• Energy Research
• UK Research and Innovation close
• 2017 close

The energy systems in both the UK and China face challenges of unprecedented proportions. In the UK, it is expected that the amount of electricity demand met by renewable generation in 2020 will be increased by an order of magnitude from the present levels. In the context of the targets proposed by the UK Climate Change Committee it is expected that the electricity sector would be almost entirely decarbonised by 2030 with significantly increased levels of electricity production and demand driven by electrification of heat and transport. In China, the government has promised to cut greenhouse gas emission per unit of gross domestic product by 40-45% by 2020 based on the 2005 level. This represents a significant challenge given that over 70% of its electricity is currently generated by coal-fired power plants. Energy storage has the potential to provide a solution towards these challenges. Numerous energy storage technologies exist currently, including electrochemical (batteries, flow batteries and sodium sulphate batteries etc), mechanical (compressed air and pumped hydro etc), thermal (heat and cold), and electrical (supercapacitors). Among these storage technologies, thermal energy storage (TES) provides a unique approach for efficient and effective peak-shaving of electricity and heat demand, efficient use of low grade waste heat and renewable energy, low-cost high efficiency carbon capture, and distributed energy and backup energy systems. Despite the importance and huge potential, little has been done in the UK and China on TES for grid scale applications. This forms the main motivation for the proposed research. This proposed research aims to address, in an integrated manner, key scientific and technological challenges associated with TES for grid scale applications, covering TES materials, TES components, TES devices and integration. The specific objectives are: (i) to develop novel TES materials, components and devices; (ii) to understand relationships between TES material properties and TES component behaviour, and TES component behaviour and TES device performance; (iii) to understand relationship between TES component behaviour and manufacturing process parameters, and (iv) to investigate integration of TES devices with large scale CAES system, decentralized microgrid system, and solar thermal power generation system. We bring together a multidisciplinary team of internationally leading thermal, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineers, and chemical and materials scientists with strong track records and complementary expertise needed for comprehensively addressing the TES challenges. This dynamic team comprises 15 leading academics from 4 universities (Beijing University of Technology, University of Leeds, University of Nottingham and University of Warwick, and 2 Chinese Academy of Sciences Research Institutes (Institute of Engineering Thermophysics and Institute of Process Engineering), and 7 industrial partners.

The research responds to the unprecedented emergence of global environmental norms intended to reconcile natural resource management with poverty alleviation. Prominent examples of such norms are the social safeguards included in global conventions and the human rights-based rulings of international courts. The norms possess the potential to transform development practice in the future, so long as they effectively support poor people's claims on natural resources and rights to sustainable livelihoods. The increasing significance of global environmental norms challenges research to develop new theory on the dynamics of environment and development that attends to cross-scale relationships between local environmental struggles, environmental mobilizations and global norms. This research employs an environmental justice lens to examine the effects of global environmental norms on poverty alleviation in the Global South through explorations of forests and water. The proposed research expands the political ecology approach through attention to notions of environmental justice and cross-scale environmental politics. Notions of justice are at the core of many environmental struggles, as they inform people's claims and practices in relation to natural resources. Justice conceptions are also an integral component of international environmental politics and global environmental norms. Thus ideas about justice are an integral element of environmental politics across scales, connecting local struggles to mobilizations at national and international levels as well as the conceptions informing global norms - or causing dissonances between them. Research in stage 1 proceeded by way of four case studies from Nepal, Sudan and Uganda on how marginalized people's struggles in reaction to carbon forestry and hydropower projects are, or are not taken up in environmental mobilizations, and how this uptake does, or does not contribute to increases in wellbeing. The particular objectives guiding the research in stage 2 are to: (1) Generate empirical insights on the resonance of global norms and international mobilisations with environmental struggles by examining international politics of justice on carbon forestry and hydropower. (2) Combine the empirical insights from stage 1 and 2 to develop new theory on cross-scale dynamics of environment and development. (3) Support practitioners involved in environmental mobilisations in generating impact in low-income countries through novel forms of engagement. Research in stage 2 will trace references to the struggles examined in our stage 1 research in negotiations over the so-called Safeguards on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and international court cases dealing with hydropower projects in the South. The research team will synthesize their findings in a theoretical and two case-based journal articles. In addition, the insights from stage 1 and stage 2 will inform the development of a theoretical paper on cross-scale dynamics of environment and development. The project team will also expand the cooperation with environmental activists on the basis of the insights gained in stage 1 research, using think tanks and workshops to create new forums for engaging activists, professionals and government officials. Such forums facilitate involved actors to develop shared ideas about justice and apply them to the REDD+ Safeguards and international water law.

The capital cost of existing solar thermal collectors is the major barrier to use rather than efficiency; the objective of this project is to produce a roof based solar collector with adequate efficiency but at a potentially much lower cost that could be deployed on the large roof areas of commercial buildings to reduce space heating costs. The project aim is to capitalise on the strength and thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes (CNT's) to reinforce polymer materials that have previously been too weak for thermal panel production and bring to market a robust and durable polymer solar thermal collection system that could be manufactured and installed at a 50% lower cost than existing metallic solar collectors with lightweight and aesthetic benefits that would allow significantly enhanced solar collection capability. Also the project aims to embed sensors to provide data to optimise heat energy generation and also allow friendly end user control. This would involve developing a software package to utilise the data analytics to perform as a sales tool that would enable a reduction in the cost of sale by up to 50%.This project will bring together expert roofing and polymer manufacturing companies alongside leading academics in the design of solar systems to optimise the polymeric panels through laboratory and solar simulated testing, determine an economic production process, attain solar keymark of the panels, the accreditation of manufacturing factories, protection of the component supply chain, securing of installers, extensive market analysis , innovativemarket exploitation and dissemination for successful commercialisation

The market for photovoltaic (PV) solar modules is experiencing astonishing growth due to increasing energy demand, security of supply issues, increasing cost of fossil fuels and concerns over global warming. The world market for photovoltaics grew by 139% to 21GW in 2010. Although this extraordinary pace of growth is unlikely to be maintained in the short term it will advance rapidly again at the point where grid parity is achieved. It is important that the UK retains a strong research presence in this important technology. It is proposed that the SUPERSOLAR Hub of Universities be set up to co-ordinate research activities, establish a network of academic and industrial researchers, conduct cross-technology research and provide a focus for international co-operation. SUPERSOLAR is led by CREST at Loughborough University and supported by the Universities of Bath, Liverpool, Oxford, Sheffield and Southampton. This group is active in all of the PV technologies including new materials, thin film chalcopyrite, c-Si, thin film a-Si, dye sensitised solar cells, organic PV, concentrator PV, PV systems performance and testing. SUPERSOLAR will set up a solar cell efficiency measurement facility for the benefit of the PV community in the UK. The consortium contains a deliberate balance of expertise, with no bias towards any one technology.

Small scale horizontal axis wind turbines and vertical axis wind turbines are unable to handle high winds or turbulent conditions. At very high speeds wind turbines shut down. Existing designs focus on external mechanical and electrical systems to reduce the output rather than exploit the attributes of low and high wind conditions. Turbines with static blades cannot effectively capture the direct wind energy for all the blades. Existing designs rely on a small proportion of the total blade area and typically feature a symmetrical profile (equal profile each side). Existing vertical axis machines have an inherent inefficiency because while one blade is working well, other blades are effectively pulling in the wrong direction- causing them to behave as a brake. Vertogen has identified a gap in the market for a variable pitch VAWT.

This project will combine a Soltropy freeze tolerant solar thermal system with heat storage capability. This will make the overall system more effective and expand the use of solar thermal by making the it more cost effective. The project's main focus is to - 1. Reduce the cost of the system for installations where space heating is required. 2. Reduce the cost of the system for installations where there is no existing hot water tank. 3. Increase the performance of the system.

Highly concentrated photovoltaic (HCPV) systems exploit concentrated solar flux using cheap optical components in lieu of large area, expensive photovoltaic cells. However, HCPV chips - due to their higher energy flux - generate considerable amount of waste heat which lowers their energy conversion efficiency. Novel microscale water cooling systems (i.e. microfluidic chips) can effectively regulate the photovoltaics cell temperature, thereby enhancing the cell energy efficiency. Additionally, the heat extracted by the coolant can be reused in: a. Food and Pharmaceutical stage: to run an absorption refrigeration unit (where evaporation of a working fluid causes cooling) for food preservation and storage of vaccines, that require considerable energy use. b. Water: membrane based water desalination processes to make saline water suitable for domestic and agricultural use c. Fuel: for efficient production biodiesel Integrating water cooled HCPV systems with one or more of these waste heat recovery technologies can have major positive impact on water, energy, food, healthcare and environmental challenges faced by Brazil - this is very well-aligned with the 'Food energy water environment nexus' theme.

Awaiting Public Project Summary

The aim of the project is to integrate Soltropy’s patented freeze tolerance solution, developed for vacuum tube solar thermal collectors, with AES Ltd’s (AES Solar) flat plate solar thermal collectors. This will help to significantly reduce the installed cost of their solar thermal systems. Most solar thermal systems in the UK do not run water directly through the collector panels as it can cause freeze damage. Instead they run an antifreeze fluid through the collector which means that when a new solar thermal system is installed a perfectly good tank is replaced by a new hot water tank with a heat exchanger. This can double the price of the installed system due to the new tank and additional labour costs. A new tank is not required with Soltropy’s solution which allows water to be used directly in the system. It works by using a compressible tube inside the copper piping which takes up the expanded volume of the water if/when it freezes. The cost savings made from not needing a new hot water cylinder and from the reduced installation time will lead to a steep reduction in the installed cost of solar thermal systems

The SOLplus project will explore the feasibility of using novel nanostructured coatings to improve the operational performance of solar PV by preventing dirt and grime accumulation on solar PV modules and reducing or eliminating the associated drop in power output (typically up to 10-20%). The project will establish the proof of principle that these durable, transparent, and superhydrophobic coatings can be put on both glass and flexible substrates to prevent the build-up of dirt on solar panels. Such coatings will be a significant advance in the field of repellent surfaces, with the potential to be self-cleaning . By maintaining the design performance of the solar PV system, such a coating would allow for significant cost and emissions savings since the lowered power losses would directly translate to a higher LCOE for solar power and contribute to significant reductions in carbon emissions. The project will provide the UK an opportunity to exploit an emerging advanced materials technology and be better equipped to meet its renewable energy targets by extracting the maximum performance output from the investment made into solar PV reducing the LCOE for solar PV.