfur Batteries Using Operando Optical Microscopy
Owen, Rhodri Ellis; Du, Wenjia; Millichamp, Jason; Shearing, Paul; Brett, Dan; Robinson, James B; (2024). Journal of The Electrochemical Society 10. 

Enabling ionic transport in Li3AlP2: the roles of defects and disorder
Hu, Ji; Squires, Alexander G; Kondek, Jędrzej; Youd, Arthur B; Vadhva, Pooja; Johnson, Michael; Paul, Partha P; ... Rettie, Alexander JE; + view all (2025). Journal of Materials Chemistry A 10.

Why charging Li–air batteries with current low-voltage mediators is slow and singlet oxygen does not explain degradation
Sunyhik Ahn, Ceren Zor, Sixie Yang, Marco Lagnoni, Daniel Dewar, Tammy Nimmo, Chloe Chau, Max Jenkins, Alexander J. Kibler, Alexander Pateman, Gregory J. Rees, Xiangwen Gao, Paul Adamson, Nicole Grobert, Antonio Bertei, Lee R. Johnson & Peter G. Bruce. Nat. Chem. 15, 1022–1029 (2023).  

2021 roadmap on lithium sulfur batteries
Robinson, JB; Xi, K; Kumar, RV; Ferrari, AC; Au, H; Titirici, M-M; Parra-Puerto, A; ... Shearing, PR (2021). Journal of Physics: Energy , 3 (3) , Article 031501. 

Work with Us

The APL prides itself on its industry collaboration and partnerships. We work with the world's leading companies to tackle global challenges in collaboration, for mutual benefit. 

Partnerships with industry are an essential mechanism, translating relevant and deployable systems from the lab into society, that will address the climate crisis.  Each partnership is bespoke and designed for mutual benefit. Examples of these co-created collaborations can include:   

• Exploring fundamental research challenges, this includes funding and co-supervision of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. 
• Testing using our state-of-the-art facilities   
• Talent pipeline development and recruitment opportunities.   
• Knowledge exchange between the institutions. 
• Co-funded Knowledge Transfer Partnerships  

We are open to exploring new ways of partnering. Please contact us to discuss how we can build a collaboration that meets your needs.