12th July 2021 12:02 am 9th July 2021 2:59 pm The MagLib fast-charging battery solution from UCL has won the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Emerging Technologies Competition 2021 for the Energy & Environment category. Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay Pioneered by Thomas Heenan of UCL, MagLib is said to use bespoke magnetic fields to enhance the performance of lithium-ion batteries for applications from smart-watches and mobile phones towards electric vehicles. Testing has demonstrated charging time reductions of up to 67 per cent. The ninth edition of the competition’s final witnessed 24 finalists pitching to judges from companies and organisations including AstraZeneca, PepsiCo and Unilever. Each winner is awarded £20,000 prize money, plus 12 months’ one-on-one support from a specially assigned Royal Society of Chemistry mentor, and a further £20,000 as an unconditional business acceleration grant.