Everything Electric Podcast

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
Why not come and join us at our next Everything Electric expo: https://everythingelectric.show
Support our StopBurningStuff campaign: https://www.patreon.com/STOPBurningStuff
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Subscribe for episode alerts and the Everything Electric newsletter: https://fullycharged.show/zap-sign-up/
Visit: https://FullyCharged.Show
Find us on X: https://x.com/Everyth1ngElec
Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/officialeverythingelectric
To partner, exhibit or sponsor at our award-winning expos email: commercial@fullycharged.show
EE GREATER LONDON (Twickenham) - 11th & 12th Sept 2026
EE SYDNEY - Sydney Olympic Park - 18th - 20th Sept 2026
#fullychargedshow #everythingelectricshow #homeenergy #cleanenergy #battery #electriccars #electric-vehicles-uk

Air pollution in London has changed dramatically over the past few decades — but how much of that is down to policies like ULEZ, and what's still being missed?
This week Helen Czerski is joined by Dr. Gary Fuller, an air pollution scientist at Imperial College London who has spent over 30 years measuring air quality in the capital. They cover what's actually in the air we breathe, how ULEZ and other low-emission schemes have changed it, and the surprisingly large health benefits that are now being measured — plus the pollution sources still flying under the radar.
Catch us live at Everything Electric Greater London (Twickenham, 11-12 Sept) and Sydney (18-20 Sept).
00:00 Intro – ULEZ and London's air today 
02:21 Meet Dr. Gary Fuller 
03:50 Has London's air pollution actually improved? 
07:25 What's in the air
11:45 How air pollution is measured 
16:34 A short history of LEZ and ULEZ 
19:13 The evidence 
25:37 Tyre and brake wear – the overlooked pollution source 
29:24 What Gary would fix next: Heathrow, aviation fuel, wood burning 
33:46 Health impacts – the Ella Kissi-Debrah case 
37:32 Quantifying ULEZ's health benefits 
44:23 Why doesn't the health argument win politically? 
48:59 US case study: 40% drop in admissions after a plant closed
 
Why not come and join us at our next Everything Electric expo: https://everythingelectric.show
 
Check out our sister channel Everything Electric CARS: https://www.youtube.com/@fullychargedshow
 
Support our StopBurningStuff campaign: https://www.patreon.com/STOPBurningStuff
 
Become an Everything Electric Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fullychargedshow
 
Become a YouTube member: use JOIN button above
 
Buy the Fully Charged Guide to Electric Vehicles & Clean Energy : https://buff.ly/2GybGt0
 
Subscribe for episode alerts and the Everything Electric newsletter: https://fullycharged.show/zap-sign-up/
 
Visit: https://FullyCharged.Show
 
Find us on X: https://x.com/Everyth1ngElec
 
Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/officialeverythingelectric
 
To partner, exhibit or sponsor at our award-winning expos email: commercial@fullycharged.show
 
EE GREATER LONDON (Twickenham) - 11th & 12th Sept 2026
EE SYDNEY - Sydney Olympic Park - 18th - 20th Sept 2026
 
 #fullychargedshow #everythingelectricshow #homeenergy #cleanenergy #battery #electriccars #electric-vehicles-uk

Robert Llewellyn talks to Michael Dunne - entrepreneur, author and keynote speaker - about China's ambitions to dominate global electric car and battery markets. How did it happen, and is China's rise and America's automotive decline inevitable?
 
Join us at our next Everything Electric expo: https://everythingelectric.show
EE GREATER LONDON (Twickenham) - 11th & 12th Sept 2026
EE SYDNEY - Sydney Olympic Park - 18th - 20th Sept 2026
To partner, exhibit or sponsor at our award-winning expos email: commercial@fullycharged.show
 
00:00 – Intro
02:10 – Michael Dunne's background and first trip to China!
06:27 – Robert's own Shanghai trip
08:03 – The old China: BYD's unloved early days and foreign brands' golden years
11:36 – The "two earthquakes" — EV sales explode, exports skyrocket
13:14 – Chinese cars flooding the UK & charging infrastructure
18:13 – How China built its edge
22:11 – Made in China 2025 & the long game on batteries/rare earths
36:52 – The subsidy debate, state support, and the West's dilemma
58:52 – The road ahead: autonomy, robotaxis, congestion, and the West's remaining strengths
 
Check out our sister channel Everything Electric CARS: https://www.youtube.com/@fullychargedshow
Support our StopBurningStuff campaign: https://www.patreon.com/STOPBurningStuff
Become an Everything Electric Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fullychargedshow
Become a YouTube member: use JOIN button above
Buy the Fully Charged Guide to Electric Vehicles & Clean Energy : https://buff.ly/2GybGt0
Subscribe for episode alerts and the Everything Electric newsletter: https://fullycharged.show/zap-sign-up/
Visit: https://FullyCharged.Show
Find us on X: https://x.com/Everyth1ngElec
Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/officialeverythingelectric

All aboard for a British success story in the making? Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace is closer and closer to becoming a reality, and Robert Llewellyn discusses its progress with its Chief Engineer, David King, and how better and better battery technology has made it all possible.
 
Why not come and join us at our next Everything Electric expo: https://everythingelectric.show
EE GREATER LONDON (Twickenham) - 11th & 12th Sept 2026 EE SYDNEY - Sydney Olympic Park - 18th - 20th Sept 2026
To partner, exhibit or sponsor at our award-winning expos email: commercial@fullycharged.show
 
00:00 Why this eVTOL episode matters
04:35 Who are Vertical Aerospace?
06:00 The São Paulo traffic jam idea
08:00 Why batteries finally made electric flight possible
13:30 David's background: V-22 Osprey & tiltrotors
17:30 Helicopters' Achilles' heels!
22:00 Why the Velo will be dramatically quieter
32:30Why electric motors are perfect for VTOL power spikes
44:30 Battery safety: fire testing & crash protection
47:30 Certifying to airliner safety standards
 
Check out our sister channel Everything Electric CARS: https://www.youtube.com/@fullychargedshow
Support our StopBurningStuff campaign: https://www.patreon.com/STOPBurningStuff
Become an Everything Electric Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fullychargedshow
Become a YouTube member: use JOIN button above
Buy the Fully Charged Guide to Electric Vehicles & Clean Energy : https://buff.ly/2GybGt0
Subscribe for episode alerts and the Everything Electric newsletter: https://fullycharged.show/zap-sign-up/
Visit: https://FullyCharged.Show
Find us on X: https://x.com/Everyth1ngElec
Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/officialeverythingelectric

North Sea Oil is an addiction the UK has struggled with, but what if there was another way? All countries are rich in resource of one type of another, the UK's coastline is its pearl. Listen in for a deep dive with Deborah Greaves from the University of Oxford, as Robert Llewellyn finds out everything about offshore wind, floating turbines and the actual projects under way. They also get into how O&G engineering skills transfer directly to offshore wind, as well as other emergent technologies, including tidal, and why the UK is unquely placed to ride the wave. Clean energy curious? 
Come to an Everything Electric expo: https://everythingelectric.show
EE GREATER LONDON (Twickenham) - 11th & 12th Sept 2026
EE SYDNEY - Sydney Olympic Park - 18th - 20th Sept 2026
To partner, exhibit or sponsor at our award-winning expos email: commercial@fullycharged.show
Timestamps
00:00 — Intro
02:34 — BYD flash charging: 250–300 miles in under 5 minutes
03:53 — The channel's evolving purpose in a crowded EV media landscape
05:49 — Guest intro: Prof. Deborah Greaves, Oxford / IMarEST President
07:39 — What IMarEST does; offshore renewables, diversity, collaboration
26:24 — Designing for end of life: biodiversity, decommissioning, material recovery
27:40 — EMEC in Orkney: testing wave, tidal, and floating wind devices
29:27 — Floating offshore wind off Scotland
44:22 — Celtic Sea as next floating wind zone
57:24 — Electric HGVs now proven; tidal, wave & future tech!
Check out our sister channel Everything Electric CARS: https://www.youtube.com/@fullychargedshow
Support our StopBurningStuff campaign: https://www.patreon.com/STOPBurningStuff
Become an Everything Electric Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fullychargedshow
Become a YouTube member: use JOIN button above Buy the Fully Charged Guide to Electric Vehicles & Clean Energy : https://buff.ly/2GybGt0
Subscribe for episode alerts and the Everything Electric newsletter: https://fullycharged.show/zap-sign-up/ Visit: https://FullyCharged.Show
Find us on X: https://x.com/Everyth1ngElec
Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/officialeverythingelectric
#fullychargedshow #everythingelectricshow #homeenergy #cleanenergy #battery #electriccars #electric-vehicles-uk