Conrad Nichols Senior Technology Analyst
Bio
Conrad Nichols is a Senior Technology Analyst at IDTechEx. Having started in 2022, he oversees energy and battery storage research topics at the market research firm, and is responsible for authoring reports, creating forecasts, and delivering presentations and insights to clients directly and at in-person events globally.
Education
Conrad studied for his MEng in Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, completing an integrated year in industry at Mondelēz International, and graduated with First-Class Honours. His interest in R&D led him to work for a research consultancy after graduating, working with multinational clients spanning a broad range of sectors covering Food and Beverage, Consumer Goods, Agritech, Energy and Sustainability.
Research
With IDTechEx, Conrad is responsible for leading research in Li-ion BESS, Redox Flow Batteries, Long Duration Energy Storage, Thermal Energy Storage, and Li-ion Battery Circular Economy topics, including Li-ion Recycling and Second-life EV Battery Repurposing. Within these topics, Conrad has examined and reported on advances in technologies, materials, components, regional market developments, supply chains, electricity markets, legislation and regulations, among other areas.
He continues to attend events and travel to conduct primary research, and present IDTechEx's findings at conferences and to customers directly. This includes presentations at leading global events for battery and energy storage such as The Battery Show Europe, The Battery Show North America, Battery Recycling Conference & Expo, The International Flow Battery Forum, and Smart Energy Week Japan.
Consulting
Conrad has also completed bespoke consultancy projects for multinational companies in battery and energy storage topic areas.
- One project involved assessing the technology, business, and market developments of a leading Li-ion BESS manufacturer and developer. This included assessing the types of BESS technologies offered by the manufacturer, analysing the prices at which these technologies were being sold in different scenarios, key projects in their pipeline, and new manufacturing facilities being established.
- Another project involved leading and authoring a concise 10-page summary report, covering energy generation and storage technologies. This provided key insights into the state of the global energy storage market and emerging technologies. This included further analysis and discussion on the future penetration of long duration energy storage technologies and other energy generation technologies, e.g., electrolyzers and small modular reactors (SMRs). The report assessed energy storage technology readiness levels, Capex, round-trip efficiency, cycle life, energy density, funding into various technologies, influence of policy on energy storage, and energy storage for residential and data center applications.
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Recent Work
Research Articles
- Safer Battery Storage: Thermal Management & Fire Protection Trends
- Advances in Direct Li-ion Recycling & Battery-Grade Graphite Recovery
- The Second-Life EV Battery Market Revealed
- How Tariffs & Regulation Impact Li-ion Battery Recycling in US & EU
- Li-ion Battery Recycling Market to Reach US$52B in Value by 2045
Reports Authored
- Redox Flow Batteries Market 2026-2036: Forecasts, Markets, Technologies and Players
- Thermal Management, Fire and Explosion Protection for BESS 2026-2036: Materials, Technologies and Players
- Critical Material Recovery 2026-2046: Technologies, Markets, Players
- Li-ion Battery Recycling Market 2025-2045: Markets, Forecasts, Technologies, and Players
- Ion Exchange Membranes 2025-2035: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts