Uppsala University first with a Master’s programme in battery technology and energy storage

Daniel Brandell, Professor of Materials Chemistry and one of the initiators of the new battery programme, will also be one of its teachers.

“The idea is that these students can enter the labour market quickly after their studies,” says Daniel Brandell, Professor of Materials Chemistry and one of the initiators of the programme.

With increasing electrification in many sectors of society, demand for labour skilled in battery technology is rising. Cutting-edge knowledge in battery technology is essential for transitioning to large-scale energy storage and grid expansions, electric vehicles and the manufacture of battery-based everyday products. Uppsala University is now laying the foundations for the expertise in batteries we will need in the future with this unique study programme. In autumn 2022, 30 students will be welcomed to the new Master’s Programme in Battery Technology and Energy Storage at the Department of Chemistry-Ångström.

Comprehensive training

“What is quite unique about Uppsala’s study programme at the European level is that a single higher education institution is saying ‘we are a one-stop shop’. The students will get to stay in Uppsala for two years. Here, we will teach them about battery technology from start to finish and cover the entire value chain for batteries and all the key skills you need,” says Daniel Brandell.

The Department of Chemistry-Ångström has been conducting advanced research in battery technology for a long time, mainly within the Ångström Advanced Battery Centre. Part of the Master’s programme will be tied to research, and it is hoped that the lecturers in this field will be able to create a network to share key skills with other higher education institutions. A current asset is the European research initiative Battery2030+, which has been coordinated by the Department since autumn 2020. Daniel Brandell is also part of this group which is mapping education needs and resources at the international level.

Collaboration with industry and adjacent fields in academia

In Sweden, the research group has been in dialogue with representatives from the business community such as Northvolt regarding the development of the Master’s programme.

“There is quite a lot of consensus about the content of this study programme and what basic knowledge and skills the students will need. Northvolt is a major future employer for whom we will be educating the students, so we are of course listening to what they say. Then of course it is the lecturers, the faculty and the programme council who decide what the programme should include,” says Daniel Brandell and adds:

“The automotive industry is also transitioning to electrification, so many of our students will work at Scania or Volvo companies on the west coast of Sweden. So, we look forward to working even more with our research colleagues at the Division of Electricity, which this autumn will launch a new Master’s Programme in Electric Propulsion Systems.