Battery Deep Dive: 5-Minute EV Charging, Solid State & How Batteries Are Quietly Running the World!

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This week's podcast was recorded live on stage at Latitude Festival 2026, in the Cosmic Shambles Forest of Science and Culture! Helen Czerski is joined by our very own Robert Llewellyn and battery chemist Professor Saiful Islam for a wide-ranging conversation about batteries — covering everything from world-record lemon batteries to five-minute EV charging, sodium-ion tech, battery planes, and vehicle-to-grid power.

https://cosmicshambles.com/

00:00 – Introduction

02:53 – Meet the guests: Robert Llewellyn & Prof. Saiful Islam

03:34 – The world-record lemon battery (and Saiful's quest to reclaim it)

08:54 – What does a battery chemist actually do?

12:42 – Debunking range anxiety: the real stats on UK car journeys

13:34 – From gadgets to vehicles: how battery use has transformed

14:36 – How do you actually measure a "good" battery?

15:21 – Where battery R&D is focused: sustainability, cobalt, and beyond

17:19 – What is a battery? The "electrochemical sandwich" explained

19:38 – BYD's flash charging: 10–70% in 5 minutes

23:31 – Why fast charging is hard — and the safety engineering behind it

28:04 – Battery recycling: Redwood Materials and "second life" batteries

31:54 – Battery passports and tracking materials

34:59 – Sodium-ion batteries: cheaper, longer-lasting home storage

37:34 – Solid-state batteries explained (and why they're the "holy grail")

39:47 – Who's leading the battery race? China's extraordinary scale

42:44 – The tipping point: global crude oil sales are falling

46:34 – Could batteries ever power planes? eVTOL, hybrids & battery gliders

52:57 – Grid storage and vehicle-to-grid: turning EVs into power plants

55:36 – Australia's home battery boom and its impact on coal

57:36 – Audience Q&A

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