By improving understanding of renewable energy devices and the wider energy system, our research is supporting more efficient utilisation of renewable energy resources, resulting in a lower cost to users and reduced environmental impact.
The drive to reduce carbon emissions worldwide – and the UK’s commitment to net zero – requires a rapid adoption of renewable energy technologies for power generation and action to reduce energy usage. In addition, the intermittent nature of some renewable energy technologies means that large-scale energy storage is needed to maintain supply.
Our research aims to
- improve the performance and reduce the cost of marine renewable energy (offshore wind, wave and tidal);
- establish new technologies for efficient large-scale energy storage;
- and introduce innovative techniques to manage heat and air flow in the built environment to reduce energy use.
Innovations in this field can make a significant contribution to reducing carbon emissions in the UK and worldwide.
We’re investigating innovations in the design, manufacture, control and integration of wind, wave and tidal devices to enable them to be used more widely in harsher environments – where maintenance can be very challenging. In addition, our research in improving understanding of the heating and cooling of buildings is allowing users to have a conformable, comfortable, healthy working environment while minimising, or eliminating, the need for energy supply.