Towards a Sustainable Energy Economy - A New Research Council Initiative on Energy

Emma Feltham (emma.feltham@epsrc.ac.uk) Associate Programme Manager responsible for oil and gas at EPSRC reports on a new sustainable energy initiative involving three UK Research Councils.

We are faced with two conflicting issues to solve. The demand for energy is increasing both in the developed and developing worlds and greenhouse gas emissions from using fossil fuels are thought to cause significant global temperature rises.

Three UK Research Councils (the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)) are to receive funding to work together on research on sustainable energy. For the first time we will integrate our research, not just work in parallel programmes. We will use inter-disciplinary approaches to the challenges of supplying energy in a secure and affordable way, while minimising carbon dioxide emissions and contributing to sustainable development.

The new multi-council initiative will build on existing work by the research councils, such as EPSRC’s programme on Sustainable Power Generation and Supply (SUPERGEN). It will link closely with initiatives by others, such as the Carbon Trust and the Department for Trade and Industry.

• The new sustainable energy programme will receive £28 million over three years from 2003, and will address key issues such as:
• Can we encourage a hydrogen economy by developing efficient fuel cells?
• Can we make biofuels and wind, tidal, wave, and solar power contribute more to the balance of energy supply?
• What are the barriers to integrating these newer energy systems into our existing power supply and networks?
• Can we reduce carbon dioxide emissions by capturing the gas when electricity is generated and locking it away underground or in plant growth?
• How do we develop economic instruments (e.g. carbon taxes) and regulatory frameworks to support the transition to a low carbon economy?
• What are the broader implications for individual behaviour and societal change required to achieve a sustainable energy economy?

A significant part of the funding (about £8-12 million over five years) will be used to establish a new UK Energy Research Centre. The centre will act as a hub for a proposed National Energy Research network involving all the UK players in energy research. A call for bids to operate the centre went out in March 2003.

NERC is managing the programme on behalf of the three councils (with participation from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC)).

For further information contact Chris Baker (phone: 01793 411758 or email: ckb@nerc.ac.uk), see the initiative information on the NERC website or visit the Research Councils UK (RCUK) website.

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