De Wit’s design concept harnesses the conductivity, lightness and strength of graphene, enabling the total redesign of the typical EV battery. The stacked graphene battery design would enable charging times at a fraction of the fastest-charging products on the market today, while the flexibility of the material means less could be used for the optimal balance of cost, strength, weight, storage capacity and size.
The announcement was made at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) annual dinner on 29 November. De Wit will now embark on a six-month work experience tour of award sponsors Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren Automotive, Nissan, Peugeot and Toyota.
De Wit said: “From the outset, this has been a challenging but rewarding experience and the mentoring programme has really helped me to develop my idea and push myself further.”
In a closely fought competition, the other two finalists also impressed the judges with unique and innovative entries. Joel Hayes, of Northumbria University, presented an autonomous vehicle promotion campaign called ‘Be Driven’, while Manuel Agustin Yepez Corsetti, from the University of Glasgow, created a concept that harvests waste energy with thermoelectric materials.
Autocar editor-in-chief Steve Cropley, added: “This award continues to identify, nurture and inspire the talent of the future for the automotive industry.
“I would like to congratulate not only the winner, Joshua, but also the finalists who came extremely close. The ideas and concepts they all produced were some of the finest the award has seen and it was difficult to choose a clear winner. If this award is anything to go by, the future is certainly bright for the automotive industry.”
