Research Councils’ Energy Programme: Opportunities for mathematics

1. Research Councils’ Energy Programme:Opportunities for mathematics Dr Rachel Bishop

2. Mission To position the UK to meet its energy and environmental targets and policy goals through high quality research and postgraduate training. 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

3. The Energy Landscape: Public Sector Funding

4. STFC BBSRC EPSRC EPSRC has funding to work across all research council remits NERC ESRC 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.

5. 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 within the UK energy research Portfolio. To expand the UK research capacity in energy-related areas.

6. 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.

7. Markets , policy and Public STFC Attitudes UKERC Wind 1% 2% 4% 2% Marine Tyndall 2% 2% Solar Nuclear 12% 6% Bioenergy 6% Ground source heat and geothermal Fusion 1% 18% Energy Efficiency 11% Power systems Transport conventional 1% 5% Storage Sustainable Fuel cells Combustion 2% Networks 4% 2% Conventional 6% Renewable power generation (Marine, wind Solar Biomass etc) Generation Carbon capture and Hydrogen 2% sequestration 4% 4% Oil and Gas 2% 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 A Full Spectrum of Research

8. 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.

9. SUPERGEN 14 Consortia • 38 academic partners • 80+ business and other collaborators • £62m in total With the Carbon Trust

10. SUPERGEN – The Consortia Current portfolio = £55.5M, 16% of current grant portfolio

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. Carbon Capture & Storage • £15M of CCS current research and capacity building projects • Planned 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

14. Energy Demand Reduction: CARBON VISIONS: with Carbon Trust, NERC and ESRC: £14 million Research. Carbon Vision Buildings: • carbon use in buildings • policies to reduce the carbon footprint • building market transformation Carbon Vision Industry: • Life cycle assessment in food industry • Barriers to take up of take-up of Technology EPSRC / E.ON STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP ~ £6M of £10M focused on: • Pathways to a low carbon economy • Advanced 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

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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

18. 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.

19. Partnering with ETI First Programmes • 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.

20. Future activities this Spending Review 2009/10 • SUPERGEN Renewals • Nuclear 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).

21. 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.

22. Challenges: • agent based modelling / complexity - emergent properties in increasingly complex network systems • improved optimisation strategies for whole system future energy infrastructure for the UK • risk and uncertainty in energy scenarios • forecasting in energy markets • social / behaviour understanding. • Current mathematics engagement • 3 HEIs, 4 grants, 12 researchers, £675k

23. Opportunities to engage: • UKERC – meeting place, NERN, research fund • SUPERGEN consortia • Ideas factories / Sandpits • Calls for proposals • Underpinning funding mechanisms

24. Thank you Rachel.bishop@epsrc.ac.uk