Materials technology group Umicore has awarded its first Umicore Scientific Award to young French researcher Charles Delacourt for his work in the field of the electronic behaviour of lithium batteries. It will help to improve the prospects of using this type of rechargeable battery in environmentally-friendly high-power hybrid vehicles. By turning this into an annual event, Umicore aims to highlight the crucial role fundamental academic research has to play in industry and society as a whole: the scientific quest for intelligent energy-efficient solutions to store and generate power. Umicore invests more than 5 per cent of its revenues in R&D and also fosters close ties with dozens of research institutions and universities around the world. Charles Delacourt's entry from Université de Picardie, in Amiens, was one of 17 from all over Europe, including Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Germany. The prize, along with a cheque of € 10,000 was awarded to the winner in Brussels on 4 December.