Battery Safety UK 2026

"Dr. Edwin Knobbe is responsible for the technical coordination of electro-chemical-based simulations of battery cells in the Battery Cell Competence Centre (BCCC) at the BMW Group. At the BCCC, the BMW Group has built up the complete infrastructure that is required to investigate and develop battery cells, from material level to complete battery cells in target format, where the BMW Group is pursuing the goal of understanding every aspect of battery cell development to meet battery cell suppliers on equal footing (“Smart Buyer”).

Dr. Knobbe studied aerospace engineering at the technical university in Delft. At the TU in Delft, he alsowrotehis doctoral thesis on non-equilibrium thermodynamics governed moving computational meshes. He has been employed at the BMW Group in Munich since 2013, where he reorientated himself from internal combustion engines to battery systems. Initially he worked on new functional concepts for the battery management system, and later in the field of electro-chemical-based simulations of battery cells."

Paul Shearing is Professor of Sustainable Energy Engineering at the Department of Engineering Science and Director of the ZERO Institute at Oxford University. He holds the Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Battery Technologies. His research interests centre on the characterisation and understanding of materials for batteries and other energy applications with a major focus on the development of new X-ray techniques.

He was a founding investigator of The Faraday Institution, the UK’s independent institute for electrochemical energy storage research, where he leads the LiSTAR and Safebatt research programmes. He is a major user of synchrotron and neutron facilities and founded the UK STFC Global Challenge network in Batteries and Electrochemical Devices. He was the recipient of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Silver Medal in 2022 andelecteda Fellow in 2024.

Danny Montgomery has worked at Thermal Hazard Technology for 16 years. His current role is Technical Services Manager, overseeing the lab and technical aspects of instrumentation manufactured by THT. He joined the company in 2009 after graduating from Southampton University with a master’s degree in physics. Danny’s focus is primarily on lithium battery calorimetry; both adiabatic and isothermal. He oversees the use of calorimeters for customer sample testing as well as installing calorimeter systems and provided training for battery and automotive companies worldwide, Danny works in Thermal Hazard Technology’s UK office in Milton Keynes.

Karthik Nagendra is a Mechanical Engineer specialising in Passive Fire Protection at International Paint (AkzoNobel). He holds aMaster’s degree in Advanced Mechanical Engineeringwith a specialisation in Materials. His work focuses on heat transfer and simulation-based analysis for the built environment and the oil and gas sector. His current research addresses the development and assessment of passive fire protection requirements for emerging energy technologies, with particular emphasis on lithium-ion batteries in battery energy storage systems (BESS), bridging academic research and industrial practice

Anne Seldon FSaRSis a seasoned engineering leader, safety-critical systems engineer, and consultant specialising in integrity-led functional and systems safety. With over 15 years’ experience across complex, high-consequence industries including aerospace, rail, mining equipment, and motorsport, she has led multidisciplinary teams to deliver safe, reliable systems where uncertainty is high and sound engineering judgement is essential. Anne is a Fellow of the Safety and Reliability Society and was named one of the UK’s Top 50 Women in Engineering in 2023 in recognition of her contribution to the profession. Her current work focuses on advancing safety working practices and the responsible integration of emerging AI tools into disciplined engineering workflows, without compromising rigour, accountability, or professional judgement.

Dr. Jingwen Weng is an Imperial College Research Fellow (ICRF) at Imperial College London, where she leads an independent research on electrochemical energy materials, degradation mechanisms, and battery safety. Her research focuses on gas-driven and electrolyte-driven failure mechanisms, as well as battery thermal safety enabled by phase change materials. She has extensive experience in safety-oriented materials and electrolyte designforlithium-ion batteries, and multi-scale studies spanning from cell to system level. She is a former Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow and an Early Career Editorial Board member of Applied Thermal Engineering, Energy Technology, and Battery Energy.

Dr. Weng collaborates closely with academic and industrial partners to translate fundamental insights into practical strategies for safer batteries and battery energy storage systems.

Danny Montgomery has worked at Thermal Hazard Technology for 16 years. His current role is Technical Services Manager, overseeing the lab and technical aspects of instrumentation manufactured by THT. He joined the company in 2009 after graduating from Southampton University with a master’s degree in physics. Danny’s focus is primarily on lithium battery calorimetry; both adiabatic and isothermal. He oversees the use of calorimeters for customer sample testing as well as installing calorimeter systems and provided training for battery and automotive companies worldwide, Danny works in Thermal Hazard Technology’s UK office in Milton Keynes.

Karthik Nagendra is a Mechanical Engineer specialising in Passive Fire Protection at International Paint (AkzoNobel). He holds aMaster’s degree in Advanced Mechanical Engineeringwith a specialisation in Materials. His work focuses on heat transfer and simulation-based analysis for the built environment and the oil and gas sector. His current research addresses the development and assessment of passive fire protection requirements for emerging energy technologies, with particular emphasis on lithium-ion batteries in battery energy storage systems (BESS), bridging academic research and industrial practice

Anne Seldon FSaRSis a seasoned engineering leader, safety-critical systems engineer, and consultant specialising in integrity-led functional and systems safety. With over 15 years’ experience across complex, high-consequence industries including aerospace, rail, mining equipment, and motorsport, she has led multidisciplinary teams to deliver safe, reliable systems where uncertainty is high and sound engineering judgement is essential. Anne is a Fellow of the Safety and Reliability Society and was named one of the UK’s Top 50 Women in Engineering in 2023 in recognition of her contribution to the profession. Her current work focuses on advancing safety working practices and the responsible integration of emerging AI tools into disciplined engineering workflows, without compromising rigour, accountability, or professional judgement.

Dr. Jingwen Weng is an Imperial College Research Fellow (ICRF) at Imperial College London, where she leads an independent research on electrochemical energy materials, degradation mechanisms, and battery safety. Her research focuses on gas-driven and electrolyte-driven failure mechanisms, as well as battery thermal safety enabled by phase change materials. She has extensive experience in safety-oriented materials and electrolyte designforlithium-ion batteries, and multi-scale studies spanning from cell to system level. She is a former Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow and an Early Career Editorial Board member of Applied Thermal Engineering, Energy Technology, and Battery Energy.

Dr. Weng collaborates closely with academic and industrial partners to translate fundamental insights into practical strategies for safer batteries and battery energy storage systems.