• Energy Research
• 2020 close

This project aims to exploit electronic and vibrational properties of nanoscale materials that are 1000 times smaller than diameter of a human hair to discover new materials for energy harvesting and cooling in consumer electronics such as mobile phones and laptops. The ultimate goal of the research is to understand quantum and phonon transport through molecular structures for thermoelectricity and thermal management. The candidate will receive a broad training on computational materials modelling and gain experience with cutting edge quantum transport simulation methods, conduct a vibrant research with publication potential and would have an opportunity to conduct collaborative projects with internationally leading experimental groups in Europe and beyond.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is becoming a major source of renewable energy around the globe, with the International Energy Agency predicting it to be the largest contributor to renewables by 2024. This uptake is driven by the building of large PV power plants in regions of high solar resource, and also by the deployment of so-called distributed PV on the roofs of homes and industrial sites. The dominant PV technology to date has been based upon the crystalline semiconductor silicon. The production of silicon PV panels has been commoditised for large-scale manufacturing with costs reducing by a factor of ten in under a decade. Our research addresses the next generation of printed PV technologies which could deliver solar energy with far greater functional and processing flexibility than c-Si or traditional compound semiconductors, enabling tuneable design to meet the requirements of market applications inaccessible to current PV technologies. In particular, we seek to advance photovoltaics based upon organic and perovskite semiconductors - materials which can be processed from solution into the simplest possible solar cell structures, hence reducing cost and embodied energy from the manufacturing. These new technologies are still in the early stages of development with many fundamental scientific and engineering challenges still to be addressed. These challenges will be the foci of our research agenda, as will the development of solar cells for specific applications for which there is currently no optimal technological solution, but which need attributes such as light weight, flexible form factor, tuned spectral response or semi-transparency. These are unique selling points of organic and perovskite solar PV but fall outside the performance (and often cost) windows of the traditional technologies. Our specific target sectors are power for high value communications (for example battery integratable solar cells for unmanned aerial vehicles), and improved energy and resource efficiency power for the built environment (including solar windows and local for 'internet of things' devices). In essence we seek to extend the reach and application of PV beyond the provision of stationary energy. To deliver our ambitious research and technology development agenda we have assembled three world-renowned groups in next generation PV researchers at Swansea University, Imperial College London and Oxford University. All are field leaders and the assembled team spans the fundamental and applied science and engineering needed to answer both the outstanding fundamental questions and reduce the next generation PV technology to practise. Our research programme called Application Targeted Integrated Photovoltaics also involves industrial partners from across the PV supply chain - early manufacturers of the PV technology, component suppliers and large end users who understand the technical and cost requirements to deliver a viable product. The programme is primarily motivated by the clear need to reduce CO2 emissions across our economies and societies and our target sectors are of high priority and potential in this regard. It is also important for the UK to maintain an internationally competitive capability (and profile) in the area of next generation renewables. As part of our agenda we will be ensuring the training of scientists and engineers equipped with the necessary multi-disciplinary skills and closely connected to the emerging industry and its needs to ensure the UK stays pre-eminent in next generation photovoltaics.

SusHydro project aims to create interdisciplinary guidelines for sustainable governance of the existing hydropower system in Finland. It integrates the ecological, economic, and social pillars of sustainability in its approach. The project is based on the mitigation hierarchy and adaptive governance theory. We argue that ecological, economical and societal circumstances surrounding hydropower have changed substantially over the recent decades, but its governance has largely remained the same due to, for example, the strong permanence of hydropower permits and inadequate knowledge on river ecosystems. Our research provides footsteps for regoverning the industry towards sustainable transformation. By conducting and combining state-of-the art legal and economic research and new methods for studying river ecology this project is uniquely positioned to resolve the conflict between the current governance of hydropower and sustainability.

The offshore wind industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, and continues to expand both in the UK and worldwide. Most of the offshore wind turbines installed to date are located in relatively shallow water and are mounted on fixed bottom support structures. Given the limitation of suitable shallow water sites available with high wind resources and also to reduce the environmental and visual impact of turbines, it is necessary to extend wind turbines to deeper water through the development of floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) systems, which mount wind turbines on floating support platforms. The project aims to fill an important gap in the design, manufacturing and testing of emerging FOWT techniques by specifically characterising extreme loading on FOWTs under complex and harsh marine environments. These are typically represented by storm conditions consisting of strong wind, extreme waves, significant current, rising sea level and complex interplay between these elements, through a coordinated campaign of both advanced CFD modelling and physical wave tank tests. This has direct relevance to the current and planned activities in the UK to develop this new technology in offshore wind. In addition, the project aims to develop a suite of hierarchical numerical models that can be applied routinely for both fast and detailed analysis of the specific flow problem of environmental (wind, wave, current) loading and dynamic responses of FOWTs under realistic storm conditions. As an integral part of the project, a new experimental programme will be devised and conducted in the COAST laboratory at the University of Plymouth, providing improved understanding of the underlying physics and for validating the numerical models. Towards the end of the project, fully documented CFD software and experimental data sets will be released to relevant industrial users and into the Public Domain, so that they may be used to aid the design of future support structures of FOWTs and to secure their survivability with an extended envelope of safe operation for maximum power output.

The core aim of the study is the development of a novel solar thermal energy storage system using phase change materials (PCM). PCM are a class of material which change phase when absorbing or releasing energy. They typically enter a liquid form when absorbing heat and solidify when the heat is extracted. PCMs have high thermal energy storage potentials due to the material property of latent heat capacity, the amount of energy absorbed or released when a material undergoes a phase change. The system aims to take advantage of the developments in concentrating solar thermal collector technology which deliver high temperatures and couple it with PCM heat storage. This study aims to use latent heat storage capability to store a relatively large amount of solar thermal energy and release the energy at the point of demand. The research will give specific attention to delivering temperatures and heating profiles suitable for mid-temperature range industrial processes. Detailed scientific objectives Development of PCM which enhances desirable properties such as thermal conductivity and melting temperatures. This activity will be carried out using computer simulation followed by experimental verification. Identify the factors affecting the thermal cycle stability and long-term (seasonal) storage capability of PCM and incorporate measures to mitigate the negative effects of thermal cycling and long-term storage. Thermal cycling stability is defined as the number of times a material can undergo heating and cooling cycles while maintaining its thermal properties. Initial investigation will be carried out through standard material characterisation tests followed by microscopy using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Degradation factors will be identified, followed by the application of corrective measures and the material will be re-tested. Development of a model to explain the phase change boundary movement during melting and solidifying and development of heat exchanger design with optimisations led by knowledge gained from the melting and solidifying model. Novelty Model to understand, quantify and visualise the melting and solidifying process of PCM. PCM optimised to undergo more thermal cycles and degrade less when used for long-term energy storage. Development of a novel heat exchanger designed to take advantage of the melting and solidifying profile of PCM. An industrial scale, system design for storage and delivery of heat, using an optimised PCM as the storage medium. Benefit to society With industrial processes accounting for nearly 16% of national energy usage in the United Kingdom and over half of that energy coming from non-renewable sources, it is the hope of this study, to make solar thermal energy a viable alternative in an industrial setting, through improvements in storage technology and capability to deliver higher temperatures. The potential applications of the proposed work include processes in the food processing industry, tea industry and polymer manufacture.

Semiconducting polymers are important in organic photovoltaics, photocatalysis, and other energy applications. The stability of organic photovoltaic devices is a critical factor limiting their commercialisation, but structural origins of the primary degradation mechanisms remain largely unknown. This project will identify specific structural changes that occur in the charged polymers (the active species during photovoltaic operation) in combination with known degradation factors such as oxygen and water. In turn, this will enable the design of new, more robust materials. Identification of specific degradation mechanisms will benefit not just the organic photovoltaic field, but also many other applications where such polymers are utilised: light emitting diodes in display technology, for example. To explore these degradation mechanisms in semiconducting polymers, electrochemistry and Raman spectroscopy will be combined to create the powerful but seldom-used spectroelectrochemical resonance Raman. This technique is not only highly sensitive to small changes in molecular structure and conformation, but also allows the selective probing of a single species in a system with multiple co-existing species. This project therefore aims to apply this novel technique of spectroelectrochemical resonance Raman to a series of conjugated polymers to ascertain specific structural changes during electron transfer, in order to elucidate their degradation mechanisms. A direct outcome of this project will be the creation of design rules to alleviate degradation in organic photovoltaic materials. As such, this project aligns directly with EPSRC's Energy theme, tackling the research areas of Materials for Energy Applications, Chemical Structure, and Electrochemical Sciences.

Part of the UK's National Energy and Climate Plan is to seek, in cooperation with the EU to support the delivery of cost-effective, clean, and secure supplies of energy with a large part of this is to come from harnessing offshore wind in the North Sea. The European Commission has estimated that offshore wind from the North Seas can cover up to 12% of the electric power consumption in the EU by 2030. To do this offshore wind turbines are having to be built to operate in deeper waters and further offshore which allows for higher and more consistent wind loads as well as greater public acceptance due to lower visual and environmental impacts that otherwise accompany offshore wind turbines. However, as this happens it becomes increasingly economically viable to mount the wind turbine on a floating structure which is tethered to the sea floor rather than conventional methods of using a concrete anchor or driven monopoles. But the wind industry is facing many challenges on the design, manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWT), and among which the most critical challenge is the reliable methodology for predicting nonlinear dynamic responses of FOWT under complicated sea states. The FOWT is a typical rigid-flexible multi-body system, as such it must not only remain buoyant but also limit responses in pitch, roll and heave as well as maintaining position in a large variety of conditions. Excessive responses can lead to higher structural stresses and as such would incur higher costs to make the system structurally sound compared to a system encountering smaller responses, the efficiency of the turbine is also reduced by large rotational responses in pitch and roll which would also add additional wearing onto the turbine components increasing the need for repair and maintenance. As such being able to predict the responses of a FOWT system due to the multiple loads it is put under and reduce them would be required for cost-effective, efficient, and safe designs. The aim of this project is to improve the accuracy of dynamic response prediction of FOWTs and to develop a numerical programme to solve the aero-hydro-elastic-mooring-servo coupled equations of a FOWT. This project is undertaken in partnership between Newcastle University, the ReNU Centre for Doctoral Training, and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. This aero-hydro-elastic-mooring-servo numerical programme will consider the loads from aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, and mooring lines acting on the FOWT in various conditions, this will be coupled with structural and multi-body dynamics in order to predict the response of the FOWT in various sea states. Furthermore, control theory will be applied to discern methods of damping and reducing the responses of the FOWT using control systems. It will allow designers to consider different floating body concepts and which concept of floating body would be suitable for the area of operation that the FOWT will be placed in. The programme will be applied for code-to-code comparison with other codes as well as with published basin experimental data or full-scale measured data. It will also be applied in industry practice with a 7MW FOWT with the support of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.

Energy efficiency lies at the very core of policy interventions for energy security, energy poverty and climate change, while its promoted by technological innovations and investments. However, it seems that these technologies are not adopted by consumers at least to the extent that the assumption of rational behavior would predict. This energy efficiency gap, the difference between expected and realized energy consumption, costs to national economies both in terms of monetary values and emissions. Significant role in mitigating this issue is the exploration of the drivers of individual behavior. There is tremendous opportunity and need for policy-relevant research that utilizes randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental techniques to estimate the returns to energy efficiency investments and the adoption level of energy efficiency programs. EVIDENT proposes several different case studies under the framework of randomized control trials (RCTs) and surveys in order to define the main drivers of individuals’ decision making and to establish new relationships between energy consumption and other fields such as financial literacy. A large number of participants, well stratified samples, innovative design of experiments and state of-the-art econometric models that will be employed in EVIDENT and will contribute in robust estimates and subsequent policy measures for effective policy interventions.

"EPSRC : Elisangela Jesus D'Oliveira : EP/S023836/1" - Research council that the student is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). - The student's name: Elisangela Jesus D'Oliveira - Training Grant Reference Number: EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Renewable Energy Northeast Universities (ReNU), EP/S023836/1 Heat represents almost half of the use of energy in the UK, and around 80% of domestic heat is supplied by natural gas. Therefore, we must reduce the heating demand by increasing the efficiency and decarbonisation of the space and hot water heating systems. The adoption of low-carbon domestic heating technologies is one of the biggest challenges in the decarbonisation of the UK's energy system because 80% of the homes are already built. The retrofitting of households is one of the most cost-effective routes to reduce carbon emissions. The use of LHTES has the potential to reduce the space heating energy use by storing excess energy and bridge the gap between supply/demand mismatch characteristic of renewable energy sources or electricity peak-load. The efficiency of domestic or residential radiator could be increased using a compact LHTES, and it could be implemented as a retrofit measurement to reduce energy consumption. There are some studies of LHTES in domestic heating. Campos-Celador et al. (2014) designed a finned plate LHTES system for domestic applications using water-paraffin, allowing a volume reduction of more than 50%, comparing to a conventional hot water storage tank. Dechesne et al. (2014) studied the coupling of an air-fatty acids heat exchanger in a building ventilation system; the module could be used either for space heating or cooling. Bondareva et al. (2018) studied a finned copper radiator numerically with paraffin enhancing with Al2O3 nanoparticles, and their results demonstrated that the addition of fins and nanoparticles increases the melting rate. Sardari et al. (2020) investigated the application of combined metal foam and paraffin for domestic space heating by introducing a novel energy storage heater; their results showed that the solidification time was reduced by 45% and the heat recovery was enhanced by 73%. Many studies have been conducted to investigate the enhancement of the thermal conductivity of the PCMs with the incorporation of high conductive nanomaterials, as they increase the heat transfer rate of the PCM to tailor the application charging and discharging rates. However, a study evaluating the feasibility of the nano-enhanced PCMs (NEPCMs) applications on domestic radiators to improve the efficiency and energy-savings through heat recovery has not been conducted. Therefore, a dedicated investigation was planned with the focus on deepening the knowledge and understanding of such a technology. The lack of proper design guidelines, cost and the rate problem have delayed the deployment of LHTES devices. Therefore, this study will build and experimentally evaluate the performance of the LHTES system proposed contributing to the development of the design guidelines. References Bondareva, N. S., Gibanov, N. S., & Sheremet, M. A. (2018, November). Melting of nano-enhanced PCM inside finned radiator. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1105, No. 1, p. 012023). IOP Publishing. Campos-Celador, A., Diarce, G., Zubiaga, J. T. V., Garcia-Romero, A.M., Lopez, L. & Sala, J. M. 2014. Design of a finned plate latent heat thermal energy storage system for domestic for domestic applications. Energy Procedia, 48, 300-308. Dechesne, B., Gendebien, S., Martens, J., & Lemort, V. (2014). Designing and testing an air-PCM heat exchanger for building ventilation application coupled to energy storage. Sardari, P. T., Babaei-Mahani, R., Giddings, D., Yasseri, S., Moghimi, M. A., & Bahai, H. (2020). Energy recovery from domestic radiators using a compact composite metal Foam/PCM latent heat storage. Journal of Cleaner Production, 257, 120504.