Sophie Kempston

Contact details

Email: S dot Kempston at warwick dot ac dot uk

Find me on LinkedInLink opens in a new window

Current PhD student

Research

I am a final-year PhD student in Global Sustainable Development, researching the sustainability impacts of the UK's demand for critical raw materials as a result of increased electric vehicle battery demand. I am supervised by Dr Stuart ColesLink opens in a new window and Professor Kerry KirwanLink opens in a new window from WMG, and Dr Frederik DahlmannLink opens in a new window from Warwick Business School. I am kindly funded by the Leverhulme Trust Link opens in a new windowthrough the TRANSFORM Doctoral ProgrammeLink opens in a new window.

My project focuses on three main problems:

What does raw material demand for electric vehicle batteries in the UK look like up to 2050?
What are the potential sustainability impacts of this demand?
Is UK policy aligned with addressing those impacts?

My wider research interests include: sustainable supply chains, circular economy, energy transitions, holistic sustainability frameworks, material circularity, and how we can measure sustainability. I am also interested in sustainability education and its accessibility outside of the university context.

Publications

Kempston, S., S. R. Coles, F. Dahlmann, and K. Kirwan (2025). UK electric vehicle battery supply chain sustainability: A systematic reviewLink opens in a new window. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews vol. 210, pp. 115216.
Kempston, S. (2023). STEMinism in the classroom: Reflections from a female GTALink opens in a new window. The Journal of PGR Pedagogic Practice vol. 3:1, pp. 18-26.

Conference presentations

Sep 2024: What is a sustainable battery? Towards a holistic sustainability assessment of lithium-ion batteries and their supply chains. 12th Annual International Conference on Sustainable Development - virtual presentation.
Mar 2024: What does a "sustainable" battery supply chain look like for UK electric vehicles? Co-creating a framework with stakeholders. Faraday Institution Early Career Researcher Conference and Training Event - University of Warwick, UK.
Sep 2023: What does a sustainable supply chain for lithium-ion batteries in the UK look like? Faraday 23: Driving Towards Sustainable Electrification of the UK - University of Birmingham, UK.
Feb 2023: Exploring different electric vehicle and battery scenarios on critical raw material demand in the UK. International Roundtable on Criticality IRTC 23: Raw Materials for a Sustainable Future - Université de Lille, France.
Jul 2022: Measuring the impacts of the UK's raw material demand due to increased EV battery demand: Key challenges in methodology. Development Studies Association 2022 PhD Masterclass: Just Sustainable Futures in an Urbanising and Mobile World - virtual presentation.

Posters

(upcoming) Sep 2025: Expanding the scope of sustainability assessment for batteries. Faraday 25: Energising the UK Battery Ecosystem - University of Warwick, UK.
Oct 2024: Beyond battery life cycle assessments: Creating a framework to measure sustainability for the UK electric vehicle battery supply chain. SETAC Europe 26th LCA Symposium: Making LCA More Meaningful - Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
Sep 2024: Towards a holistic sustainability assessment of lithium-ion batteries and their supply chains. Faraday 24: The Battery Breakthrough From Research, To Scale-Up, To Manufacturing - Newcastle University, UK.
May 2023: Critical raw material demand from electric vehicle batteries in the UK cannot be met from secondary supply. International Conference on Circular Economy in Transport - Cranfield University, UK.

Conference contributions

Invited talks and panel sessions

Jul 2024: What is a "sustainable" battery? WMG Research Forum July - WMG, UK.
Feb 2024: Sustainable transportation: Trade-offs and policy options. Guest lecture for Liberal Arts students - University of Warwick, UK.
Nov 2023: Myth-busting: Electric vehicles and sustainability (panel). EV Insights: Driving the Future with EVEEVO - Warwick Innovation Hub, UK.
Mar 2023: IGNITE presentation: Exploring different electric vehicle and battery scenarios on critical raw material demand in the UK. SMM CDT Annual Conference - Royal Academy of Engineering, UK.
Feb 2023: Humanitarian science and engineering education: Preparing the next generation (panel). Engineering and Science for Deeply Uncertain Times Conference - University of Warwick, UK.
Nov 2022: Electric vehicles and sustainable transportation: Trade-offs and policy. Guest lecture for second-year Liberal Arts students - University of Warwick, UK.
Oct 2021: Humanitarian Engineering academic journeys. MSc Humanitarian Engineering induction event - University of Warwick, UK.

Organising, facilitating and other contributions

Jun 2025: Rapporteur. Manufacturing and the Circular Economy - The Shard London, UK.
Jul 2024: Workshop co-organiser: Knowledge dissemination. GSD Symposium 2024 - University of Warwick, UK.
May 2024: Ecopoly game demonstration and workshop. Festival of Postgraduate Research - University of Warwick, UK.
Nov 2023: Rapporteur, session co-lead and panel member. CENTS Research Showcase and Celebration Event: Celebrating Circular Economy Innovation - Royal Academy of Engineering, UK.
Oct 2023: Organiser and facilitator. Towards a UK Battery Digital Product Passport to Enable Circular Batteries Workshop - University of Warwick, UK.
Jul 2023: Workshop co-organiser: Exploring research design and methodology. GSD Symposium: Pathways to Global Sustainability - University of Warwick, UK.
Nov 2022: Organising committee and session facilitator. Rare Earths in the Just Transition Workshop - virtual.

Teaching

2023-2024:

2022-2023:

GD305/GD323 Challenges of Climate ChangeLink opens in a new window (weeks 2-3)

2021-2022:

IP110 Quantitative Methods for Undergraduate ResearchLink opens in a new window

Funding and awards

My PhD is supported by a four-year TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship, funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

Other funding:

Forward Fund Grant, Circular Economy Network+ in Transportation Systems (CENTSLink opens in a new window).
Travel Grant, Circular Economy Network+ in Transportation Systems.

Awards, fellowships and committees:

Outstanding Contribution award from Warwick Business School for teaching on undergraduate programmes.
Best Poster award at the International Conference on Circular Economy in Transport.
Commendation at the Warwick Award for Teaching ExcellenceLink opens in a new window.
Received Associate Fellowship of the HEALink opens in a new window.
Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD) Thematic Fellow.
2021-22: GSD Postgraduate Student-Staff Liaison Committee - Equity Representative.
2021-22: School for Cross-Faculty Stides Equity Committee - Postgraduate Student Representative.

Academic background

PhD Global Sustainable Development, Institute for Global Sustainable Development (2021-present).
MSc Humanitarian Engineering (with Sustainability), Department of Engineering and the Institute of Advanced Teaching and Learning (2019-2020).
BSc Mathematics and Statistics, Department of Statistics (2016-2019).