UK Energy Research Centre Summer School 2012

The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) have announced revised dates for it’s eighth annual Energy Summer School; from 17th June – 22nd June 2012, at the University of Warwick. There will be 100 places available for UK and international students.

The School has been specifically designed to give second year PhD students an understanding of energy systems as a whole and of pathways to low-carbon and resilient energy systems. This directly relates to international climate change issues and policies as students will become engaged in a mock United Nations style negotiations throughout the week in order to achieve a reduction in carbon emissions through the use of energy systems. This is a week-long course, which runs in parallel to UKERC’s Annual Assembly, and the course is professionally facilitated to provide continual support for participants, and includes a number of networking opportunities as well as social events.

Applications are invited from those engaged in energy-related research including technical, physical, social, economic, environmental and business aspects of energy and energy systems.

Nominations are open until 1700hrs (5pm) GMT Thursday, 8th March 2012. There is no charge for registered research students to attend the School; UKERC will provide accommodation and all meals and materials for activities. The School is conducted in English, and as it is highly interactive a good standard of comprehension and spoken English is essential.

The nomination form can be accessed from the UKERC website

Full information is available from the UK Energy Research Centre website at:
www.ukerc.ac.uk

SuperGen project launches their new information website

The SuperGen Marine Energy Research Consortium has entered it’s third phase and has launched it’s NEW WEBSITE and the UK Centre for Marine Energy Research.
Their stated aim is “To conduct world-class fundamental and applied research that assists the marine energy sector in the UK to reliably and dependably accelerate deployment rates and ensure sustained growth in generating capacity to meet the 2020 targets.”

The site is full of useful current information on the developments within marine generation research and technologies. In particular, they have a very useful REPORTS PAGE, titles include:

SuperGen Phase Two Monograph
SuperGen Phase One Monograph
OES International Vision for Ocean Energy
ORECCA European Offshore Renewable Energy Roadmap
UKERC Marine Roadmap
ETI Marine Energy Technology Roadmap
Guidance for Numerical Modelling in Wave and Tidal Energy
Guidance for the Experimental Tank Testing of Wave Energy Converters
An Appraisal of a Range of Fluid Modelling Software

There is also a fully SEARCHABLE DATABASE which contains all 341
abstracts of the SuperGen Marine Phase 1 and 2 research outputs:
Searches can be made by Title/Author/Year, Phase and Workstream.

Be prepared for 2011-12 FP7 call opening

The 2011-12 FP7 Energy research call is expected to open at the end of
July 2011 and there was an information day in Brussels on 7th July to outline the key themes. There will be much more detailed information available through the EC website (ex CORDIS), but I thought an early flag of project areas might be a helpful start. The work is organised by Energy Activities and within each are project themes the EU would like to see explored. A summary of this is laid out below;

There is alot in just the project headings!! And there are some interesting notes around renewable fuel production and renewable electricity generation that UHI partners might want to explore.

RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY GENERATION
Reliable, cost-effective, highly performing PV systems
Innovative wind conversion systems
Research, development and testing of solar dish systems
Hybridisation of CSP with other energy sources
Power generation in the low temperature range
RENEWABLE FUEL PRODUCTION
Biofuels from microalgae and macroalgae
Development and testing of advanced sustainable bio-based fuels for air transport
RENEWABLES FOR HEATING AND COOLING
Research and development for medium temperature range solar collectors
CO2 CAPTURE AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES FOR ZERO EMISSION POWER GENERATION
Sizeable pilot tests for CO2 geological storage
Impact of the quality of CO2 on transport and storage
SMART ENERGY NETWORKS
Integration of variable distributed resources in distribution networks
Enhancing electricity networks through use of distributed intelligence
Empowering smart customers to participate in active demand and energy system efficiency
Planning for European Electricity Highways to ensure the reliable delivery of renewable electricity and market integration
Networking of national R&D and demonstration projects on smart metering infrastructure and data processing
Facilitating the deployment of safe stationary batteries
ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND SAVINGS
Next generation heat pump technologies
RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY GENERATION
Demonstration of multifunctional smart PV modules
Demonstration of innovative designs to reduce fatique loads and improve reliability of multi-MW turbines
Demonstration of first ocean energy farms
RENEWABLE FUEL PRODUCTION
Pre-commercial industrial scale demonstration plant on lignocellulosic ethanol
SMART CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
Strategic sustainable planning and screening of city plans
Large scale systems for urban area heating and/or cooling supply
ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDINGS
Demonstration of nearly zero energy building renovation for cities and districts
KNOWLEDGE BASED BIO ECONOMY
Development of new or improved logistics for lignocellulosic biomass harvest, storage and transport
There is alot there just in the project headings!! and there are some interesting areas around renewable fuel production and renewable electricity generation that partners might want to explore.

FP7 is all about pan-europe research, and so delivery is undertaken by consortium groups drawn from across the EU. Finding out what projects there are out there, and what potential partners are out there can be challenging.

There are a number of linking channels out there, but I would highlight in the first instance the project and partner databases that exist on CORDIS (get yourself registered as a minimum!) and the Knowledge Transfer Networks (KTN’s). A really useful tool is the KTN connect tool. This is a platform, provided through the TSB, where you can find people, share knowledge and join networks….again get yourself registered.

NERC Research Fellowship Scheme update

The current round of thirty fellowships are available to start October 2012 with a closing date on 1 November 2011.

The Natural Environment Research Council Fellowship scheme provides opportunities for outstanding environmental scientists to devote their time to research, develop their research careers or to produce work of international importance.  NERC supports fellows undertaking environmental science research, including:  freshwater, Earth, atmospheric, marine, terrestrial, Earth observation, or polar.

Additional information on fellowship schemes…