In this engaging interview, we sit down with Dr Orielia Pria Egambaram to discuss the pressing challenges and exciting innovations in energy storage. As a scientist and advocate, Orielia shares her insights on the global reliance on critical materials like lithium and cobalt, the potential of emerging technologies such as Redox Flow and Na-ion batteries, and the importance of building sustainable, resilient supply chains. She also reflects on her experiences addressing South Africa’s energy crisis and bridging the gap between science and policy, while inspiring the next generation of women in STEM. Orielia’s unique perspective offers a thought-provoking glimpse into the future of energy and sustainability.
“Global demand for raw materials required for batteries, in particular lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt and manganese is projected to continue its growth. Europe is currently almost entirely dependent on import of critical materials for batteries creating vulnerability to supply chain disruptions. Emerging battery chemistries could potentially ease the pressure. Could you tell us more about developments in terms of use of materials and which technologies do you think are most likely to succeed as a viable alternative to lithium-ion batteries as we know today?”
Unfortunately, the global supply chain for raw materials for batteries is largely dependent on 2 nations. Even countries in which these materials are mined find themselves having to purchase back the elements due to their lack of processing capabilities. A means to mitigate this could be that nations who are unable to mine the materials, can process and refine the necessary materials, which creates diversity in the supply chain, minimizing the possibility of it being monopolized.
Regarding alternative chemistries, the likely direct competitor is the Na-ion battery. This has shown some promise. However, I have seen several reports that suggest that the performance is sub-par to Li-ion which negates its “sustainable” contribution. Energy storage systems have been on the rise in the last decade. These include:
- Compressed air energy storage (CAES)
- Flow batteries
- Gravity-based storage
- Zinc-based chemistries.
In particular, RFBs have warranted increasing interest with academic research groups focusing on replacing the gold standard, Vanadium, with carbon based materials. Creating an all -round safer, and more environmentally friendly solution.
“Your focus area is use of batteries for energy storage which, with the rapid deployment of renewable energy technologies is becoming more and more important as it can provide flexibility to the grid and increase the reliability of supply. If used for balancing services on the other hand, it brings benefits to end consumers, enabling them to reduce the cost of electricity. Could you tell us in more detail about potential use cases of grid energy storage and its benefits, particularly in South Africa, where blackouts of electricity supply have caused detrimental effect on both economy and the society?”
Energy storage is an area of particular interest to me because of the current energy situation in South Africa. In fact, I chose this PhD based on the research topic as I believed that this kind of technology is exactly what the country needs to address its current issues.
The technology I researched is called a Redox Flow battery (RFB), & these systems store renewable energy is the form of chemical energy. As such, a RFB could be connected to solar panels, or wind turbines to store the energy which could then be discharged into the grid during peak times.
Currently, South Africa faces an energy crisis termed “loadshedding” which leaves millions of South Africans in darkness for up to 12 hours per day. As you can imagine, this has devastating effects on businesses, with small businesses being affected the most.
A solution like an RFB would ensure that electricity is distributed more evenly across the grid. Especially in a country like South Africa that has such gorgeous sunshine, and exceptional winds, especially down in the Western Cape, it seems bizarre that the government have not considered implanting such systems. We can look to China & Australia to truly understand the benefits of this technology.
“Mitigating the impacts of climate change will require a high level of interaction between science and policy. Scientific evidence can help policymakers to identify problems and design more effective solutions, but the relationship between science and policy is far from being simple. Their roles must be kept separated but at the same time it is important to ensure effective collaboration. What do you think is the main challenge of working at the intersection between science and policy and how do you think the gap between them can be narrowed??”
I couldn’t agree more with this observation. In the pursuit of science, it is often the policy governing the implementation of science, and lack of scientific understanding that limits development. This filters down into funding support, and complimentary policy.
During my academic career, I have been privileged to have had several opportunities for science communication, and through this I have learnt that science is not accessible. I do not mean that people cannot gain access to science materials, but rather that the engagement, and understanding from a non-scientist is a lot harder to grasp. Oftentimes, we as scientists do research that will improve the quality of lives of people, but these very same people do not understand our science and cannot see the value in what we have created.
The same can be said for policy makers. There is not enough engagement laterally between the two entities to ensure that scientific voices are heard. I believe that to bridge the gap there needs to be intentional collaboration between policymakers & scientists. A tangible example of this was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic when command councils were established to advise governments on the best ways to proceed. These councils were comprised of the most remarkable minds who had a duty to educate and serve. This collaboration worked seamlessly because there was respect & trust between both entities, and scientists were allowed to share the depths of their knowledge in a way that policy makers could understand, and deliver upon.
“UK-based Science Council has defined science as “the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence”. What would be you definition of science and what has influenced your decision to pursue a scientific career path?”
My definition of science is relentlessly pursuing an answer to the inexplicable following endless investigation, and then being astounded by the outcome. Quite simply put, science to me is a magical puzzle. Whilst scientific principles & theories underpin most of which we know, there is a limitation to what is guaranteed in science. For example, the journal article may tell you that the product should be a white powdery material, but having followed the steps perfectly, you might end up with a pink sludge, which leaves you asking “BUT WHY?”. Hence, scientists spend several hours trying to find answers to some of the most abstract and obscure questions, and deriving joy in the smallest wins achieved along the way. Science is everywhere, and I am so grateful to have had a chance to pursue a career in this field.
My love for puzzles started at age 3. I spent most of my childhood building puzzles which now adorn the walls of my parental home. With age I learnt that puzzles weren’t limited to odd-shaped pieces contained in a box, but that the real puzzle existed all around us. I will honestly admit that I had a love-hate relationship with chemistry, and it wasn’t until my honours research project that I truly started to fall in love with what the discipline had to offer. Over the years my research has ranged from Alzheimer’s drugs, to anode development, nanotechnology with cosmetic applications, and electrochemistry. All so very different, and yet all Chemistry.
“Going through the transition from purely scientific career into a more business consulting one, what do you see as the greatest difference? Do you recognise any good practices that could be applied in academia, especially in terms of funding, which is often a challenging aspect of scientific research?”
Yes I have recently moved from academia to consulting and in fact I work as an innovation grants consultant. One of the most stark differences that I experienced when I first started in the role was the immense amount of people skills required, during my PHD I found myself talking to reagents and equipment in the lab and I know that this is common amongst a lot of scientists. However whilst consulting and coming from a stem background into consulting allows room for those transferable skills to be applied such as project management time management being able to rapidly understand and condense immense amounts of information there is an element of client engagement that is very different from science.
Certainly in terms of good practise I would agree that funding is more readily available for industry than it is for academia and what I have found to be particularly challenging in my own current scientific career with the access to funding as a smaller research lab. I think that the challenge is staggered in a way and that if you are a smaller research group it’s a lot harder to be able to access funding as this is often contingent upon output such as article and conference attendance which is not as easy to generate if you’re the only person in a research group that is generating this.
However, in industry and rather in innovation funding I have seen that there is a large amount of funding available for SMEs or Macro industries and this really helps them get themselves off the ground. This is something that I think could be beneficial to academia and particularly will help support smaller research groups.
“Could you tell us what stands behind your title of Miss Earth South Africa and what are the most valuable takeaways from your journey in the Miss Earth program?”
So Miss earth South Africa is a women’s leadership programme that was started by a powerhouse duo of sisters Catherine Constantinidies and Ella Bella Leite. The program started 20 years ago, and I was privileged enough to have attended the 20 year gala last year. Miss Earth South Africa is really a platform for young women to be able to develop their skills towards social justice climate change climate advocacy and be able to go into communities and make a change. I started this journey whilst I was doing my masters at the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) in 2017. I was able to do so many different projects in different fields of climate advocacy.
Both Catherine and Ella are phenomenal climate activists and they both are such inspirational woman which is why being part of this programme was so great. They really inspire you because they’re the kind of woman that would go out get their hands dirty quite literally. We would do different cleanups in communities but all in the name of advocating educating and greening our communities. Through Miss earth some of the projects that you get involved in would be going out into communities and really teaching them about the 3 Rs you know reduce reuse recycle, hosting green campaigns. I’m very grateful that in my time during Miss earth we were part of the mayoral projects with Herman Mashaba and Solly Msimanga in Joburg and Pretoria respectively. The project involved cleaning part of communities which would create a clean space to live in and just promote recycling.
I managed & orchestrated many of my own projects such as planting vegetables at different schools for. The project that I’m most proud of was at a school in Mamelodi, a poor community in Pretoria. We started off quite small, I went in and I spoke during assembly about recycling about taking care of their school, we then did a very small clean up where we cleaned up some of the litter on the school grounds. I did some work planting with the Grade 7s we then planted some fruit trees which were thankfully sponsored by sandy and we planted fruit trees across the school in hopes that it would not only bring shade but also food because in communities like Mamelodi a lot of children we’re only getting food when they would come into school every day.
Finally, we did a major clean in the area adjacent to the school as it’s really important that students are able to see that their community is well taken care of but also the role that they play as young learners. Sometimes we take for granted just how much kids know but really if you start at a young age when they’re able to understand the impacts and how this can affect the communities they take this home. I’m really proud to say that the school has since established a sustainability committee and they still doing ongoing work to be able to continue to green their community around them but also to protect the school environment as a whole.
The greatest lesson that Miss Earth taught me is that I am a multi-faceted human capable of doing so many wonderful things, and that I don’t have to be defined by a singular label (eg. Scientist, researcher, Miss Earth SA 1st Runner up 2017 etc).
“Women is science and academia, especially in STEM fields are still facing gender bias, which must be considered in interaction with other types of discrimination and approached from intersectionality perspective. Among the exceptional female scientist that throughout the history managed to break these barriers, which one do you look up to the most?”
Whilst I am undoubtedly grateful for all of the work and amazed by the research put out by exceptional scientists and researchers who have gone before me, I must be honest in saying that the scientists that I look up to the most are the ones with whom I’ve interacted personally. I’ve been able to see first hand just how they’ve managed to balance all that life has thrown their way. I’ve had the great privilege of being supervised and mentored by phenomenal female scientists who have guided me not only academically but also on a more personal level which has enabled me to become the scientist that I am today. My masters supervisor doctor Sreejarani Pillai is a brilliant scientists in the field of nanotechnology. Dr Sreeja taught me what it means to be a scientist she allowed me the space to explore my own research well guiding me in the most kind and gentle way. Furthermore, doctor Sreeja supported my personal pursuits and it’s only through her that i was able to join Miss Earth SA while doing my masters. I would not be where I am today without the influence of professor Patricia Forbes who helped me make a very difficult decision at a crossroads in my academic career. It’s through the input of professor Forbes that I chose a path in chemistry over biochemistry which led me into this great world of research.
Perhaps the scientist who has had the greatest impact on me is my dear friend Dr Zamaswazi Tshabalala whom I met while doing my masters at the CSIR. Doctor Tshabalala helped me with several of my academic queries, and was never too busy to support me when I needed assistance. It’s through doctor Tshabalala that I was able to speak about nanotechnology on national television. She taught me that whilst it is important to be a brilliant female scientist we must never forget to help those who come after us and for that I am eternally grateful.
“You were one of the co-authors of “The Future of Laboratory Chemistry Learning and Teaching Must be Accessible” project focused on enhancing accessibility and inclusivity od chemistry laboratories. What challenges and biases have you identified to be the most limiting in achieving it and what would be the main recommendations derived from this research?”
Unfortunately, science and research specifically is quite limiting. This is because research labs are typically designed with a fixed set of requirements in mind and none of which account for any kind of variation in height or ability. The work in this piece is an amalgamation of personal experiences and research which really place the spotlight on the inaccessibility within research laboratories. Undergraduate programmes tend to offer more flexibility around reasonable adjustments which are made for students with disabilities. We found that in post graduate research an later academic research there was less support provided to students who need this. Furthermore, it is unfortunate that the disclosure rate around disability drops substantially as one transitions from an undergraduate degree to a postgraduate degree.
Accessibility and inclusivity should be the pillars that guide our standards in constructing research labs, however as mentioned previously these labs rarely consider anyone who exists outside of the “typical box”. It is fundamental to change the culture (stigma) around disability, neurodivergence, mental health & chronic illness as this often poses the greatest barrier to the implementation of inclusive practises. Some practical examples of inclusive work spaces include height adjustable fumehoods, comfortable stools for those who cannot stand for long periods. This list is exhaustive, but we must make a start at creating more inclusive spaces. Only then can we encourage diversity in scientific research.
“Final message for all the little girls dreaming of becoming scientists and solving important problems of our society?”
For little girl who is dreaming of becoming a scientist and wants to solve the most important problems of our society I remind you that you are enough. That you have a seat at this table and you find yourself in this room not because of luck or any other circumstance but because you were wholly deserving of being there. Science is a world of endless possibilities and while some of the problems might be frustrating to solve which you might find in your own research, it is also a world of magic and wonder and excitement.
“As we pass through the second phase of decarbonization, involving industry at most, there is the need to find energy storage and use solutions for industrial clients. What role do you think batteries will play in that sector? Alternatively, what technologies do you see championing this sector (e.g hydrogen, e-fuels etc)?”
I believe that the second phase of decarbonization is quite an interesting time particularly for industries and the energy intensive industries namely have a large role to play in our fight I suppose against climate change. I do think that batteries will have a role in this in terms of different kinds of technologies, I am less confident on which one would be the best option. There is no doubt that there has been a great interest in hydrogen as an alternative fuel recently and whilst I can understand the need for alternative fuels I do think that there are a lot of technical components which need to be considered particularly in integrating hydrogen into these industries.
I will say that my experience with hydrogen dates back to 2015 so almost a decade ago when I worked with a PEM electrolyzer cell and was working namely on anodes for oxygen evolution reactions. Since then I do understand that there have been exceptional strides towards the production of hydrogen namely blue hydrogen and looking at ways to couple this with renewable sources of energy, however I think that the technological considerations must be addressed in entirety.
I think that this next phase of decarbonization in industry will require what is known as a hybrid or multi source approach to decarbonization. The reason being that no single technology will be sufficient to fully decarbonize these industries. So I believe that this will include a combination of energy storage systems technologies which are able to integrate waste heat for example and various alternative fuels such as biofuels and perhaps even hydrogen.