Ewan Fraser

Background

About Ewan Fraser

I've always had a fascination with renewable energy, not just the technology, but the bigger picture: how we can actually make it work at scale. Way back when I was first introduced to how the grid worked, I came across something that really stuck with me. I learned that the electricity grid, this massive, complex system we all depend on, was managed almost entirely by matching supply to demand in real time. Somewhere, somehow when I turned a light on, there was a gas turbine that started burning a tiny bit more gas. There was barely any storage involved. Frankly, I thought that was bonkers. It seemed obvious to me that energy storage would be essential if we were ever going to shift seriously to renewables technologies like wind and solar that can’t just be switched on and off like a gas turbine. That moment set me on the path I’m still on today: solving the complex technical and commercial problems that stand between us and reliable, sustainable energy systems. Fast forward to today and I’m focussing on the engineering of flow batteries, with a particular focus on the soluble lead flow battery (SLFB. This technology is safe, sustainable and affordable. My work spans the modelling, design and build of demonstrators and well as lab scale testing. I'm especially interested in how we move beyond the lab and into the real world and how to turn a promising technology into a commercially viable product.