Small items of research equipment at Durham University

Water, food and energy are the basic requirements for humankind's existence on planet Earth. As the global population grows there is an ever-increasing demand for these resources and, as nations develop, the demand on energy is magnified. The world has become dependent upon fossil fuels, energy dense materials such as coal, oil and gas. Not only is their continued use unsustainable in the long term but the consequences of their use potentially devastating in terms of climate change and other pollution. Maintaining the status quo is not an option. To address research in the complex fields of energy and sustainability, cross-discipline projects are required that bring together leading specialists in individual technology and application areas. As this is a rapidly growing field, it is a natural space for young, early career researchers to shine, and one way of facilitating these early careers researchers is to bring them together to share new equipment, to enable training in new methods and to grow their research equipment base. We will use the funding provided by this EPSRC small equipment proposal to create a Small Equipment Fund for Energy and Sustainability (SEFES).

Research at Durham University, and especially the Durham Energy Institute (DEI), in these areas of national importance delivers sustainable socio-technological solutions including optimum, clean use of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels, including carbon capture and storage, development of sustainable materials for energy (e.g. solar-cells based upon Earth-abundant minerals), the design of novel oil rich crops, and new algal strains for bioenergy production. In order to rationally rewire biological networks for biomass and oil production, our research develops systems approaches, combining experimental measurements with computational analysis. Harmonising energy supply to demand is also a key area of our research on smart (electricity) grids. Research into maximising the yield of recovered hydrocarbons for energy and chemical feedstocks has grown in both unconventional and conventional hydrocarbon sectors. Unconventional hydrocarbons are oil/gas resources present in matrixes that are challenging to extract from, or may have low yields. As such, these sources have previously been overlooked as too risky, or uneconomic, and include shale oil, heavy oil, shale gas, tight gas etc. Shale gas has resulted in the US meeting domestic use, with potential surplus for export. However, certain of the technologies employed, for example hydraulic fracturing have been controversial, resulting in moratoriums and bans in certain countries. Durham University is presently leading research to establish safe working practices for the sector.

The instrumentation accessible following the award of the 'Small Items of Research Equipment' grant will enable Durham University, and the Durham Energy Institute, to accelerate is work in these key areas, delivered by early career researchers, as well as provide the capability to enhance our already keen focus on developing the next generation of researchers through our multi-disciplinary Energy Doctoral Training Centre.

Overview: This funding will enable a distributed array of small instrumentation which will: i) facilitate development of the Durham research programmes in energy & sustainability; ii) better enable training the next generation of proactive, outward looking researchers with 'built in' concern for impact; iii) be shared across the Science Faculty and in joint research with regional industry and NGOs. The funding adds value to, and builds upon Durham's current Multidisciplinary CDT in Energy (EPSRC supported) within which we have established a strong link between training of researchers and outreach (to the public, government and other science communities).

Application and Exploitation: The proposal supports equipment vital to the development of new technologies for energy and sustainability. In terms of technology transfer, Early Career Researchers (ECRs) will be guided by the Durham Research Commercialisation Team who will meet with the ECR at the project outset, and at 6-monthly intervals for 2 years thereafter, and are tasked with enhancing the exploitation of the intellectual property generated in the course of research activity. This team has a strong track record of converting IP assets into spin-out companies and licensing agreements, for example, of the existing portfolio of 70 patent applications, more than half are licensed out to businesses. (http://www.dur.ac.uk/research.commercialisation/),
Dissemination: The ECRs benefitting from the grant will maintain an active programme of research dissemination, for example, publishing results in industry facing journals (as well as academic journals) and presenting at industry and government focussed meetings. Further engagement of the enabled research with industry, academia and the general public will be promoted through the public release of data and other project information on the Durham website and via the Durham University Communications Office. Durham has been awarded a £10k EPSRC Strategic Partnership Award [EP/J501323/1], supported by the Centre for Advanced Energy Studies (Idaho National Laboratory, US) and by Shell (Chester, UK). The grant will fund a workshop on uncertainty, quantification and data assimilation in the numerical simulation of physical systems (including energy systems and renewables) for risk-informed decision making.

External Impact: The ECR's will be able to take advantage of the unique opportunities offered by the cross-disciplinary Durham Energy Institute (DEI) to address a wider audience. The DEI focus on industry and society is reflected in the membership of its advisory board that includes representatives of the energy industry (Dong Energy, Eaga and Narec) and advisors of the national government (UK Fuel Poverty Advisory group). The broad range of expertise in DEI has led to MPs, including the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, visiting and consulting the DEI on a range of issues, for example, on 8 January 2010, Durham Energy Institute was invited to submit a response to the Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group (PRASEG) inquiry on Renewables and the Grid. Professors Bialek and Taylor submitted comments on behalf of DEI on transmission, distribution and variability. DEI therefore engages with both government and industry to disseminate knowledge regarding renewable and sustainable energy, and it is through opportunities such as the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) consultation on shale gas fracturing, which DEI was heavily engaged with, that we would aim to demonstrate the implications of the proposed research upon national planning, renewable energy policy and industry.