Mission Statement

The energy system underpins economic vitality, industrial and social activity and is an auditable conduit for carbon flows. The central purpose of the Energy JRI will be to conduct collaborative research into the conversion of renewable energy and its efficient delivery and utilisation by addressing the “renewable energy supply chain” as a whole to reduce carbon flows in the energy system. The aims of the JRI are to:

• Conduct world-class research in renewable energy conversion, delivery and end use – co-laterally set in context of economic and environmental sustainability.
• Participate in the mitigation of the energy and skills shortages that beckon.
• Secure significant research council, RDA and industrial funding for energy research.

The renewable energy supply chain to be addressed by the Energy JRI may be viewed as comprising three interdependent links: (1) energy capture and conversion to electricity, (2) energy storage, and (3) demand management. The generic research challenges are to:

• Identify RE resources and optimise the performance and reliability of their capture and conversion;
• Maximise conservation of the captured RE until it is delivered in the required form;
• Ensure that the energy is transmitted and delivered to its point of end use at an acceptable quality, with minimum impact on the supply network;
• Maximise the use of the deployed RE power while maintaining quality and reliability of supply, within lowest carbon budgets of any co-requisite central large fossil-fired plants;
• Develop methods of reducing carbon flows beyond demand-side boundaries to aid mass deployment of new RE technologies.

There is the need to transfer the knowledge created by the research, and train the next generations of energy academics, researchers and practitioners. Measures of impact will be in contribution to reductions in carbon flow through increased deployment and delivery of renewable energy and reductions in end use of energy. Measures of success in knowledge transfer will be in the maintenance or increase numbers of trained energy academics, researchers and practitioners. Measures of quality and esteem will be in the frequent and wide dissemination of research output through prestige journals and staff invitations.