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UKERC Energy Data Centre
Landscapes
"Where we are now".
The Landscapes are classified by IEA Energy Category
Last updated: 16 October 2020
| Area | Sector | Principal Authors |
| ENERGY EFFICIENCY | Industry |
Prof Geoff Hammond, University of Bath 14 May 2009 (PDF 382 KB) |
| Residential and Commercial |
Prof Bob Lowe University College London (UCL) with assistance of Dr Jim Halliday STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 30 April 2014 (PDF 545 KB) |
|
| Transport |
Dr Mark Beecroft and Dr Jillian Anable, University of Aberdeen 13 April 2012 (PDF 835 KB) |
|
| FOSSIL FUELS: OIL, GAS and COAL | Oil and Gas |
Dr Robert Breen, Quogen Consulting Limited, Oxford 21 December 2012 (PDF 811 KB) |
| Coal Combustion |
Dr Andrew Minchener, Andalin Consulting 31 December 2012 (PDF 296 KB) |
|
| Coal Conversion |
Dr Andrew Minchener, Andalin Consulting 31 December 2012 (PDF 311 KB) |
|
| CO2 Capture and Storage |
Prof Stuart Haszeldine, University of Edinburgh 14 May 2009 (PDF 373 KB) |
|
| RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES | Solar Energy |
Professor Stuart J C Irvine, Glyndŵr University 23 February 2013 (PDF 821 KB) |
| Wind Energy |
Dr Jim Halliday & Dr Alan Ruddell STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 27 March 2013 (PDF 595 KB) |
|
| Ocean Energy |
Laura Finlay, Brighid Jay, and Henry Jeffrey, University of Edinburgh 24 July 2012 (PDF 458 KB) |
|
| Bio-Energy |
Prof Gail Taylor, University of Southampton 15 May 2009 (PDF 651 KB) |
|
| Geothermal Energy |
Lesley Wright, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory & Paul Younger, University of Glasgow 13 December 2012 (PDF 562 KB) |
|
| Hydropower |
Dr George Aggidis, Lancaster University 17 January 2013 (PDF 315 KB) |
|
| Other Renewables | ||
| NUCLEAR FISSION and FUSION | Nuclear Fission |
Dr Paul Howarth, Dalton Institute, University of Manchester Updated by Dorothy Stonell, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 8 October 2013 (PDF 647 KB) |
| Nuclear Fusion |
Martin O’Brien & David Ward of CCFE and Chris Nelson & Chris Edwards of STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 18 November 2013 (PDF 441 KB) |
|
| HYDROGEN and FUEL CELLS | Hydrogen |
Dr Geoff Dutton and Dr Jim Halliday, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and Dr Tim Mays, University of Bath 10 April 2013 (PDF 426 KB) |
| Fuel Cells |
Prof Nigel Brandon, Imperial College London 27 December 2013 (PDF 313 KB) |
|
| OTHER POWER and STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES | Electric power conversion |
Dr David Gahan, Gahantech Consulting Ltd 30 January 2013 (PDF 626 KB) |
| Electricity transmission and distribution |
Dr Modassar Chaudry, Cardiff University 19 March 2014 (PDF 423 KB) |
|
| Energy storage |
Dr Alan Ruddell, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 29 July 2020 (PDF 1 MB) |
|
| OTHER CROSS-CUTTING TECHNOLOGIES or RESEARCH | Energy System Analysis |
Dr Neil Strachan, University College London 17 June 2011 (PDF 160 KB) |
| Socio-Economic Research |
Dr Matthew Hannon, Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strathclyde University Business School 20 August 2019 (PDF 1 MB) |
|
| Whole Systems Research |
Dr Antti Silvast, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture; Associate Fellow at Durham Energy Institute (DEI) 30 June 2019 (PDF 1 MB) |
|
The Landscape section of the UKERC Energy Data Centre provides a comprehensive account of competencies and publicly funded activities in energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities. Landscapes are classified by IEA Energy Category.
Note: Information in this section has been developed by UKERC and our associates. We have done our best to make the information as complete, accurate and up-to-date as possible. However, we cannot provide any absolute guarantees regarding either completeness or accuracy, nor can we accept any liability for the information or the uses to which it is put.
We want to make the Landscapes as authoritative as possible; they will be subject to a process of continuous updating. If you identify any errors or omissions please contact us at EDCManager@stfc.ac.uk and we will be pleased to rectify these.
The EDC uses the standard definitions of R&D set out in the OECD’s Frascati Manual. Broadly, we divide the research landscape into three broad areas:
Increasingly, reference is made to RDD&D – research, development, demonstration and deployment. The EDC does not cover public measures intended to accelerate the early deployment of new technologies. In the UK, these frequently take the form of “market-pull” measures, that is they modify market signals to encourage business to deploy emerging technologies. Examples in the energy field include the Renewables Obligation, or various schemes operated by the Energy Saving Trust to encourage the take-up of energy efficiency measures.
Given the broad scope of energy research, having a transparent and comprehensive system for mapping activity is essential. International comparability is also desirable. We have therefore used the International Energy Agencys’s Energy RD&D nomenclature to describe the landscape.
At the top level, the nomenclature divides the energy research landscape into “areas” These cover energy demand and the main energy sources – fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear. Other “areas” cover hydrogen and fuel cells, power and storage, and cross-cutting research which includes energy systems analysis and modelling, socio-economic research and energy-related environmental research. Each area is further broken down into sectors. In the renewables area, for example, sectors include solar and marine energy. Sectors form the basic unit of analysis for the landscape.
For each sector, the following information is included. Sections 3-9 include tabular information along with a brief commentary.
| Section 1: | An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges |
| Section 2: | An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential |
| Section 3: | Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary |
| Section 4: | Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary |
| Section 5: | Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary |
| Section 6: | Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models) |
| Section 7: | Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes. |
| Section 8: | UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes. |
| Section 9: | UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency. |
Whilst UKERC aims to provide a comprehensive coverage of the UK energy research scene, inevitably there will be omissions and errors - we would greatly welcome suggested additions and corrections via email to EDCManager@stfc.ac.uk
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