Memorandum 77
Submission from the Midlands Energy Consortium
(Birmingham, Loughborough and Nottingham Universities)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
ESTABLISHMENT AND
ROLE OF
THE ENERGY
TECHNOLOGIES INSTITUTE
1. The Midlands Energy Consortium comprises
the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University and the
University of Nottingham. The Consortium brings together three
world-class partners, all with extensive and complementary energy
related research activities. The Consortium provides the Energy
Technologies Institute (ETI) with unmatched strength and connectivity,
and uniquely the East Midlands Development Agency together with
Advantage West Midlands has combined to provide significant financial
and strategic support. As a consequence of these factors and the
consortium's ability to support the rapid deployment of cost-effective
low carbon technologies, it was successful in its bid to host
the ETI.
2. The Consortium offers an outstanding
hub location at Loughborough University's Science and Enterprise
Park that combines exceptional accessibility; close embedding
in an existing concentration of low-carbon and energy research,
development and demonstration (RD&D); a superb parkland setting;
excellent options for expansion and future growth; and the opportunity
to achieve "whole-site branding". The hub occupies an
attractive energy-efficient building that will itself be a demonstrator
of retrofit technologies, and where the ETI hub can grow to full
complement without the further disruption of re-location. The
Consortium and the hub are ideally located at the heart of the
UK, served by excellent communications networks, away from high
costs and congestion, and close to major sites of ETI's key industrial
sponsors.
3. ETI will be able to draw on the strength
and connectivity of the Consortium's broad research base, which
is underpinned with extensive industrial collaborations and strong
international networks. The Consortium has:
— An extensive energy research activity
including 200 academics and current external funding of £73
million, with collaborations already in place across institutional,
sector and technological boundaries.
— A commitment to appoint a manager
for the Midlands Consortium to manage the interface with ETI.
— An outreach and network capability
with other researchers that extends nationally and internationally
and that will enable ETI to "reach" wider, further,
faster and more deeply into the RD&D community.
— An industrially-connected academic
community, of mixed disciplines, across the Consortium, which
can work with ETI staff to contribute creatively and imaginatively
to the R&D commissioning process.
4. The role of ETI will be to lead the UK's
efforts in establishing a low-carbon economy based on a secure,
affordable supply of energy, a significant proportion of which
will come from sustainable sources. Key to these efforts will
be applied research into, and development of, excellent and innovative
technologies that are designed to harness and utilise renewable
energy. Such technologies may be found in all parts of the energy
value chain, from generation and production through to transmission
and distribution, storage and consumption. The ETI's activities
will therefore focus on ensuring commercial viability, via development
and demonstration projects involving a variety of public and private-sector
stakeholders, both in the UK and overseas.
INTRODUCTION
5. The Midlands Energy Consortium (MC) is
pleased to respond to the House of Commons IUS Select Committee's
Inquiry into Renewable Electricity-Generation Technologies. These
comments have been compiled with the assistance of staff at each
of the three universities that constitute the MC, under the co-ordination
of Peter Townsend, Director of the Research Office at Loughborough
University.
6. This response concentrates on the hosting
by the MC of the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). The Government
has pledged support for the ETI for a period of at least ten years,
as part of a public-private partnership involving leading companies
such as BP, Caterpillar, EDF Energy, E.ON UK, Rolls-Royce and
Shell. The initial investment is the order of £1 billion.
7. The ETI, which is based at Loughborough
University, commenced its operations on 17 December 2007 with
an invitation for Expressions of Interest (EoIs) to participate
in research programmes to develop new technologies for renewable
energy. The first such programmes will be in the areas of offshore
wind and marine (wave, tidal) energy. It is envisaged that projects
to be supported under these programmes will commence in the autumn
of 2008.
ESTABLISHMENT OF
THE ETI: WHY
THE MIDLANDS
CONSORTIUM?
8. The ETI is hosted by the Midlands Consortium,
chosen on 20 September 2007 by the ETI Board as the strongest
bidder from a short-list of five. The strength of the MC's bid
rests on the fact that it has an unparalleled concentration of
world-class capabilities in low-carbon energy research and technology
across the ETI's seven themes. The Consortium's extensive engagement
with large corporate and SME industries led to a combined industrial
research income in excess of £22 million in 2005-06. This
includes involvement in the E.ON UK—EPSRC research partnership,
three Rolls-Royce University Technology Centres, the Shell Centre
for Pavement Engineering and collaborative research with more
than 200 energy-related companies. The MC works with many leading
centres of energy research internationally. Its long-term track
record and commitment to energy research and development is illustrated
by the combined total of 450 externally-funded projects across
the seven ETI themes, with a value exceeding £73 million
and involving more than 200 academic staff.
9. The Consortium works with industry and
policy-makers, addressing challenges in the quest for a sustainable
future. High-level commitment adds value to the direction, relevance
and impact of its research. Examples include:
— Prof Michael Sterling (Prime Minister's
Council for Science & Technology);
— Prof Martyn Poliakoff FRS (Royal
Society Working Party on the utilisation of biofuels);
— Prof Dennis Loveday (E.ON/RAEng Chair
in Low Carbon Energy Technology);
— Prof Kevin Kendall FRS (Grove Committee
on Fuel Cells);
— Prof Dave Garner FRS (External Relations
Board, Royal Society of Chemistry); and
— Prof Sir Colin Campbell (UK China
Task Force).
10. The MC exhibits a strong track record
of entrepreneurial drive, technology transfer, and exploitation
capabilities. Achievements include:
— Queen's Awards for Enterprise (International
Trade)—development of international campuses and tech transfer;
— HEIF-funded International Innovation
Exchange (IXC);
— partners in BioCity, Europe's largest
bio-incubator;
— The Queen's Anniversary Prize for
Development Engineering, sustainable infrastructure for the world's
poorest people; and
— spinning-out its research, including
companies such as Intelligent Energy, IMPT and Adelan.
11. The MC has an established track record
and long-term commitment to energy research, development and demonstration
(RD&D). Each of the Consortium's three Universities has integrated
its energy research through the formation of important new internal
organisations:
— The Institute for Energy Research
and Policy (Birmingham);
— The Sustainability Research School
(Loughborough); and
— The Energy Technologies Research
Institute (Nottingham).
Each is led by a Director, who provides co-ordination
for all energy-related research within each University, and facilitates
multi-disciplinary team-working. There is extensive external networking
through the individual members, and the Directors are in regular
contact and collaboration on matters of joint interest.
12. The Consortium's combined expertise
is comprehensive, fully spans the ETI themes and beyond, and encompasses
energy supply (conventional and renewable), its consumption by
the built environment, transport and manufacturing, and wider
aspects including societal, business, economics, infrastructure,
social sciences and policy. Within each University, infrastructure
is embedded to promote development, demonstration and deployment
of suitable research outcomes, including patenting, publicity,
development of funding opportunities, incubation and spin-out
company facilities.
13. The Consortium possesses an impressive
inventory of facilities and equipment that underpin its energy
RD&D, supplemented by significant on-going investment. Examples
include the new £2 million photovoltaics manufacturing laboratory
(opened 2006); a £3 million world-class engine testing facility;
a new £1.5 million fuel cells laboratory; and over £2
million investment to establish world-leading laboratories in
industrial-scale microwave processing, hydrogen storage and carbon
capture. Demonstration facilities include a unique series of creative
energy dwellings and an instrumented house for testing retrofit
domestic energy, metering and control technologies.
14. The Consortium has a long and extensive
history of collaboration, networking and leadership. The MC's
respective inter-disciplinary bodies—Loughborough's Sustainability
Research School, Nottingham's Energy Technologies Research Institute,
and Birmingham's Institute for Energy Research and Policy—demonstrate
its commitment to inter-disciplinary and cross-School collaboration
in the energy field. Birmingham, Loughborough and Nottingham collaborate
on numerous activities, including major energy projects such as
the Energy and Environment centre of excellence as part of the
EU Rail Research Network of Excellence (EURNEX); several Supergen
consortia; the Environmentally Friendly Engine project; and the
E.ON Academic Advisory Council. Each university also belongs to
a body that co-ordinates co-operation between Higher Education
Institutions in its region: the East Midlands Universities Association
(Nottingham and Loughborough) and the West Midlands Higher Educational
Authority (Birmingham).
15. Nationally, the Consortium provides
leadership in collaboration, networking and policy formation for
numerous activities, including the Sustainable Design Network,
Low Carbon and Fuel Cells KTN, two Innovative Manufacturing Research
Centres and the £7M EPSRC-funded National Railway Project.
16. Internationally the Consortium has two
members of Universitas 21—a network of leading research-intensive
universities in 12 countries. The University of Nottingham was
the first foreign university to establish a campus in China, which
includes the Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies at Ningbo.
Consortium members provide leading roles for various international
activities such as: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-Conditioning Engineers (50,000 members); EU €63 million
Airbus Project; European Construction Institute; EU EURNEX's centre
of excellence for Energy and Environment; and the UK Government's
China Task Force.
17. Other significant international collaboration
includes EU projects for energy-related research currently worth
£12.7 million. This includes involvement in 12 projects of
the Research Fund for Coal & Steel since 2001 (of which five
have been co-ordinated within the Consortium), Solid Oxide Fuel
Cell research with 26 partners, and Superconductor research under
a Specific Targeted Research Project STREP with 13 partners. Beyond
the EU, the MC is involved in the International Energy Agency
Hydrogen Implementing Agreement (IEA/HIA) activities involving
43 partner institutions in 15 countries and the International
Partnership for Hydrogen Energy (IPHE) activities involving eight
partners in New Zealand, Singapore, UK and the USA.
18. In the table below (Table 1) we show
the number and value of current grants held by the Consortium
across the Pseven ETI themes and list key examples of research
activity, leaders, sponsors and collaborators:
Table 1
MIDLANDS ENERGY CONSORTIUM KEY ENERGY RD&D
EXPERTISE AND COLLABORATIONS BY ETI THEME
| ETI Theme |
Key research activities and examples of track record
(B: Birmingham, L: Loughborough, N: Nottingham) |
1: Key research leaders; 2: Key sponsors and collaborators;
3: Funding portfolio |
|
|
Large scale energy
supply technologies |
Clean coal technology, IGCC and carbon capture and storage technologies
(N): includes 8 EU Coal & Steel projects involving the major European research organisations and companies in the field, three projects coordinated (€4.5 million).
Plant life extension (B, L, N): materials for extended life turbines conventional power plant lifetime extension; (Supergen £2.1 million,
L lead). EU sponsored programmes include VITAL and WELDON. Economics of the electricity industry (B): Supergen Future Network Consortium
| 1. Richard Green, Tom Hyde (FREng), John Knott (FRS), Jonathan Seville (FREng), Colin Snape (2006 Storch award), Rachel Thomson;
2. Alstom, BNFL, CESI (Italy), Chromealloy UK Ltd, Corus, CSIC (Spain), CSM (Italy), Doosan Babcock, Elcogas, ENSA (Spain), E.ON, EPSRC, ESRC, EU, Howmet Castings, NPL, QinetiQ, Rolls-Royce, RWE npower, Siemens, Siempelkamp (Germany);
3. 45 grants and contracts, total value £5.6 million.
|
|
|
Energy security
of supply | Hydrogen (B, N): UK Sustainable Hydrogen Economy Consortium
(£3.5 million Supergen). Fuel Cells, batteries and supercapacitors (N): inc Fuel Cell Supergen; Photovoltaic (L, N): manufacturing and materials. Wind (N): load structure, offshore grid control and energy storage;
Bioenergy (B) from waste/ biological production of hydrogen.
| 1. Jan Baeyens, Kwang-Leong Choy (FIMM), Lynne Macaskie, Martin Schröder (RS Wolfson Research Merit Award Holder);
2. Areva, Ceres Power, Converteam, dstl, DTI, EPSRC, EU, Johnson Matthey, Opel/GM, Rolls-Royce, Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems Ltd, Thomas Swann;
3. 47 grants and contracts, total value £6.0 million.
|
|
|
End-use efficiency/
demand
management |
Energy efficiency in the built environment (B, L, N): demonstrator Eco-houses; policy for sustainable urban regeneration; £2.5 million Creative Energy Dwellings project; Energy Globe Award and Euro Solar Award for sustainable buildings project.
Sustainable design and energy reduction in industrial processes (L, N): microwave grinding of rock Superconductors (B): National Crystal Growth Facility for Superconducting Oxides
Electrical energy efficiency (N) inc two EPSRC platform grants related to industrial process (£620k)
| 1. Stuart Abell, Greg Asher (FIEEE), Sam Kingman (UK Medal of Excellence), Dennis Loveday (E.ON/RAEng Chair in Low Carbon Energy Technology), Saffa Riffat, Rupert Soar;
2. ASHRAE, Carbon Trust, CIBA, Defra, DTI, emda, E.ON, EPS, EPSRC, ESRC, EU, Glen Dimplex, Kingspan, Monodraught, NuAire, Pilkington, Rio Tinto, Roger Bullivant, Thermacore, ZedFactory;
3. 87 grants and contracts, total value £11.8 million.
|
|
|
|
Transport | Energy efficient aeronautical and automotive technologies (B, L, N): 4 Rolls-Royce UTCs; Smiths Aerospace UTSP; DTI industry-led Environmentally friendly engine collaboration (£30 million); MOET: Airbus-led electric aircraft programme (€63 million, N: UK lead); Emissions reduction and novel engine technologies; EU Rail Research Network of Excellence (EURNEX) (B lead, involving 60 institutions throughout EU); Transport systems, policy and planning (L): Demand responsive transport systems, noise analysis
| 1. Paul Bowen (FREng), Jon Clare, Colin Garner (Caterpillar/RAEng Chair, FIMechE), Jim McGuirk (FRAeS, FREng), Paul Shayler (Ford Chair), Miroslaw Wyszynski;
2. Airbus, BAA, BAE Systems, Boeing, Caterpillar, Converteam, DfT, DTI, EPSRC, EU, Ford, Jaguar, Lister-Petter, Lotus, MOD, Qinetiq, Rolls-Royce, Shell, Smiths Aerospace, Tyndall Centre.
3. 191 grants and contracts, total value £29.4 million.
|
|
|
|
Small scale energy supply technologies
| Wind energy technologies (L, N) inc composites for turbine blades.
Energy from biomass (N) use of brewing waste.
Domestic CHP (N) small scale biomass-fired CHP system;
Fuel cells (B, L) materials and durability, supply chain for fuel cell production;
Photovoltaic solar cells and solar technologies (L, N) in the built environment;
Supercritical fluid technology (N) for sustainable chemical manufacture and materials processing, including renewable feedstocks. Includes DICE: £3.5 million Science and Innovation award.
| 1. Matt Boreland, Ralph Gottschalg, Kevin Kendall (FRS), Andrew Long (FIMechE, FIMMM, Rosenhain Medal), Martyn Poliakoff (FRS);
2. Advantage West Midlands, Baxi, BP Solar, DTI, EPSRC, EU, ICP Solar Technologies, Intelligent Energy, NERC, Rolls-Royce, RRFCS, Unilever Bestfoods UK;
3. 30 grants and contracts, total value £11.2 million.
|
|
|
|
Supporting infrastructure | Pipeline technologies (B, L): Safe Network distribution of hydrogen NATURALHY EU Consortium; trenchless tunnelling methods and offshore electricity cables; nanotechnology pipeline sensors; Electrical energy conversion technologies (N) FP6 UNIFLEX for future European AC grid (€2 million N lead) and two supporting EPSRC Platform grants (£620k);
Highly distributed power systems (L): £2.6 million Supergen (L Lead);
Electrical distribution systems (B): Artificial intelligence and other modelling applications
| 1. Christos Christopoulos (FIEEE), Geoff Hankinson (Advantica/RAEng Chair in Pipeline Technology, FIMechE), Mark Johnson, Michael Negnevitsky, Chris Rogers;
2. ABB, Areva, Econnect, EDF Energy, EPSRC, EU, Newage, Scottish Power, Rolls-Royce, UK Water Industry Research;
3. 31 grants and contracts, total value £7.3 million.
|
|
|
| Alleviating energy poverty | Renewable energy technology transfer (N): EU-India network (RENET) (N Lead)
Economic, social and infrastructure issues (B, L, N) in collaboration with developing countries, which has been gained predominantly in the field of water engineering, desalination processes and on the economic regulation of network industries.
Globalisation and economic policy (N) Leverhulme funded with a China Programme (£1.5 million).
| 1. Andrew Cotton, David Greenaway, Nidal Hilal (2005 Kuwait Prize: Applied Science for Water Resource Development), Mohammed Sohail;
2. British Council, DfID, E.ON, EPSRC, EU, ITC, Middle East Desalination Research Centre, UK Commonwealth Secretariat, Wateraid West Africa, World Bank, World Health Organisation,
3. 25 grants and contracts, total value £1.7 million.
|
|
|
ROLE OF
THE ENERGY
TECHNOLOGIES INSTITUTE,
AND RELATIONSHIPS
WITH THE
MIDLANDS CONSORTIUM
19. The purpose of ETI is to lead the UK's efforts in
establishing a low-carbon economy based on a secure, affordable
supply of energy, a significant proportion of which will come
from sustainable sources. Key to these efforts will be applied
research into, and development of, excellent and innovative technologies
that are designed to harness and utilise renewable energy. Such
technologies may be found in all parts of the energy value chain,
from generation and production through to transmission and distribution,
storage and consumption. The ETI's activities will therefore focus
on ensuring commercial viability, via development and demonstration
projects involving a variety of public and private-sector stakeholders,
both in the UK and overseas.
20. As host for ETI, the MC will be able to assist ETI
in fulfilling its role by working closely with Dr. David Clarke,
its Chief Executive, and his team to achieve ETI's targets for
the first year and beyond. Specifically, the MC will assist ETI
as it establishes its key staff (some fifty people by end 2008)
at Loughborough, and as it launches new programmes to develop
collaborative partnerships for the demonstration of innovative
energy technologies. This process will be facilitated by the appointment
of a dedicated Consortium Manager to serve as the MC's main point
of contact with Dr. Clarke, his Strategy Delivery Team and other
members of ETI. The Consortium Manager will be a senior post with
a reporting line to all three universities. He/she will facilitate
all interactions between the MC and ETI, and manage the interface
between ETI and the MC Steering Group, established by the partners
to govern the activities of the MC. The Steering Group is chaired
by a Vice-Chancellor, and meets on a quarterly basis in order
to explore and broker every possible opportunity for the Consortium
to support the work of ETI.
21. In addition to the Consortium Manager, the MC plans
to invest in further academic leadership in renewable energy technologies
by the appointment of an "ETI Chair" in a relevant discipline
at each university. The partners' world-class expertise in each
of the ETI's thematic priority areas, as described above, will
enable the recruitment of internationally-leading academics to
fill these Chairs.
22. Finally, the MC will offer the ETI team freedom of
access to its academic staff, and the wider circles of company,
university and other public sector contacts with whom they interact.
These circles extend internationally, and are likely to be valuable
to ETI, both in shaping its technology delivery strategy, and
in the commissioning and implementation of world-leading development
and demonstration projects.
January 2008
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