Fuel cell scientist loses over a decade of work in suspected arson attack

A scientist working on advanced hydrogen fuel cell technology that converts organic waste into clean energy has lost over a decade of work in a suspected arson attack.

Luke Evans, a PhD student at the University of Liverpool and chief executive of Scintilla, a collaborative manufacturing enterprise aiming to convert organic household waste into clean electricity, was just two months away from submitting his PhD when he received a call on 10 January. He was told that his research lab – based at a community recycling hub called ‘The Bridge’ in Wavertree, Merseyside – had been entirely destroyed.