About Us
What are our Global Research Priorities?
Our Global Research Priorities (GRPs) unite researchers to tackle pressing global issues.
They create challenge-focused communities, bringing together and supporting researchers from many different disciplines. From energy to health to sustainability, our ten GRPs address some of the planet's biggest challenges.
We have close partnerships with third parties, such as policy makers, charities and industry. We provide seed funding for projects, and facilitate networking opportunities and other research-related events throughout the year.
What are our areas of research?
Our research falls into six themes:
Electrical power
We focus on how we find and use electricity - from when it is created, to how it comes into our homes and how we use it. Research on the electric grid system is a key part of this.
Energy management
As the world’s population grows, we need more energy. We focus on ways we manage the energy we have, and how we can find alternative supplies in the future.
Energy storage
Our energy supply is not constant. We are working on ways to store energy. This also applies to sustainable sources of energy including thermal and compressed air storage.
Low carbon transport
We are electrifying our transport network. We work on the design and parts of electric vehicles. We are also interested in ways we can prepare for them. This includes battery technology and charging points.
Heating and Cooling
Energy storage is vital to achieve decarbonisation of power network, heating supply and transportation. Our research includes electrochemical, thermal, and mechanical energy storage technologies.
Politics and Policy
The politics of sustainably transitioning energy systems is highly complex. Politics can act as both an enabler and as a constraint upon sustainable change, whilst political decisions can often dictate which technologies are used in decarbonising the economy, who pays the costs, and who benefits.
Why energy?
Our fossil fuel supply will run out. Finding sustainable sources of energy and ways to store them is vital. Energy is one of UK Research and Innovation's priorities. Our research aims to support this.
Who is involved?
We have over 250 members from 38 departments. This includes academics from physical sciences, engineering and social sciences. By working together, our research is broader. Looking for contacts in a particular research area? Contact our administrator for more information.