Vasant Kumar

Short Bio:

Prof. Kumar has over 30 years of research experience in electrochemistry, energy devices, materials chemistry synthesis and sensors. Dr Kumar has been conducting world leading research in materials chemistry reactions at the cutting edge of new applications within an ecological calculus. His research has helped advance new knowledge in materials chemistry with innovations in ionic sensors, batteries, fuel cells, electrolytic cells and photocatalytic-reactors with examples described below. Prof. Kumar has developed a new environmentally clean-process for recovering electro-active paste material from automotive-batteries for making new batteries (paste-to-paste recovery). Several other research centres have followed this lead by setting up collaborative research with Cambridge. A business-plan based on this work was given the first Armourers & Brasiers Venture Prize in 2008, followed by global industrial interest. Dr Kumar has developed the use of nano-carbon scaffolds infiltrated with sulphur in order to fabricate new Li-S batteries with energy densities that are 100% higher than the best Li-ion batteries with improved cycle-life, approaching 1000 cycles thus potentially overcoming an outstanding problem that has hampered progress for several decades. This project received various innovation awards including Dow Sustainability Student Innovation Grand Award in 2013. The patented technology has been licensed to a company in China. Dr Kumar has advanced a new metal-oxide photocatalyst composite material capable of absorbing both uv-visible light with reaction rates that are up to 2-orders of magnitude faster for disinfecting water and for destroying pollutants in air. A spin-out company (CamSES Ltd) has been set up to exploit the findings. A grant has been obtained from IEEE(USA) to design a prototype for use in flood-hit regions. This project received the DOW Sustainability Innovation Students' Runners-up prize in 2012. He has published over 360 papers, 20 patents, 8 Chapters in Handbooks and 2 edited book (High energy density Li batteries, Wiley-VCH 2010; Rechargeable Batteries, Wiley-VCH 2022). He has supervised over 40 PhD students, 30 post-doctoral researchers, 15 visiting students and hosted 12 visiting professors. He is the Founder and Director of several start-up companies -Solutions4Hydrogen Ltd in Pune, India; Environmental Monitoring & Control Ltd, Stafford, UK; Cambridge Solar Energy Solutions Ltd, Cambridge UK; Multi nano sense technologies Ltd, Mumbai/Nagpur, India - for furthering his research into industrial applications in the areas of energy and environment. He has worked very closely with industry and research organizations and has been successful in transferring technology to industry.He was awarded the Honorary Doctorate of Engineering by University of Malaysia in 2011 and 5 Honorary Professorships. In 2014 he was awarded the Kroll Medal by the Institute of Materials, Mineral and Mining (IOM3) in London for industrial innovation based on scientific research. Prof. Kumar is the Editor of Trans IMM C published by Taylor&Francis Group on behalf of IOM3. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Tech Met Ltd and S Korea National Lithium Research Centre.