• Energy Research
• 2025-2025close

This project studies the dynamic response characteristic of the thermal energy storage (TES) coupled with the district heating network (DHN) and the innovative active control technology for the indoor thermal comfort with efficient load matching. Therefore, this study will develop a more accurate spatiotemporal dynamic simulation model for the TES-DHN emphasizing the thermal inertia and time-delay properties. The research will also develop an active control technology and optimization tool from the viewpoint of system design and operation to match the heat supply and demand more accurately. Moreover, reasonable experimental tests and case studies will also be designed and implemented to validate the developed methods and to disseminate research outcomes. Overall, this project will contribute new scientific findings and efficient engineering tools for active load matching in order to further improve energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions while improving the indoor thermal comfort.

This project studentship involves close collaboration with a team of researchers working on the development of perovskite solar-cell devices by spray-coating. Our research vision is to develop solar cells that are inherently non-planar and are continuously coated over 3-dimensional surfaces. As an exemplar, we will use composite materials such as carbon-fibre and other thermo-plastic polymers as the device substrate, as such materials can be easily formed into non-planar structures and can have very high strength-to-weight ratios. The systems we will develop will find potential applications as decentralized, mobile power sources for use in low-energy vehicles and aerospace-technology. Key to this integration is the development of spray-based techniques that permit PV to be coated over 3D surfaces in a seamless and unobtrusive fashion. The student will be charged with the development of techniques that will allow non-planar (curved) surfaces to be coated with various semiconductor materials by spray-coating. This will require a careful control of spray-based deposition techniques and control over drying rates. The student will explore techniques to control film drying-rates, and will also control the properties of the material solutions (inks) to be spray-cast using various viscosity modifiers. The student will then characterise the spray-cast films using a variety of microscopy and analytical techniques. Finally, the student will help fabricate and test the performance of the 3D photovoltaic devices created.

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.

The OYSTER project will lead to the development and demonstration of a marinized electrolyser designed for integration with offshore wind turbines. Stiesdal will work with the world’s largest offshore wind developer (Ørsted) and a leading wind turbine manufacturer (Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy) to develop and test in a shoreside pilot trial a MW-scale fully marinized electrolyser. The findings will inform studies and design exercises for full-scale systems that will include innovations to reduce costs while improving efficiency. To realise the potential of offshore hydrogen production there is a need for compact electrolysis systems that can withstand harsh offshore environments and have minimal maintenance requirements while still meeting cost and performance targets that will allow production of low-cost hydrogen. The project will provide a major advance towards this aim. Preparation for further offshore testing of wind-hydrogen systems will be undertaken, and results from the studies will be disseminated in a targeted way to help advance the sector and prepare the market for deployment at scale. The OYSTER project partners share a vision of hydrogen being produced from offshore wind at a cost that is competitive with natural gas (with a realistic carbon tax), thus unlocking bulk markets for green hydrogen (heat, industry, and transport), making a meaningful impact on CO2 emissions, and facilitating the transition to a fully renewable energy system in Europe. This project is a key first step on the path to developing a commercial offshore hydrogen production industry and will lead to innovations with significant exploitation potential within Europe and beyond.

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Nuclear Energy Futures aims to train a new generation of international leaders, at PhD level, in nuclear energy technology. It is made up of Imperial College London (lead), Bristol University, Cambridge University, Open University and Bangor University. These institutions are some of the UK's leading institutions for research and teaching in nuclear power. The CDTs key focus is around nuclear fission i.e. that is the method of producing energy by splitting the atom, which currently accounts for 11% of the world's electricity and 20% of the UK's electricity, whilst producing very low levels of carbon emissions (at levels the same as renewable energy, such as wind). The CDT whilst focused on fission energy technologies will also have PhD projects related to fusion nuclear energy and projects needed or related to nuclear energy such as seismic studies, robotics, data analytics, environmental studies, policy and law. The CDT's major focus is related to the New Nuclear Build activities at Hinkley Point, Somerset and the Anglesey site in north Wales, where EDF Energy and Horizon, respectively, are building new fission power plants that will produce around 3.2 and 2.7 GWe of nuclear power (about 13% of the UK current electricity demand). The CDT will provide the skills needed for research related to these plants and potential future industry leaders, for nuclear decommissioning of current plants (due to come off-line in the next decade) and to lead the UK in new and innovative technologies for nuclear waste disposal and new reactor technologies such as small modular reactors (SMRs). The need for new talented PhD level people is very high as many of the UK's current technical experts were recruited in the 1970s and 80s and many are near retirement and skills sector studies have shown many more are needed for the new build projects. The CDT will champion teaching innovation and will produce a series of bespoke courses that can be delivered via on-line media by the very best experts in the field from across the CDT covering areas such as the nuclear fuel cycle; waste and decommissioning; small modular reactors; policy, economics and regulation; thermal hydraulics and reactor physics as well as leading on responsible research and innovation in the sector. The CDT is supported by a wide range of nuclear companies and stakeholders. These include those involved in the new build process in the UK such as EDF Energy, Hitachi-GE, Horizon and Rolls-Royce, the latter of which are developing a UK advanced modular reactor design. International nuclear stakeholders from countries such as the USA, UAE, Australia and France will support the student development and the CDT programme. The students in the CDT will cover a very broad training in all aspects of nuclear power and importantly for this sector will engage in both media training activities and public outreach to make nuclear power more open to the public, government and scientists and engineers outside of the discipline.

The future PV market will rely on a variety of innovative PV solutions and products in order to meet the market growth potential and address the grand environmental challenges faced by EU to achieve and sustain a green electricity market. Development of non-toxic, earth abundant, long-term stable PV materials, along with implementation of cost-effective, robust and industrially scalable, rapid, resource saving technologies for fabrication of low weight low-cost thin film PV devices with flexibility in design, such as BIPV, PV powered IoT – the basis for zero energy buildings, smart cities and smart villages. The 5GSOLAR aims to recruit a Knowledge Developer and Manager to bring complementary knowledge to the existing core team, and thereby enhance scientific excellence, to increase visibility and attractiveness, and to bridge the gap between research and technology transfer. This will positively contribute to achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, European targets for Clean Energy for all Europeans, the Smart Specialisation Strategy of Estonia, and to the contribution to the European Research Area. The short term aim is to create a functional ERA Chair team that is capable of implementing the strategies (EMPOWER, STAND OUT, STABLE) formed in the scope of the ERA Chair, and to progress toward the vision of ensuring a sustainable ERA Chair. The long-term goal of the ERA Chair 5GSOLAR is to build a stakeholders’ network, after the ERA Chair project to participate in establishing of a renewable energy demo/briefing centre in Estonia, and finally, to establish a EU joint graduate school on photovoltaics. Completion of these tasks will unleash European’s potential to become the climate neutrality pioneer. The main task of the ERA Chair is to converge R&D&I, stakeholders, policy makers, and society.

There is a compelling need for well-trained future UK leaders in, the rapidly growing, Offshore Wind (OSW) Energy sector, whose skills extend across boundaries of engineering and environmental sciences. The Aura CDT proposed here unites world-leading expertise and facilities in offshore wind (OSW) engineering and the environment via academic partnerships and links to industry knowledge of key real-world challenges. The CDT will build a unique PhD cohort programme that forges interdisciplinary collaboration between key UK academic institutions, and the major global industry players and will deliver an integrated research programme, tailored to the industry need, that maximises industrial and academic impact across the OSW sector. The most significant OSW industry cluster operates along the coast of north-east England, centred on the Humber Estuary, where Aura is based. The Humber 'Energy Estuary' is located at the centre of ~90% of all UK OSW projects currently in development. Recent estimates suggest that to meet national energy targets, developers need >4,000 offshore wind turbines, worth £120 billion, within 100 km of the Humber. Location, combined with existing infrastructure, has led the OSW industry to invest in the Humber at a transformative scale. This includes: (1) £315M investment by Siemens and ABP in an OSW turbine blade manufacturing plant, and logistics hub, at Greenport Hull, creating over 1,000 direct jobs; (2) £40M in infrastructure in Grimsby, part of a £6BN ongoing investment in the Humber, supporting Orsted, Eon, Centrica, Siemens-Gamesa and MHI Vestas; (3) The £450M Able Marine Energy Park, a bespoke port facility focused on the operations and maintenance of OSW; and (4) Significant growth in local and regional supply chain companies. The Aura cluster (www.aurawindenergy.com) has the critical mass needed to deliver a multidisciplinary CDT on OSW research and innovation, and train future OSW sector leaders effectively. It is led by the University of Hull, in collaboration with the Universities of Durham, Newcastle and Sheffield. Aura has already forged major collaborations between academia and industry (e.g. Siemens-Gamesa Renewable Energy and Orsted). Core members also include the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (OREC) and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), who respectively are the UK government bodies that directly support innovation in the OSW sector and the development of novel marine environment technology and science. The Aura CDT will develop future leaders with urgently needed skills that span Engineering (EPSRC) and Environmental (NERC) Sciences, whose research plays a key role in solving major OSW challenges. Our vision is to ensure the UK capitalises on a world-leading position in offshore wind energy. The CDT will involve 5 annual cohorts of at least 14 students, supported by EPSRC/NERC and the Universities of Hull, Durham, Newcastle and Sheffield, and by industry. In Year 1, the CDT provides students, recruited from disparate backgrounds, with a consistent foundation of learning in OSW and the Environment, after which they will be awarded a University of Hull PG Diploma in Wind Energy. The Hull PG Diploma consists of 6 x 20 credit modules. In Year 1, Trimester 1, three core modules, adapted from current Hull MSc courses and supported by academics across the partner-institutes, will cover: i) an introduction to OSW, with industry guest lectures; ii) a core skills module, in data analysis and visualization; and iii) an industry-directed group research project that utilises resources and supervisors across the Aura partner institutes and industry partners. In Year 1, Trimester 2, Aura students will specialise further in OSW via 3 modules chosen from >24 relevant Hull MSc level courses. This first year at Hull will be followed in Years 2-4 by a PhD by research at one of the partner institutions, together with a range of continued cohort development and training.

Lime is one of the earliest industrial commodities known to man and it continues to be one of the essential building blocks of modern Society. The global lime market is anticipated to approach the value of 44 Billion Euros by the end of 2026 and resulting in various growth opportunities for key players. The SUBLime network aims to develop the most advanced technology in lime-based materials modelling and characterization for industrial use that will go beyond the limitations of existing solutions in new construction and conservation in the built heritage. It is firstly dedicated to recruit and train fifteen PhD students in multiple scientific and engineering fields towards a better understanding and development of sustainable innovations in both added functionalities and sustainability aspects in lime mortars and plasters, strongly based on novel biomimetic and closed-loop recycling approaches. The project covers the main features of lime-based applications analysis, including material characterization, numer

M-ERA.NET 3 aims at coordinating the research efforts in the participating EU Member States, Regions, and Associated States in materials research and innovation, including materials for future batteries, to support the circular economy and Sustainable Development Goals. A large network of national and regional funding organisations from 25 EU Members States, 4 Associated States and 6 countries outside Europe will implement a series of annual joint calls to fund excellent innovative transnational RTD cooperation, including one call for proposals with EU co-funding and additional non-cofunded calls. Continuing the activities started under the predecessor project M-ERA.NET 2 (3/2016-2/2021), the M-ERA.NET 3 consortium will address emerging technologies and related applications areas, such as - for example- surfaces, coatings, composites, additive manufacturing or integrated materials modelling. Research on materials supporting the large scale research initiative on future battery technologies will be particularly highlighted as a main target of the cofunded call (Call 2021) with a view to supporting in particular SDG 7 (“Affordable and clean energy”) by enabling electro mobility through sustainable energy storage technology and SDG 9 (“Industrial innovation and infrastructure”) by enhancing scientific research and upgrading the technological capabilities of industrial sectors. Several relevant action plans and initiatives will serve as programmatic guides for M-ERA.NET 3 when defining the joint activities, such as the Circular Economy Action Plan, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the EC communication “A clean planet for all”, and the “European Green Deal”. The total mobilised public call budget is expected to reach 150 million € with additional private investment of 50 million €. Thus, the leverage effect of the EU contribution will reach a factor of 13, exceeding by far the minimum required factor of 5.

This is currently one of the most exciting and dynamic periods for UK nuclear science & engineering since the 1950s. Inter alia, both new reactor build (essential to meet climate change targets) and the decommissioning of the UK's legacy nuclear sites (a 120 year, £121 bn programme) are driving forward, BEIS are investing heavily in the new national nuclear innovation programme and the sector deal for the industry has just been published. The already acute need for skilled nuclear scientists and engineers is therefore increasing and will continue to do so into the long term. To address these needs we propose a CDT in Nuclear Energy (GREEN), a partnership between 5 of the UK's leading nuclear universities and 12 industry partners, addressing EPSRC priority area 19: Nuclear Fission & Fusion for Energy. Evolving from the very successful Next Generation Nuclear (NGN) CDT, GREEN will deliver comprehensive doctoral training across the whole fission fuel cycle as well as in allied areas of fusion. Inspired by changes in external drivers and feedback from alumni, employers and funders, GREEN will offer both academically- and industrially- based research pathways, linked to enhanced employability training. We will further widen our already strong industry engagement by inclusion of new external partners, and align closely with other national and international activities, including other proposed CDTs. Experience from NGN suggests we will be able to leverage EPSRC support to give a typical cohort size of 15-20 students. Remarkably, using the leverage of 40 studentships from EPSRC, GREEN has already secured a further 47 studentships from Industry and Academia, ensuring a minimum number of 87 students in the GREEN CDT.