Almost half (46%) of the final energy consumed in the UK is used to provide heat; this demand is currently largely met through burning fossil fuels. As a result, over a third of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions are directly attributable to heat-related activities. This brings the need to balance key national objectives, including reducing carbon emissions and providing a secure and affordable supply of heat to UK homes and businesses (the "energy trilemma"). Addressing these challenges will require new ways of reducing end-use heat demand and promoting energy efficiency, and the integration of technologies into existing city infrastructure that decarbonise heating and cooling or provide a means of storing heat. The reduction of heat demand is therefore closely linked both to alternative technologies and to business and governance models. As a result, the interactions between social and technical elements of the system need to be more thoroughly understood. Heat demand reduction that works with rather than against people and organisations, enabling heat technologies to be designed and deployed effectively and with maximum impact, is vital if the UK is to meet the 2050 target of an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions whilst providing affordable warmth to those already in fuel poverty or likely to become so as energy prices rise. This fellowship project aims to develop tools that will enable local authorities and other key city stakeholders to make effective decisions for the reduction of heat demand. The approach to achieving a significant reduction in heat demand needs to be twofold: (1) efficient delivery of heat services (as an alternative to the point-of-use burning of gas in boilers) through district heat networks linked to low-carbon technologies such as combined heat and power (CHP) or energy from waste, and (2) an increased uptake of energy-efficient and low-carbon heating technologies such as insulation, heat pumps and solar thermal in the domestic sector. Neither of these has the potential to deliver a low-carbon future in isolation; instead, both must work in concert. The proposed research will consider how (1) and (2) interact. The intention is that these tools will be used to analyse potential end-use heat demand reduction strategies and specific interventions that could be implemented by the public and/or private sector in the city energy system. Potential interventions can encompass different approaches by local and central government and can range from the primarily technological, e.g. use of low-carbon heat technologies in council-owned estates, to the primarily policy-based, e.g. supplementary planning guidance on connections to heat networks. Novel approaches to modelling complex systems will be used that will deliver a better understanding of how the different aspects of the city-level heat system are linked. The whole system encompasses technologies, institutional and governance arrangements, the environment, the behaviours of individuals, and business models. Each aspect will be influenced by the others and so, in order to identify successful actions a local authority may take, the emergent behaviour of the whole system must be explored. The research will be conducted at the Centre for Integrated Energy Research at the University of Leeds, which provides an interdisciplinary environment. As a result the research will include input from academics working in engineering, energy policy and modelling. In-depth engagement will also be undertaken with practitioners from project partners in local government and industry and stakeholders across the heat sector.

This world-leading Centre for Doctoral Training in Bioenergy will focus on delivering the people to realise the potential of biomass to provide secure, affordable and sustainable low carbon energy in the UK and internationally. Sustainably-sourced bioenergy has the potential to make a major contribution to low carbon pathways in the UK and globally, contributing to the UK's goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 and the international mitigation target of a maximum 2 degrees Celsius temperature rise. Bioenergy can make a significant contribution to all three energy sectors: electricity, heat and transport, but faces challenges concerning technical performance, cost effectiveness, ensuring that it is sustainably produced and does not adversely impact food security and biodiversity. Bioenergy can also contribute to social and economic development in developing countries, by providing access to modern energy services and creating job opportunities both directly and in the broader economy. Many of the challenges associated with realising the potential of bioenergy have engineering and physical sciences at their core, but transcend traditional discipline boundaries within and beyond engineering. This requires an effective whole systems research training response and given the depth and breadth of the bioenergy challenge, only a CDT will deliver the necessary level of integration. Thus, the graduates from the CDT in Bioenergy will be equipped with the tools and skills to make intelligent and informed, responsible choices about the implementation of bioenergy, and the growing range of social and economic concerns. There is projected to be a large absorptive capacity for trained individuals in bioenergy, far exceeding current supply. A recent report concerning UK job creation in bioenergy sectors concluded that there "may be somewhere in the region of 35-50,000 UK jobs in bioenergy by 2020" (NNFCC report for DECC, 2012). This concerned job creation in electricity production, heat, and anaerobic digestion (AD) applications of biomass. The majority of jobs are expected to be technical, primarily in the engineering and construction sectors during the building and operation of new bioenergy facilities. To help develop and realise the potential of this sector, the CDT will build strategically on our research foundation to deliver world-class doctoral training, based around key areas: [1] Feedstocks, pre-processing and safety; [2] Conversion; [3] Utilisation, emissions and impact; [4] Sustainability and Whole systems. Theme 1 will link feedstocks to conversion options, and Themes 2 and 3 include the core underpinning science and engineering research, together with innovation and application. Theme 4 will underpin this with a thorough understanding of the whole energy system including sustainability, social, economic public and political issues, drawing on world-leading research centres at Leeds. The unique training provision proposed, together with the multidisciplinary supervisory team will ensure that students are equipped to become future leaders, and responsible innovators in the bioenergy sector.