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The research led by Dr Convery and Dr Weatherall with other staff members within the unit represents a diverse body of work around the practicalities, implications and uptake of land management to mitigate climate change, particularly through application of biomass based renewable energies and also through carbon sequestration. The group have influenced practitioners (particularly within the forestry and farming sectors), community groups developing renewable energy projects, small to medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in renewable energies, and other non-governmental stakeholder organisations, such as the Lake District National Park.
The demand for biofuels and alternative energies is increasing globally as a sustainable source of energy is sought for the future. Energy from crops is no longer a viable option due to the increase in wheat prices. Scientists at the BEST Research Institute have managed to bridge the gap by using novel and unique microwave systems for converting waste (biomass, food, animal) into energy. Our advances in this area have generated considerable interest from both national (e.g., United Utilities PLC, Balfour Beatty PLC, Biofuels Wales Ltd, Stopford Projects Ltd, Longma Clean Energy Ltd) and international (e.g., RIKEN-Japan, Fraunhofer-Germany, Sairem-France, Acondaqua-Spain, Ashleigh Farms-Ireland) companies. This has resulted in several collaborative, funded projects leading to industrial adoption of our microwave technologies.
The work described here has impacted on European policy and standards concerning energy efficiency in Building Services.
The impact arises from two Welsh School of Architecture led and European Commission funded projects, HARMONAC (focussed on inspection of air-conditioning systems) and iSERV (focussed on automatic system monitoring and feedback). These pan-European projects demonstrate achieved energy savings of up to 33% of total building electricity use in individual buildings, and potential savings up to €60Bn. These projects demonstrably impacted the recast European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the revision of EU Standards (European Committee for Standardisation (CEN)).
The impacts from over 20 years bioenergy research at Aston University, have been through influence and support for businesses to generate and use environmentally advantageous sources of power, fuels and chemicals. Pilot scale systems that exploit pyrolysis and gasification of biomass residues and renewable feed-stocks are operational. The EU, UK and local governments have developed policies with the Unit's advice on the potential of bioenergy for power generation and waste reduction. Technical and business advice have been provided, a new company formed, investments made in new business directions by SMEs and large multinational companies. This has generated new employment opportunities in consultancy, design and manufacture of systems, social and environmental benefits, along with greater public awareness.
Dr David Toke's research at the University of Birmingham has contributed to policy made by governments in the UK and EU, and the work and policy of environmentally concerned NGOs. Renewable Energy is a crucial aspect of EU and UK sustainable energy strategies and feed-in tariffs have now become the preferred method of incentivising renewable energy in the UK. Toke made a major contribution to generating this change through his proactive dissemination of research on feed-in tariffs and the publication of a key public policy report, at a time when little was known about this type of policy instrument.
His research has stimulated debate among industry professionals and events organised by him have provided a forum where the industry and NGOs can develop an evidence-based dialogue. Through using popular media to disseminate his research findings, Toke has provided a source for greater public understanding of the related issues, and in particular has challenged the decisions of government. In a broader sense, his research has contributed to improving governmental and financial support for renewable energies in the UK and thus environmental sustainability.
This case study describes the national and international impact of research undertaken by Professor Chao, as part of an EU funded Framework 7 project, Digital Environment Home Energy Management Systems (DEHEMS). The project has improved existing household energy monitoring, tackling the issues of global warming and CO2 emission reduction in the domestic sector. The research has directly contributed to the development of a product called EnergyHive, subsequently marketed by Small to Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Hildebrand Ltd, who was the industrial partner in the DEHEMS consortium. The research has delivered the following:
Beneficiaries of the research and the subsequent impact include: a commercial business, domestic energy consumers, UK and international energy companies and local authorities.
Research into photovoltaic (PV) system performance carried out at the Unit has provided informed guidance and performance benchmarks used in:
Research undertaken on energy policy and sustainability by Prof. Mitchell and the Energy Policy Group (EPG) within Geography at Exeter, has had a major influence on the development and reform of UK, EU and global energy policy. This research has informed policy advice to the UK government on the fundamental re-setting of electricity market reforms and underpinned a number of major policy reports e.g., the 2008 `EU's Target for Renewable Energy' report; the 2010 `Future of Britain's Electricity Networks' report; the 2011 `Electricity Market Reform' report; the 2012 `Draft Energy Bill'; and the 2012 DECC Energy Security Strategy Report. Research by the EPG has also led to numerous engagements with key stakeholders in the energy industry that have influenced policies, procedures and practices, and been used to inform public debate on energy policy.
A €470 million earth observation mission (BIOMASS) based on research carried out in the University of Sheffield's Centre for Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics was approved by the European Space Agency Programme Board on 7 May 2013, for launch in 2020, to measure the biomass and height of the Earth's forests, globally, at a scale of ~200 m. The twenty European member states have committed contributions to fund the mission, representing a significant reallocation of public budgets. The mission was selected as the most scientifically convincing of the six initially shortlisted in 2005 (further down-selected to three in 2009), and is the only one that will be funded. The project has already led to two European industrial consortia receiving some €5.6 million for studies to demonstrate feasibility. A further €277 million of the €470 million approved funding has been specifically earmarked for industrial spending to prepare for the mission.
The University of Southampton's pioneering research into energy harvesting has produced proven economic impacts together with impacts on public policy and international standards. Perpetuum, a spin-out from Southampton employing 10 people locally, has attracted £9.6 million in venture capital and developed the world's leading vibration energy harvester. Perpetuum's harvesters are enabling the deployment of zero maintenance, battery-free wireless systems in the rail industry where the technology has revolutionised bearing monitoring. This has enabled, for the first time, real-time monitoring of rolling stock, leading to cost savings, improved reliability, efficiency and safety. Their systems have been deployed on 200 trains across the UK (Southeastern) and Sweden (SJ AB). Southampton's research has driven wider industrial uptake of the technology and Perpetuum's is also the only energy harvester approved for use with the worlds leading suppliers of wireless condition monitoring equipment (GE Bentley Nevada, National Instruments and Emerson). Promotion of the technology has led to a £1.25 million TSB competition on energy harvesting and Southampton researchers are assisting in the development of international standards and increasing public awareness of the technology.