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The Nick Bird Award was set up by Reading-based energy specialists, Farmex, in recognition of the work carried out by Nick Bird, a director of the company, who died in 2013. His 17 years of working in the field of real-time monitoring of pig production has had a significant impact on the industry and, increasingly, other livestock sectors.
The Award – a perpetual trophy and a cheque for £500 – is for an outstanding piece of written work that involves recorded observations of an agricultural process, data analysis and interpretation with demonstrable added value for farmers.
Chris says his project aimed to determine whether ex-electric vehicle batteries could provide a financially viable battery energy storage system (BESS) to farms, further offsetting the environmental impact of manufacturing these batteries. This should enable farmers to increase their use of renewable energy sources, such as solar, significantly reducing their energy costs. His studies showed hypothetical lifetime savings of £11,000-£108,000, based on the Harper Adams dairy.
“The batteries are relatively cheap compared with ‘first life’ alternatives and BESS significantly extends the life of the batteries which would probably otherwise be returned to China for recycling,” said Chris.
Having received his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chris has joined the Derby office of the LSTC consultancy company which has contracts with multiple sectors across the UK’s power transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Farmex director, Hugh Crabtree commented: “I look forward to making this award every year and reading the competing dissertations. Chris Lovett’s work was particularly well researched and tested. I’m sure that Nick Bird would have been most impressed!”
October 8, 2025 -Farmex
