Conrad Nichols Technology Analyst

Conrad Nichols is a Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, focusing on energy and battery storage technologies. Prior to joining in 2022, he completed his MEng in Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, completing an integrated year in industry at Mondelēz International at their Bournville site. Here, he worked on projects ranging from waste management to data collection of chocolate rheology in manufacturing and R&D departments, respectively. His interest in R&D led him to work for a research consultancy after graduating, working for multinational clients spanning a broad range of sectors covering food and beverage, consumer goods, agritech, energy and sustainability. This experience and great interest in renewable energy systems allowed him to pivot from the food and beverage sector to energy and battery storage. He is based in London, UK.

Conrad obtained an MEng (Master of Engineering) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham. Over the course of his studies and industrial placement, he gained technical engineering expertise and business insights for the running of a large food and beverage company. His MEng Research project involved investigating the mouthfeel perception of low-alcohol beers versus their normal-alcohol counterparts. This involved analysing gathered tribology data of various alcohol samples and comparing this with trends from existing research.

 

Aside from expertise in food and beverage, a key interest of his at University was in renewable energy systems. He took an optional module in his Master's year, which involved critically analysing two of National Grid's scenarios for a "net-zero Great Britain by 2050". This included investigating the supply and demand of hydrogen, and the use of interconnectors between countries for fluctuations in electricity demand.

At IDTechEx, Conrad is working in the field of energy and battery storage with a particular interest in technologies, circular economies and the rapid growth of battery use in the coming future.