research councils’ energy programme: opportunities for mathematics dr rachel bishop
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Research Councils’ Energy Programme:Opportunities for mathematics
Dr Rachel Bishop
Mission
Drivers:Tackling climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions both within the UK and abroad.Ensuring energy security.Ensuring energy affordability.
Working towards a low carbon economy
To position the UK to meet its energy and environmental targets and policy goals through high quality research and postgraduate training.
The Energy Landscape: Public Sector Funding
Co-ordination
Cross Council working over last three spending review.
Brings together all our energy-related activities.
Scientific Advisory Committee Industry & Academics, TSB, BERR (now DECC) & DIUS representation.
Programme Coordination Group.
Links with other priority themes.
BBSRC
STFC
EPSRC
ESRCNERC
EPSRC has funding to
work across all research
council remits
Energy Programme Objectives
To support a full spectrum of Energy research to help the UK meet the objectives and targets set out in the 2007 Energy White Paper
To work in partnership to contribute to the research and postgraduate training needs of energy-related business and other key stakeholders
To increase the international visibility and level of international collaboration withinthe UK energy research Portfolio.
To expand the UK research capacity in energy-relatedareas.
Priorities 2008-11
£319M planned investment by the Research Councils
A whole system approach to energy options, supply and usage.
Rapid exploitation through collaboration with ETI.
Growing portfolio in demand reduction and transport.
Focused postgraduate training in energy themes.
Continue research in sustainable power generation & supply/alternative sources.
A Full Spectrum of Research
Renewable power generation(Marine, wind Solar Biomass etc)
Energy efficiency, including storage
Sustainable energy vectors, including fuel cells.
Conventional power generation
Nuclear energy and Fusion
Other energy research, including enabling activities and capacity
Solar
12%
Energy Efficiency
11%
Fusion
18%
Nuclear
6%
Tyndall
2%
Storage
2%Fuel cells
4%
Hydrogen
4%
UKERC
4%
STFC
1%Marine
2%
Wind
2%
Transport
1%
Bioenergy
6% Ground source heat and
geothermal
1%
Power systems
conventional
5%
Markets , policy and Public
Attitudes
2%
Sustainable
Networks
6% Carbon capture and
sequestration
4%Oil and Gas
2%
Conventional
Generation
2%
Combustion
2%
Key Achievements
Research and postgraduate skills in nuclear energy: helping to ‘keep the nuclear option open’.
SUPERGEN programme - world leading research including wind and marine energy, photovoltaics, fuel cells, bioenergy, hydrogen – through large consortia between UK academics, 80+ industry and other key stakeholders.
UK Energy Research Centre, (UKERC) - leading whole systems research and directly informing government policy.
ETI project development in marine and wind energy.
Strategic partnerships with industry, for example a £10M collaboration with E.ON.
SUPERGEN
14 Consortia
38 academic partners
80+ business and other collaborators
£62m in total
With the Carbon Trust
SUPERGEN – The Consortia
Current portfolio = £55.5M, 16% of current grant portfolio
THEMEMANAGEMENT HUB FINANCE HUB AMOUNT
MARINE Ian Bryden, RGU Robin Wallace, Edinburgh £5.5M
NETWORKS Tim Green, Imperial Jim McDonald, Strathclyde £7.0M
HYDROGEN Pete Edwards, Oxford Tim Mays, Bath £6.0M
BIOMASS Tony Bridgwater, Aston Jenny Jones, Leeds £6.4M
PV Stuart Irvine, Bangor Ken Durose, Durham £6.2M
PLANT EXTENSION Derek Allen, Alstom Rachel Thomson, L’boro £4.3M
FUEL CELLS Nigel Brandon, Imperial Keith Scott, Newcastle £2.1M
DIST’D SYSTEMS Graeme Burt, Strathclyde David Infield, L’boro £2.6M
ENERGY STORAGE Peter Hall, Strathclyde Saiful Islam, Surrey £2.2M
ORGANIC PV Tim Jones, Warwick Laurie Peter, Bath £1.1M
WIND Bill Leithead, Strathclyde Peter Tavner, Durham £2.6M
INFRASTRUCTURE Simon Rowland, ManchesterSteve Swingler, Southampton
£2.5M
BIO FUEL CELLS Bob Slade,
SurreyFraser Armstrong Oxford £2.0M
SUSTAINABLE H2John IrvineSt Andrews
Ian MetcalfeNewcastle
£5.0M
UK Energy Research Centre
Focal point for UK research on sustainable energy. Independent, whole-systems approach. Bridge between energy research and business, policymakers and international energy research community. Phase II announced: research themes energy supply, energy demand, energy systems, energy and environment.
Highlights Include:Input to energy white paper (including modelling input).Intermittency report.Energy Research Atlas / Road mapping.Meeting place including G8 meeting.
Nuclear Energy
Core Activity:BGS Secure Energy Supply – nuclear repository.
Industrial Doctorate Centre in Nuclear Engineering.
DTC Actinide Chemistry.
Responsive mode £6.2M.
Letter of Arrangement group (AWE, BE, NNL, NDA, HSE):Keeping the Nuclear Option Open (KNOO) - current and future reactor
systems, materials and waste management.
Sustainability assessment of nuclear power (SPRIng).
Decommissioning, Immobilisation and management of Nuclear wastes for Disposal (DIAMOND).
Development of a joint vision for research and training.
Carbon Capture & Storage
£15M of CCS current research and capacity building projectsPlanned activities over the next 12 months ( up
to £15M)– New Industrial Doctoral Training Centre in CCS.– Joint call with E.ON for consortia proposals in
carbon capture and transport (proposals currently being assessed).
– Call for cleaner fossil fuels projects in collaboration with China (proposals currently being assessed).
– Call being planned in carbon storage, environmental impact and CCS whole systems.
– Plans for a network to take forward the work of UKCCS
– Call for fellowships - cleaner coal including CCS highlighted as priority
Energy Demand Reduction: CARBON VISIONS: with Carbon Trust, NERC and ESRC: £14 million Research.Carbon Vision Buildings:
carbon use in buildingspolicies to reduce the carbon footprintbuilding market transformation
Carbon Vision Industry: Life cycle assessment in food industryBarriers to take up of take-up of Technology
EPSRC / E.ON STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP ~ £6M of £10M focused on: Pathways to a low carbon economyAdvanced Heat Pumps and Insulation Carbon Control and Comfort Interfaces to the Mass Market
SUSTAINABLE URBAN ENVIRONMENT: Carbon footprint of cities
Resolve: with ESRC behaviours and lifestyle £3M
Energy in Transport
Walking and Cycling: Strategic Partnership with Sustrans:
Measuring and evaluating the travel, physical activity and carbon impacts of the Connect2 initiative, – Understanding walking and cycling– Visions of the role of Walking and Cycling in 2030 – Follow up 2009/10.
Airport Operations: Ideas Factory with DfT November 2008, proposals selected for submission – up to £3M.
Long-Term: Fusion
Major block of funding – over £20M pa.
EPSRC funding for ITER, JET and UK domestic programme (alongside EURATOM funding).
Getting the right balance with the energy portfolio and the changing fusion research landscape.
Capacity Building
Doctoral Training Centres -£50 Investment:University of Birmingham: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and their Application .University of Leeds: Technologies for a Low Carbon Future.University of Manchester: Nuclear Fission Research, Science and Technology
Doctoral Training Centre. University of Nottingham: Efficient Power from Fossil Energies and Carbon
Capture Technologies.University of Reading: Technologies for Sustainable Built Environments.University of Sheffield: Sheffield Training in Interdisciplinary Energy Research:
STIER.University of Strathclyde : Wind Energy Systems.
Industrial Doctorate Centres: University of Manchester: Nuclear Engineering.University of Surrey: Sustainability for Engineering and Energy Systems.University of Southampton: Transport and the Environment. University College London: Urban Sustainability and Resilience.
Science & Innovation Awards, Chairs, Fellowships
Working In Partnership
Research Consortia building with Industry – e.g. SUPERGEN.
Strategic Alignment e.g. Nuclear letter of Arrangement Group.
Direct partnerships / joint activities e.g Eon, Sustrans, ABB, scottish power, EDF.
Collaboration with public sector partners – ETI, TSB, Carbon Trust, DEFRA, DFID.
Partnering with ETI
Offshore Wind – 3 projects announced, links to SUPERGEN Wind energy technologies consortia.
Marine (wave and tidal) – ReDAPT project announced links to SUPERGEN Marine consortia.
Distributed Energy (including buildings) and CCS being developed.
Working groups on:– Energy Networks – grids and management.– Transport (incl. non-hydrocarbon fuels and small
scale energy conversion)– Waste Heat Recovery and Conversion.
EPSRC representatives on working groups, technical committee and board.
First Programmes
Future activities this Spending Review
2009/10
SUPERGEN RenewalsNuclear Materials (with STFC).Demand Reduction – Energy Efficiency in Buildings Sandpit, IT in
Demand Reduction Ideas Factory, Energy in Communities.CCS – Storage and Whole System.
2010/11
International Review.SUPERGEN III.Geo-engineering Sandpit.Transport Challenge (to be scoped).Generation / supply ‘Challenge (to be scoped).
Emerging Themes for 2011 Onwards
Speculative research:– To define future energy options.
Accelerated deployment of alternative energy technologies:– Ensuring physical, economic, social and natural sciences research and basic
research challenges are addressed – working with TSB, ETI and others.
Understanding future energy options:– Social, environmental and economic implications (working with LWEC).
Reducing energy consumption and demand:– Development of behavioural, market and technological advances informed by
a whole system understanding.
Building capacity:– Providing the skilled people to deliver new energy futures through the training
and development of new researchers, policy makers and business leaders.
Challenges:
agent based modelling / complexity - emergent properties in increasingly complex network systemsimproved optimisation strategies for whole system future energy infrastructure for the UKrisk and uncertainty in energy scenariosforecasting in energy markets social / behaviour understanding.
Current mathematics engagement 3 HEIs, 4 grants, 12 researchers, £675k
Opportunities to engage:
UKERC – meeting place, NERN, research fund
SUPERGEN consortia
Ideas factories / Sandpits
Calls for proposals
Underpinning funding mechanisms
