ERA Energy Research Accelerator

HyDEX Hydrogen Summit
2024-02-27 09:00 - 16:40 (Europe/London) | Sustainability Hub, Keele University, Home Farm, Keele, Select a State or Province:, ST5 5AA, United Kingdom
The HyDEX Summit
The HyDEX Hydrogen Summit is taking place on Tuesday 27 February at Keele University in Staffordshire.
The aim of the summit is to showcase some of the latest work taking place in hydrogen and energy more widely, and it will also highlight a number of careers available for people who want to enter the energy sector.
After the summit will be the Hydrogen Awards, the UK’s first award competition recognising industries and researchers involved in hydrogen innovation.
If you would like to attend the Hydrogen Awards, please visit www.hydrogenawards.com for more information.
Programme
9.00am – 9.50am: Arrival and coffee
9.50am – 10.05am: Welcome
10.05am – 10.20am: Keele University, a living laboratory – Julian Reed
10.20am: Visits to energy facilities on the Keele University site and workshops. This involves travel by coach around the campus.
11.50am: Dr Sharon George, PI for HyDEX– Hydrogen Research and Innovation overview
12.10pm: Lunch and networking
1.10pm: Hydrogen Innovators spotlight
1.10pm – 1.25pm: Arcadis – Clive Maggs
1.25pm – 1.40pm: Clean Hydrogen Power – Qamar Khan
1.40pm – 1.55pm: Hydrologiq – Ben Lindley
1.55pm – 2.10pm: Origin 21 – Sabin Nair
2.10pm – 2.25pm: Geopura – Matt Bennett
2.25pm – 2.40pm: Hygrid Energy – Harshal Sankhe
2.40pm – 2.55pm: Fuel Cell Systems – Richard Stockwell
2.55pm – 3.10pm: Panel Q&As with the Hydrogen Innovators
3.10pm: Coffee Break
3.25pm: Support for Hydrogen Businesses
3.25pm – 3.40pm: Rob Scott – UK Business Growth (funding and support)
3.40pm – 3.55pm: Ben Lincon & Stephen Moore – Potter Clarkson (IP support)
3.55pm: Q&As on support for businesses
4.05pm: Hydrogen Skills
4.05 – 4.20pm: Hydrogen Skills Report: Jeisson Cardenas-Rubio, Warwick University
4.20pm Q&As on Skills
4.30pm: Summary and reflections
4.30 – 4.45pm: Dr Sharon George, summary and reflection on the summit
4.40pm: Finish

ECR Net Zero Conference 2024
2024-02-27 - 2024-02-28 | The Birmingham Conference & Events Centre, Hill Street Birmingham B5 4EW, Birmingham, B5 4EW, United Kingdom
We’re thrilled to be running another ECR Net Zero Conference in 2024, this time in collaboration with even more fantastic organisations working in the Net Zero space – C-DICE, CO2RE, EDI+, EDRC, ERA, IDRIC, IGNITE+, HI-ACT, Supergen Bioenergy Hub, SUSTAIN, TFI Network+, UKCCSRC, UKERC and UK-HyRES!
The conference will take place at the Birmingham Conference and Events Centre (Birmingham, B5 4EW), on Tuesday 27th – Wednesday 28th February 2024. It will provide an opportunity for ECRs to meet and network with peers from different research organisations within the wider net zero research community, and build a more collaborative, multidisciplinary community.
The two days will include a mix of keynote speakers, parallel sessions (skills and topic based) and a networking dinner. New to this year’s conference is the opportunity to present your work in our poster reception to stimulate discussion and find potential collaborative research pathways with fellow ECRs.
There is also an option to attend virtually. The event will not be fully hybrid, however, and only sessions taking place in the main room will be streamed.
Agenda:
Tuesday 27th February
10:00 – 11:00 – Registration and coffee
11:00 – 11:30 – Welcome and keynote
11:30 -12:30 – Centre Overviews
12:30 -13:30 – Lunch
13:30 -15:00 – Plenary Session: EDI
15:00-15:30 – Coffee break
15:30-17:00 – Parallel Sessions: Public engagement for Net Zero – Research into practice; Multidisciplinary Net Zero research UK; How to write a narrative CV workshop
17:00-19:00 – Networking and poster reception
19:00-22:00 – Conference dinner
Wednesday 28th February
9:00-9:30 – Arrivals and coffee
9:30-11:00 – Parallel Sessions: Business Speed Networking workshop; Cost of net zero transition; Reaching net zero in the built environment
11:00-11:30 – Break
11:30-12:30 – Plenary session: Net zero: A global ambition.
12:30-13:00 – Keynote, poster awards and closing remarks
13:00-14:30 – Networking lunch and departures
For further agenda details and more information regarding speakers, visit: https://ukccsrc.ac.uk/ecr-net-zero-conference-birmingham-27-28-february-2024/

ERA Conference: A Race Against Time - Energy Innovation for Net-Zero
2024-01-25 09:30 - 16:30 (Europe/London) | Cranfield University- AIRC, AIRC Ideas Space, First floor, Wharley End, Bedford, MK43 0JR, United Kingdom
Conference details and downloadsAim of conference
This was an in person conference with the aim to discuss the role that energy innovation is playing in achieving Net-Zero and to discuss the Energy Research Accelerator’s plans for the future. Throughout the day we will be focusing on our key themes including:
• Energy Generation and Systems
• Transport and Mobility
• Sustainability and People
• Decarbonising Industry
• Data and AI
• Skills for the Net-Zero transition
09.00: Arrival and refreshments
09.30: Welcome and Introduction: Prof Chris Fogwill, Cranfield University
09.50: A race against time, the role and challenges of energy research and innovation in achieving Net-Zero: Keynote speaker: Rachel Fletcher, Director of Regulation, Octopus Energy
10.20: ERA’s national activities: Prof Martin Freer, Director of the Energy Research Accelerator
10.40: Panel discussion on National Energy Innovation Challenges with senior representatives from industry and academia, including:

Michelle Bentham Chief Scientist for Decarbonisation and Resource Management, British Geological Survey (BGS)
David Wright, Director of Electricity Transmission, National Grid
Tom Greatrex, CEO, Nuclear Industries Association
Dennis Hayter, MD, Intelligent Energy

11.30: Refreshments and Networking
11.50: Regional Energy Developments and Opportunities:
Faye McAnulla, Programme Director ERA
12.05: Panel discussion on Midlands energy opportunities with senior leaders from the public and private sector:

Ian Cuddington, Director of Economic Development, Rolls-Royce
Kelly Manders, Regional Development Manager, Cadent
David Horsfall, Director, Tyseley Energy Park
Katie Greenhalgh, Green Growth Lead, East Midlands Freeport

13.00: Lunch and Networking
Lunch break to include Early Career Researcher Posters and presentations in Foyer
Optional tours of Cranfield energy facilities:
The HyPER demonstrator – HyPER can produce hundreds of kg of hydrogen each day. It is a megawatt scale pilot facility that utilises sorbent enhanced reforming to generate clean hydrogen. The pilot sized demonstrator can be of use to any business developing anything from hydrogen/Co2 leak detection, gas analysis, pipe fittings/gaskets non-destructive testing and evaluation of metals and pipes, gas compressors and purification systems etc.
The Turquoise Hydrogen demonstrator – The Turquoise Hydrogen demonstrator consists of a central upright fixed fluidised bed reactor which generates hydrogen from methane, with built in mechanisms for heating and heat recovery. In the reactor, methane molecules are split into their constituents, H2 and carbon. This pilot reactor has an in-built system to separate gaseous H2 and remove the solid carbon
Optional – Test drive Tesla car
14.10: Breakout groups, exploring collaborative ideas in several ERA research themes:

Energy and the Built Environment – Dominika Walker, (Tomato Energy)
Transport and Mobility – Faye McAnulla and Martin Freer (ERA/University of Birmingham)
Decarbonising Industry – Vasilije Manovic and Phil Longhurst (Cranfield University)
Data and AI – Rob Shipman (University of Nottingham)
Skills – Lennie Foster (ERA), Keith Wishart (IBM), Swathi (C-DICE post doc), Nazmiye Ozkan (Cranfield)
Hydrogen Storage – Kat Mycock (HyDEX) and Gordon Arnott (University of Nottingham)

Each group to focus on one of ERA’s themes and developing one or two ‘Big Ideas’ for industry and universities to work together on.
15.10: Groups to feedback to the conference on their ideas
15.30: Summary of day and next steps:
Prof Martin Freer
15.50: Close

ERA Partner Roadshow at Cranfield University (exclusive event)
2024-01-24 14:00 - 16:00 (Europe/London) | Cranfield University- AIRC, AIRC Ideas Space, First floor, Wharley End, Bedford, MK43 0JR, United Kingdom
This event is only for staff / students at Cranfield University. Please use your university email address to register.

At this roadshow you will have the chance to meet with ERA staff to find out about the work that is being done in energy research and innovation and how you can get involved in the future.
Come along to this session to find out how ERA can help you with:
– Cross-university research collaborations
– Disseminating your research
– Funding applications
– Building international links
– Accessing world-leading facilities
– Training and development opportunitie
Places are limited so please book today!
Please note that this is an internal event and to attend you must have an institute-specific email address.

ERA Skills Retreat: raising your research profile.
2024-01-24 | Cranfield University, College Road, Wharley End, Bedford, MK43 0AL, United Kingdom
During this one day retreat we will look tools and techniques that doctoral and post doctoral researchers can use to raise awareness of their research. Including how to make a video bio, how to pitch your research, and tools and techniques for conferences (fantastic if you are joining us for the ERA conference).
We will be joined by Rob Glass a television presenter and producer for both the BBC and ITV who has run video training workshops around the world for organisations such as Siemens, Deloitte and Disney and regular Masterclasses for The Guardian. Rob will help you produce your own video bio all about you and your research.
Places are limited so book now via our short EOI form.
This event is run in partnership with The Centre for Postdoctoral Development in Infrastructure Cities and Energy (C-DICE).

ERA Partner Roadshow at University of Warwick (exclusive event)
2024-01-18 10:00 - 12:00 (Europe/London) | University of Warwick, Scarman Building, Scarman Road, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
This event is only for staff / students at University of Warwick. Please use your university email address to register.

At this roadshow you will have the chance to meet with ERA staff to find out about the work that is being done in energy research and innovation and how you can get involved in the future.
Come along to this session to find out how ERA can help you with:
– Cross-university research collaborations
– Disseminating your research
– Funding applications
– Building international links
– Accessing world-leading facilities
– Training and development opportunitie
Places are limited so please book today!
Please note that this is an internal event and to attend you must have an institute-specific email address.

MDES 2024 – Medium Duration Energy Storage 2024
2024-01-12 09:00 - 17:00 (Europe/London) | Vaillant Live, Derby, DE1 1LA, United Kingdom
About this event

MDES 2024 was held from 09:00 – 17:00 UTC on January 12, 2024 and addressed recent advances in thinking around the technologies, the policies and the commercial realities of Medium Duration Energy Storage (MDES). It covered the following issues:
– Specific technology and project updates within compressed air energy storage
– Specific technology and project updates within pumped hydro energy storage
– Short updates from MDES developments in early commercialisation stages
– Modelling that elucidates the added value of different storage technologies
– A panel discussion on latest thinking about what policy and market mechanisms are needed to elicit investment in MDES
The event was free to attend – either physically (at IMechE in London) or virtually.
This event was brought-about through funding from Research England under its “Policy Support Fund” scheme. It drew upon support from Energy Research Accelerator (where presentations and recordings will be archived), Supergen Energy Storage Network Plus, the IEA Technology Collaboration Programme on Energy Storage and EERA (European Energy Research Alliance) SP4.

View all event presentationsProgramme

09:15 – 10:45: ADVANCES IN COMPRESSED AIR ENERGY STORAGE

Isothermal Compressed Air Energy Storage for Decentralised Energy Grid: Dr. Yasser Mahmoudi (Manchester Univ)Download PresentationView Video

Sustainable & Affordable CAES, Dr. Edward Barbour (Loughborough Univ)Download PresentationView Video

High Performance CAES through elevated temperature thermal storage, Dr. Wei HeDownload PresentationView Video

Offshore CAES – FLASC, Dr. Daniel BuhagiarDownload PresentationView Video

CAES with Heat: Cheesecake Energy Ltd, Dr. Mike SimpsonDownload PresentationView Video
Video of question session for Compressed Air Energy Storage

10:45 – 11:15: REFRESHMENTS

11:15 – 12:30: ADVANCES IN MEDIUM DURATION ENERGY STORAGE SOLUTIONS

Iron Air: Enabling Ultra-Low Cost Multi-Day Storage, Cillian Totterdell (FORM Energy)Download PresentationView Video

RheEnergise, Lizzi GoldDownload PresentationView Video

Small-scale Pumped Hydro projects. Mr. Jonathan Cox (AECOM)Download PresentationView Video
Video of question session for Medium Duration Energy Storage

12:30 – 13:30: LUNCH

13:30 – 14:30: THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE

Topologically Engineered Thermal Energy Storage for Carnot Batteries – Dr Adriano Sciacovelli (Birmingham)Download PresentationView Video
PRISMA: Compressor Integrated Energy Storage, Dr. Adrian Alford (Innovatium)Download PresentationView Video

SynchroStor – a Pumped Thermal E.S. system, Prof. Win Rampen (Edinburgh)View Video

14:40 – 14:50: REFRESHMENTS

14:50 – 15:35: MODELLING AND MEDIUM DURATION ENERGY STORAGE

The benefits of blending storage types, Dr. Tony Roulstone (Cambridge)Download PresentationView Video

Whole-system value of MDES&LDES solutions in Net Zero Futures, Prof. Goran Strbac (Imperial College)Download PresentationView Video

Monetising Medium Duration Storage, Dr. Iain Staffell (Imperial College)Download PresentationView Video
Modelleing Energy Systems Including Multiple Stores, Professor Seamus Garvey, (University of Nottingham)Download PresentationView Video

15:40 – 16:40: PANEL SESSION: POLICY AND MARKET ISSUES AFFECTING MDES
Panel Session chaired by Tom Bent.
– Nina Skorupska, CEO of the REA (Association of Renewable Energy and Clean Technologies)– Prof. Ian Arbon (Independent Consultant, EngineeredSolutions)– Sarah Keay-Bright from National Grid ESO (TBC)– Dr. Iain Staffell (Imperial College)
Video of Q&As for the panel session

Any questions about this event?
Please email Professor Seamus Garvey at the University of Nottingham.

Start your Business's Net-Zero journey - A Midlands Green Innovation Network event
2023-11-23 10:00 - 12:30 (Europe/London) | The Museum and Art Gallery on The Wardwick, Derby, The Strand, Derby, DE1BS, United Kingdom
Learn how to create a sustainability plan for your business at our in-person event, where we’ll delve into strategies for a greener future!
Join us for an exciting event at the Museum of Making at Derby Silk Mill in Derby. This in-person event will guide you through the process of developing a sustainability plan. Learn how to create and implement strategies that promote environmental, social, and economic sustainability.
At this event, award winning business woman, Rachel Hayward from procurement consultancy, Ask the Chameleon is joined by Tommy Allsop, Net-Zero Delivery Lead for Tyseley Energy Park, who will be providing practical advice and tips on how businesses can develop a sustainability action plan.
Read more and register here!

ERA Partner Roadshow at University of Leicester (exclusive event)
2023-11-22 10:00 - 12:00 (Europe/London) | University of Leicester – Space Park, Space Park, 92 Corporation Road, Leicester, LE4 5SP, United Kingdom
This event is only for staff / students at University of Leicester. Please use your university email address to register.

At this roadshow you will have the chance to meet with ERA staff to find out about the work that is being done in energy research and innovation and how you can get involved in the future.
Come along to this session to find out how ERA can help you with:
– Cross-university research collaborations
– Disseminating your research
– Funding applications
– Building international links
– Accessing world-leading facilities
– Training and development opportunitie
Places are limited so please book today!
Please note that this is an internal event and to attend you must have an institute-specific email address.

ERA Partner Roadshow at Loughborough University (exclusive event)
2023-11-02 14:30 - 16:30 (Europe/London) | Loughborough University, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
This event is only for staff / students at Loughborough University. Please use your university email address to register.

At this roadshow you will have the chance to meet with ERA staff to find out about the work that is being done in energy research and innovation and how you can get involved in the future.
Come along to this session to find out how ERA can help you with:
– Cross-university research collaborations
– Disseminating your research
– Funding applications
– Building international links
– Accessing world-leading facilities
– Training and development opportunitie
Places are limited so please book today!
Please note that this is an internal event and to attend you must have an institute-specific email address.

Climate Change 3.0 & The Future of Sustainability - A Midlands Green Innovation Network event
2023-10-26 12:00 - 13:30 (Europe/London) | Virtual event
Renowned futurist, Chris Barnatt, looks at the future of sustainability. How do we consume less yet find more of the resources we need?
There is now broad scientific and political agreement that we need to rise to the challenge of climate change and to live in a more sustainable manner. Yet, in the UK and beyond, is becoming clear that political mechanisms do not exist that will allow even currently declared climate change mitigation targets to be met. Businesses need to rapidly understand that we are entering a new era of the climate change debate, and how policy is likely to evolve.

ERA Community Fund Info Webinar: Wed 25 Oct 2023, 13:00-14:00
2023-10-25 13:00 - 14:00 (Europe/London) | Virtual event
During this info webinar we will tell you about the ERA Community Fund which provides up to £2,500 to design, develop, and deliver energy and/or net-zero-centric events, and hear from previous recipients of this award about why you should apply.
More info on the ERA Community Fund can be found at https://www.era.ac.uk/skills/funding-opportunities/

The Future of Green Transport in the Midlands - A Midlands Green Innovation Network event
2023-09-28 12:00 - 13:30 (Europe/London) | Virtual event
Midlands Connect is working to decarbonise the transport system in the Midlands. It is developing and prioritising the most important transport investments – the projects we need to support a more productive, prosperous and sustainable Midlands.
At this online Midlands Green Innovation Network event, Bharat Pathania, Head of New Technologies at Midlands Connect will be explaining the future transport strategy for the Midlands and some of the new transport technologies that we could be seeing on our roads and railways and in our towns and cities over the next few years.
Bharat’s presentation will highlight some of the significant changes that we are likely to see in our transport system in the coming years, and will identify potential opportunities for businesses to get involved with the new technologies.
The event will finish with a question and answer session.
About the Midlands Green Innovation Network
The Midlands Green Innovation Network is run by ERA with the support of the Midlands Engine and Federation of Small Businesses. It aims to provide small businesses with information and new technologies and opportunities, and the support they need in order to maximise their potential for innovation.

Royal Society Large Scale Energy Storage event
2023-09-08 08:00 - 17:00 (Europe/London) | Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG, United Kingdom
The Royal Society’s Large Scale Energy Storage event
On Weds 8th September, an event was held at the Royal Society in London on the critical subject of Large Scale Energy Storage and the report on the subject that was recently published by the Royal Society.

It commenced with an introduction by Peter Bruce, followed by Chris Llewellyn Smith providing an overview of the findings of the report published by the Royal Society on Large Scale Electricity Storage.
Presentations delved into various aspects, such as the effects of weather and climate change, modeling with multiple storage options, and the economics of storage, led by Sara Walker, Tony Roulstone, Seamus Garvey, and John Rhys.
After a brief break, the focus shifted to large-scale storage technologies, including hydrogen and ammonia, as well as non-chemical alternatives, chaired by Sara Walker, Mike Muskett, and Phil Eames.
The event also featured a plenary discussion and Q&A session, providing an opportunity for valuable insights from the panel of previous speakers, led by Peter Bruce.
Following a lunch break, breakout sessions explored the implications of the report in areas like economics, market changes, regulator controls, grid and system impacts, and the future of hydrogen and ammonia technology. These sessions were guided by experts including Cameron Hepburn, Maxine Frerk, Nilay Shah, and Yulong Ding.
After another break, the event reconvened with plenary feedback from the breakout sessions and discussions, moderated by Chris Llewellyn Smith.
Catherine Bremner addressed government policy impacts, shedding light on the role of policy in shaping the energy storage landscape. Finally, Peter Bruce and Chris Llewellyn Smith delivered a summary and brought the event to a close.
This event served as a platform for comprehensive discussions and insights into the challenges and opportunities of large-scale energy storage, with experts and policymakers coming together to drive progress in this crucial field.
Notes from the event
Two notes have been produced as a result of the event which can be downloaded below:

Hydrogen storage in aquifers and depleted gas fields
Transporting Hydrogen vs. Transporting Electricity and the Relative Locations of Supply, Storage and Demand

Download the event slides below
The slides from the event can be found by clicking on the relevant links in the programme, or alternatively you can download the full pack of slides below:

Royal Society Energy Storage Launch Presentations

Read the Royal Society’s report
The Royal Society’s report into Large Scale Energy Storage and other information about their work in this area can be found and downloaded from their webpage.
Event Programme
10.30: Welcome and Introduction, Peter Bruce
10.40: Overview of the findings of the report – Chris Llewellyn Smith
11.10: Presentations on:

The effects of weather on climate change – Tony Roulstone
Modelling including multiple stores – Seamus Garvey
Economic implications and questions – John Rhys

Chaired by Sara Walker
12.00: Presentations on large scale storage technologies

Hydrogen and ammonia – technical assumptions – Mike Muskett
Non-chemical storage technologies – Phil Eames

Chaired by Sara Walker
12.25: Q&A session with previous speakers, Chaired by Peter Bruce
14.00: Breakout sessions looking at the implications of the large scale energy report

Economics of Storage, Market Changes and Regulatory Controls, Chair – Cameron Hepburn
Grid and system impacts, Chair – Maxine Frerk
Likely developments in hydrogen and ammonia technology, Chair – Nilay Shah
Likely developments in medium duration storage, Chair, Yulong Ding

15.00: Plenary feedback from the breakout sessions and discussion. Chair, Chris Llewellyn Smith
15.30: Government policy impacts, Catherine Bremner
15.50: Summary and close, Peter Bruce and Chris Llewellyn Smith
Contact us

If you are interested in this subject, have any comments on it, or would like to be contacted about future events, please email Professor Seamus Garvey at the University of Nottingham.

2023 Birmingham Decarbonisation Summer School
2023-07-24 - 2023-07-28 | Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
This five-day in-person event will bring early career researchers together to propose a technical solution and business model for decarbonising a railway service in the UK. Ricardo plc, a leading engineering consultancy, will present the challenge and put you in the seat of a consultant for the week. Whilst this year’s theme of railways involves a lot of electric/mechanical engineering, we strongly encourage applications from other disciplines such as business, economics, social sciences, and environmental sciences. The winning team will receive a lot of kudos and a £100 prize per team member (this may take the form of vouchers). The programme will consist of plenty of technical talks by academics and industry experts to better familiarise attendees with the challenges facing railway decarbonisation, a social programme, and team building activities to ensure an informative and enjoyable week for all!

Policy and Markets for Offshore Energy Storage - Online
2023-07-13 14:30 - 17:30 (Europe/Malta) | Corinthia St George’s Bay, George's Bay Hotel, Corinthia Street, St Julians, STJ 3301, Malta
Join us for an exciting hybrid event, “Policy and Markets for Offshore Energy Storage,” exploring the development of suitable technologies.
About this event

Precis:
It is now certain that offshore renewable energy will supply a high proportion of primary energy in Northern Europe and other regions. Most forms of that energy are intermittent and there would be strong advantages to implementing energy storage alongside the energy harvesting. This event will explore how well existing policy and market structures can encourage the development of suitable technologies and projects and will attempt to set out how these structures might change for the better in the future.

Discussion areas:
It is beyond doubt now that offshore wind will become a major source of primary power for Northern Europe in the coming decades and it will be important in many other regions also. Wind power is obviously intermittent and some means must be found to reconcile the demand for electricity with its supply. Other forms of offshore renewable energy will also contribute and most of those also introduce intermittency. Energy storage provides one of the main solutions for managing the instantaneous mismatch between resource availability and natural demand and storage is rightly attracting huge attention across the globe now.
Storing energy locally at offshore sites where renewable energy is collected has several obvious potential benefits. These include
(a) the marginal cost of ground area is relatively low,
(b) implementing solid-state thermal storage may be significantly less expensive offshore than onshore for two separate reasons,
(c) there is virtually infinite availability of thermal ballast in the form of sea-water,
(d) there may be deep water or offshore salt deposits available to assist pressurised gas/air storage,
(e) the utilisation of power transmission lines from site to shore can be improved,
(f) there are at least some ways in which energy is collected from the renewable resource in a form that is directly compatible with storage and the conversion to electricity can be performed in response to the demand for electricity – saving both capital costs and power conversion losses
There is no suggestion here that all energy storage should be implemented offshore – onshore storage will certainly have a major role also. There is also no suggestion that long-distance power transmission, including HVDC transmission, does not have a major role – it will. Producing hydrogen offshore and exploiting that process for both conveying energy as well as for storage will obviously play an important part too. Similarly, demand-side management will contribute. Notwithstanding these other possible ways to provide flexibility, local offshore storage could still offer significant system benefits.
One objective of this session is to identify the benefits for implementing energy storage at offshore locations and to evaluate whether the associated challenges and costs can be justified based on current evidence. The primary purpose is to examine whether existing policy and market mechanisms might be suppressing developments that might otherwise find strong commercial traction by contributing very cost-effective functionality to the electricity systems to which they are connected. One useful case-study is the scheme for “contracts for difference” (CfDs) auctions. The CfD mechanism has been exceptionally successful in providing developers with the confidence to invest in low-carbon generation projects up to now but it primarily rewards powerplant operators in direct proportion to the energy exported (largely*) independent of how valuable that energy is/was to the system at the time it was exported.
We therefore seek to answer the following questions:
(1) Are the benefits and costs of offshore energy storage sufficiently understood?
(2) Do existing policy and market mechanisms for incentivising low carbon generation in various countries actually provide suitable incentives for project developers to incorporate storage at offshore generation sites if that would bring overall system benefits,
(3) Will “merchant trading” (simply selling electricity onto the wholesale markets) eventually provide the commercial pull for such systems if their benefits are sufficient,
(4) If existing policy mechanisms will not elicit good market behaviours and if the merchant trading prospect is still some way off, what intermediate steps might be taken by governments to sustain at least some appropriate technology development in the meanwhile.

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ERA Doctoral Summer Showcase
2023-07-12 09:30 - 20:00 (Europe/London) | Aston University, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, United Kingdom
The Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) ECR Summer Showcase 2023 will be taking place at Aston University this summer. The ERA ECR Summer Showcase is designed to give PhD students, and post-docs at the beginning of their researcher journey, an opportunity to show off their fantastic research whilst helping them develop their interpersonal and communication skills in a welcoming and friendly environment.
Enter the Summer Showcase Competitions
This year there will be two competitions at the summer showcase with a first prize of £100 each!
Doctoral researchers lightening presentations: Using one PowerPoint slide and/or one object doctoral researchers will explain their research in 60 seconds or less! All summer showcase delegates may enter this competition. Judging panel will consist of ERA academics and industry experts.
Net Zero in pictures: A gallery of selected photographs will be displayed during the Net Zero Doctoral Showcase event and on the ERA website. You do not need to attend the summer showcase to enter this competition, but it would be fantastic if you could.
Can you use your smartphone or tablet to take an interesting or thought-provoking photograph based on the theme “Net-Zero in Pictures”? Or would you like to showcase how you research into Net-Zero via a photograph> Then enter our “Net-Zero in Pictures” competition. It would be great to see some photos of your labs, workspace, field trails or anything else that encompasses your research.
How to enter
Interpret the theme “Net-Zero in Pictures” in any way you see fit, take a photo using a smartphone or tablet and email your pictures to L.A.Foster@lboro.ac.uk by 12.00 noon on Monday 10 July 2023. Please include “Net-Zero In Pictures” in the subject line of your email and remember to include your name and a caption in the body of the email: who / what, where and when should be enough. You can enter up to three images, please send each image in a separate email or make it clear which image belongs to which caption. A gallery of selected photographs will be displayed during the Net Zero Doctoral Showcase event and on the ERA website. Please remember, when taking your photos, do not endanger yourself or others, take unnecessary risks or infringe any laws, and if your photo involves taking a picture of a person, please receive permission before taking the image.
Provisional Programme:

Time
Activity

09:30-10:00
Registration, tea and coffee

10:00-10:30
Welcome + ice-breaker

10:30-11:15
Communicating your research workshop

11:15-12:00
Mapping the ERA research skills / knowledge workshop

12:00 – 13:15
Lunch

13:15-14:00
Funding opportunities for researchers

14:00-14:45
Interdisciplinary collaboration workshop

14:45-15:05
15:05-15:35
Getting Policy Influence lecture
Policy Influence breakout session

15:35-15:50
Break

15:50-16:40
Industrial perspectives on energy research – view from a corporate world. Panel discussion

16:40-17:20
Doctoral researchers lightening presentations

17:20-17:35
Prize giving

17:40-18:30
Networking drinks reception

18:30-20:00
FREE Summer Showcase BBQ

How to Design a Workshop
2023-07-07 10:30 - 14:00 (Europe/London) | Loughborough University, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
During this interactive workshop you will learn the principles of effective workshop design and be given the space to practise these principles. Experienced professionals will share their hints and tips on how to design and facilitate a workshop, with a focus on the learning journey. This training will provide you with an opportunity to upskill, collaborate with colleagues and apply best practice in designing and delivering your own workshop.
This face to face workshop will take place at Loughborough University on Friday 7th July, 10:30-14:00 with lunch provided.

Net Zero Heroes – Early Career Researcher’s Special
2023-07-05 12:30 - 13:30 (Europe/London) | Virtual event
During net zero week we will be holding an ECR special of our monthly net zero heroes webinars. This will highlights the fantastic research that ECR in the ERA network are undertaking, come along to find out about the fantastic research Humera Ansari is doing on carbon capture and storage, Mohammad Hamdan is undertaking on digital frameworks in retrofit community buildings and Rabee Jibrin’s research into optimisation for fuel cell hybrid trains. This webinars is for industry, students, academics, professional services staff and the general public who are interested in green energy and transitioning to a net-zero society.

ERA and C-DICE's Virtual COP world café.
2023-07-05 10:00 - 12:00 (Europe/London) | Virtual event
Based on The World Café method this virtual workshop will bring together Early Career Researchers to discuss ways to tackle challenges identified by COP27 and how to make the resolutions a reality. The session will start with C-DICE fellow Tom Dolan giving a short talk to set the scene, then we will use an interactive mural board with five stations that will cover the topics of Energy Systems Transformations, Loss and Damage Fund, Engineering and Infrastructure Leadership, Current Barriers and Future Priorities, and A Resilient Future. Participants will move between the stations to discuss their ideas; these will be captured on the interactive mural to create a living collaborative dialogue on how to resolve the challenges identified by COP27.

Living Labs - A Net-Zero Heroes event
2023-06-21 12:30 - 13:30 (Europe/London) | Virtual event
During this webinar we will hear from the British Geological Survey (BGS) about their observatories for researchers to investigate the subsurface, particularly in relations to shallow geothermal energy.
Our second speaker is Prof Mark Gillott who will present his work on how our homes will play an active part within community energy systems in order to reduce our energy use, cost and associated carbon emissions. His presentation will include real world demonstrators where new technical and socio economic models are being trialled and evaluated.
Mark Gillott, is the University of Nottingham’s Professor of Sustainable Building Design, has 30 years’ experience in low carbon sustainable energy technologies and sustainable building design. He is the research and project manager for the multi-award winning living lab ‘Creative Energy Homes’ low/zero carbon housing project through which he has co-designed, constructed and monitored the performance of some of the UK’s first whole house retrofits and ‘Code for Sustainable Homes’ level 4 and 6 (zero carbon) homes. He project managed the multi award winning £8 million UK Energy Research Accelerator Community Energy Demonstrator at the £180 million Nottingham Trent Basin sustainable housing development of low carbon homes. This scheme operates under a new community energy business model and incorporates what was Europe’s largest community energy battery with onsite solar PV.
Register here

The Midlands' Journey to Net Zero
2023-06-13 09:45 - 17:00 (Europe/London) | University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
Events around Net Zero tend to be based on a large scale, such as the Government’s 2050 Net Zero goal, however, local goals are just as important for reaching Net Zero. The event will showcase how organisations and people can reach Net Zero with talks based on the theme “What are organisations undertaking to get to Net Zero?” The plenary session for the event will feature Wayne Bexton, the Director of Environment and Sustainability at Nottingham City Council, on the city’s progress and roadmap for their 2028 Net Zero Goal. Talks include “energising communities with active buildings” by Professor Mark Gillott at the University of Nottingham, with further speakers tbc. There will also be a workshop for industry, students, and stakeholders to converse on how different sectors can work towards Net Zero and share ideas. Stalls will be held by Nottingham Friends of the Earth, Extinction Rebellion, Energy Research Accelerator, Clean Air Nottingham and Nottingham Climate Assembly to circulate during breaks and lunch to learn more about what local groups are contributing to the battle to Net Zero.
The event is the first ERA Skills Community funded event, created by Fern Baker at the University of Nottingham.
Register here

The Urban Analytics and Digital Twins Turing Regional Engagement Event
2023-05-31 09:30 - 16:00 (Europe/London) | The Exchance, The Exchange 3 Centenary Square,, Birmingham, B1 2DR
The University of Birmingham’s Exchange Building, in the heart of Birmingham, is a place that brings together communities to shape the ideas and solutions that will make our cities and regions better places to live, work and learn – an ideal location for the Urban Analytics and Digital Twins Turing Regional Engagement event, taking place on 31st May 2023.
This event will convene regional partners, including universities, city councils, businesses and other organisations interested in the opportunities presented by urban analytics. An example to be explored within the day includes digital twins, bringing the potential to provide cities with a bridge between the real and digital world, where smart buildings and infrastructure share information with a virtual environment providing potential decision-making tools for areas such as energy and transport. The day will include:

Share the learning through the Turing East Birmingham Digital Twin project.
Presentation of the new Connected Places Catapult led Diatomic Innovation Accelerator programme, looking to accelerate place-based innovation in the West Midlands through data to enable better decision making.
Provide discussion to progress collaborative innovation and open-up new regional opportunities to tackle some of the most challenging questions for our city and region.

Confirmed speakers include:

Professor Martin Freer, Director of the Birmingham Energy Institute (BEI), University of Birmingham
Catherine Hadfield, Diatomic Innovation Accelerator Programme lead, Connected Places Catapult
Dr Omid Ghaffarpasand, Senior Research Fellow, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham
Professor Aad van Moorsel, Head of School of Computer Science, Chair in Decentralised Systems, University of Birmingham

For further information, please contact turingliaison@contacts.bham.ac.uk

Funding and Protecting your Ideas - A Midlands Green Innovation Network event
2023-05-25 11:30 - 13:15 (Europe/London) | Virtual event
Protecting and funding your Ideas – a Midlands Green Innovation event.
At this online event from 11am to 12.45pm, Paul Storer from the Intellectual property Office is joined by Peter Pardoe from Innovate Edge and IP attorneys to discuss the range of funding options and IP support available for businesses in all sectors that are developing and launching new products.
If you are looking for advice on funding and protecting your ideas, this is a great opportunity for you to meet with experts who can provide the support that you need.
Register today

The policies and economics of the Net Zero transition
2023-05-17 12:30 - 13:30 (Europe/London) | Virtual event
During this webinar Duncan Depledge from Loughborough university will talk about the policies and economics of low carbon warfare – you can find out more about this in his recently published article Low-carbon warfare: climate change, net zero and military operations.
We are still looking for a second speaker for this webinar, please contact L.A.Foster@lboro.ac.uk if you are interested in presenting on this topic.
Book your place

The impact of sustainable design - midlands green innovation network event
2023-04-20 11:30 - 13:30 (Europe/London) | De Montfort University, Vijay Patel Building, 8 Newarke Close, Leicester, LE2 7BJ, United Kingdom
This event will explain how to develop products sustainably to reduce the use of non-renewable resources and minimise waste. There will also be the opportunity to tour the workshops and facilities at the University.
The event will be run by De Montfort University, you will learn how to think about the environmental impact of your products and how to design them from the outset to ensure that they are as green as possible.
11:00 – Arrival and Coffee
11:30 – Welcome by Christine White, Deputy Dean of Art Design and Humanities and Director of the Design Unit
11:40 – A series of short presentations discussing the Impact of Sustainable Design from a variety of disciplines and it’s relation to industry.
Speakers include:
Karl Letten – Sustainability Manager
Mark Charlton – Associate Director of Sustainable Development Goal Impact/Net Zero
Carolyn Hardaker – Head of School of Fashion and Textiles
Angela Davies – Programme leader MSc Textile Design, Technology and Innovation
Claire Lerpiniere – Associate Professor in Sustainable Textiles
Kyungeun Sung – Senior Lecturer in Product Design
Christine White – Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Art Design and Humanities
Jonny Prest – Net Good City, Leicester
12:45 – Q&A with the Panel
13:00 – Lunch, Networking and Tours of our Workshops/Facilities
13:30 Finish

Hydrogen Storage in Caverns 2023
2023-03-29 | The Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BG, United Kingdom
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Energy stored as hydrogen in salt cavities will be the most cost-effective long duration solution for many countries configuring net-zero grids around intermittent renewables.
Great Britain is a case in point where typical wind intermittency patterns suggest a storage need in the range of several tens of TWh; and where local geology provides sufficient suitable salt layer to accommodate this requirement.
This makes hydrogen storage in salt cavities both a source of potential competitive advantage, and a huge commercial opportunity, as a new industry with new equipment and new infrastructure is developed.
This event, which took place at the Geological Society in March 2023, built on the success of two previous events in 2021 and 2022, with an entirely new list of speakers – including operators of existing salt cavity storage facilities, developers of new schemes and engineers addressing design and innovation challenges.
Event summaryThe event covered the following:

The technical challenges of storing hydrogen in caverns.
The potential in the UK for making salt caverns to store hydrogen.
Case studies of hydrogen storage in caverns in mainland Europe and the UK.
Status of hydrogen turbines and compressors and challenges around their development
A discussion on business models for operating caverns.
The requirement for new policies that support and promote the development of hydrogen storage caverns.

The meeting concluded with a thought-provoking discussion panel comprising delegates from government bodies as well as experts from academia and industry.

Energy Storage Policy Masterclass
2023-03-21 | Vaillant Live, Derby, DE1 1LA, United Kingdom
Event ReportThe Energy Storage Policy Masterclass brought together leading experts in energy storage in March 2023.
The need for Net Zero is clear to most. The “Energy Sector” is not the only contributor to man-made greenhouse gas emissions but ultimately it is the way that we use energy that dominates these emissions.
Low/zero carbon generation such as wind turbines, PV panels, nuclear power, natural hydro and related renewable-energy generators are clearly essential to our transition to net zero emissions. This was recognised early and put incentives in place that have been hugely successful in driving down generation costs, shortening project timescales and eliciting private investment. The UK’s CfD has been a particularly noteworthy success.
As the penetration of low-carbon generation rises in the electricity system, a different challenge is revealed – how to ensure that the energy consumer receives the energy when and where it is wanted. Coal, oil and gas gave us flexibility at very low cost and that flexibility is not easy to replace. Energy storage is one of the main solutions to the problem of reconciling supply and demand. The state of policy development around energy storage is very far behind where it should be to meet political commitments, including UK’s net zero grid target of 2035.
This event, which took place at IMECHE in London on 21st March, set out to expose some of the main issues behind why the policies around energy storage and the other flexibility technologies are less developed than they might be. The key objective was to unearth and to share what possible directions exist and what good practice is already established that can be adopted more broadly.
Event Chair – Michael LiebreichMichael Liebreich is an acknowledged thought leader on clean energy, mobility, technology, climate, sustainability and finance. He is the founder and senior contributor to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a member of numerous industry, governmental and multilateral advisory boards, an angel investor, a former member of the board of Transport for London, and an Advisor to the UK Board of Trade.
This event was kindly supported by the following organisations:
Downloadable Presentations & VideosYou can download all presentations and view video from the event below. Please note that some of the videos are quite large so please allow a few seconds for them to display.
Session 1Video from session 109:15 – 09:30 Opening remarks by the event Chair, Michael Liebreich
09:30 – 11:00
Prof. Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith on Renewables, energy storage and Net-Zero UKProf. Goran Strbac (Imperial College London) – Role and value of energy storage in supporting cost effective transition to resilient zero- carbon energy future Prof. Paul Ekins (UCL) – Energy policy and uncertainty11:00 – 11:30 Break
Session 2Video from session 211:30 – 13:00
Gary Preece, Chief Market Development Officer, Highview Power – Flexible Long Duration Energy Storage Prof. Keith Bell (CCC) – Delivering a reliable decarbonised power systemHannah Bronwin ( SSE) – SSE and Energy Storage13:00 – 13:45 Break
Session 3Video from session 313:45 – 15:15 Semi-structured discussion
Jon Saltmarsh, Energy Systems Catapult – Flexibility and Storage, the long and short of it Naomi Baker, Energy UK – Long Duration Energy StorageToby Morris, Sunamp – Application of Phase Change Materials15:15 – 15:30 Break
Session 4Video from session 415:30 – 17:00 Plenary discussion and summary outcomes
Join the energy storage discussionif you would like to join the discussion around energy storage and policy, and want to be kept informed of future events and reports on this subject, please email us with your details and your interest in energy storage.
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Hydrogen use in decarbonisation of transport
2023-01-18 12:30 - 13:30 (Europe/London)
Professor Robert Steinberger-Wilckens from the Centre for Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Research at the University of Birmingham discussed some of the latest research in hydrogen and the role of hydrogen based fuels in the future decarbonisation of road, rail, air and marine transport.
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Christmas Special
2022-12-14 12:30 - 13:30 (Europe/London)
In our Christmas special we give a whistle stop tour of the fantastic research that has been taking place across the ERA partnership in 2022.
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