ECR Seedcorn Fund: One

Principle Invesitgator: Ahmed Gailani - University of Leeds

Project Summary: Capacity Markets (CMs) have been implemented in many countries to ensure electricity supply security. To date, experience suggests that Great Britain’s CM supports large, fossil-fired generators with a small amount of capacity support from other forms, such as renewables, storage, and demand-side response (DSR). This may inadvertently counteract decarbonisation policies and limits emerging technologies such as batteries and DSR from contributing to energy security.

A decentralised form of a CM may be needed to ensure localised electricity supply security in line with the emergence of local energy networks. This project investigates how a decentralised CM can send plausible investment signals to batteries, renewables and DSR while ensuring reduction of network constraint effects on capacity delivery?

This project will also highlight some of the regulatory and techno-economic challenges for some emerging technologies in a decentralised CM. Ultimately, we aim to develop our CM model for whole-system modelling analysis.

Meet the Team:

Project Co-Investigators:

• Matthew Deakin - Newcastle University
• Waqquas Bukhsh - Strathclyde University

Project Advisor:

Chris Harris - nPower

Principle Investigator: Caitlin Robinson - Liverpool University

Project Summary: Establishing shared principles and a research agenda Energy network approaches anticipate that the UK energy system will require higher end-user engagement and flexibility, such as through peak load shifting, and that this will be digitally mediated by smart ICT (e.g. smartphone apps). However, it is possible that digitally excluded consumers will struggle to engage with these processes. Currently, over 10 million people in the UK do not have the skills to use digital technologies, and these consumers are more likely to be excluded as energy services become increasingly digitalised. The digitalisation of the energy system therefore risks replicating and entrenching these inequalities if digital inclusion is not built into its design from the outset. A collaboration between The University of Liverpool, National Energy Action and the Good Things Foundation, this project brings together academic researchers, policymakers, industry, and community organisations to co-produce a set of shared principles for digital inclusion in energy network policy and development.

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Project Partner:

Matthew Scott - National Energy Action

Advisory Partner:

Joseph Chambers - Good Things Foundation

Principle Investigator: Saeed Jahdi - Bristol University

Project summary: This industrially-supported (by EA Technology(r)) research case describes the key role of dynamic braking systems (DBS) in protection of offshore windfarms. It highlights the revolutionary breakthrough in development of high voltage wide-bandgap (WBG) power quantum devices and proposes design of DBS switches with WBG devices to reduce the size, weight and cost of the DBS systems and pave the way for more cost-effective implementation of offshore wind farms. The case aims to build an entry-level lab-scale 5 kV DBS switch with WBG devices and report to ORE Hub the effectiveness of DBS protection units with WBG devices under grid-scale stress levels.

Meet the Team:

• Yasin Gunaydin - Bristol University
• Juefei Yang - Bristol University
• Chengjun Shen - Bristol University

Principle Investigator: John Barton - Loughborough University

Project Summary: A battolyser is a combined battery and electrolyser in one device. It stores electricity as a battery but when fully charged, it also splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. This research activity is aimed at understanding if a battolyser technology is part of a cost viable solution in a dual hydrogen and electricity energy system. The objectives are to undertake an economic comparison of this technology against three other alternatives; a wind and battery system, a wind and electrolyser system and a wind and battery and electrolyser system combined. To do this it is important to understand the rate of return on investment under a variety of scenarios, for example, increased carbon tax and variability of gas price. This would include undertaking sensitivity studies to understand what the price points are that would make this technology viable in comparison to competing technologies. The project will use published data and data from industry to establish an economic model to allow these studies to be undertaken. If it can be shown that a battolyser is a more cost effective method of co-generation of electricity and hydrogen than, say, a battery and electrolyser combined and has commercial value then this paves the way for revolutionary new research into a new topic area around battolyser alternative chemistries, interconnected energy management strategies, grid integration and support strategies, alternative hydrogen production techniques and storage, quantifying risks and uncertainties of this new technology in a wider energy context and influencing energy policy and strategy.

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Mentors:

• Upul Wijayantha - Loughborough University
• Dani Strickland - Loughborough University

Principle Investigator: Katie Shanks - Exeter University

Project Summary: As we progress towards a more sustainable network of energy we are faced with the increasing challenge of balancing renewable energy intermittences with energy storage to supply varying power demands. Currently, we still lack direct integration between renewable energy generation and energy storage to truly reduce the strain on the current grid system. Hence, this research investigates the feasibility of coupling solar energy concentration with biomass photo-reforming to sustainable energy fuels (incl. hydrogen). Photocatalysis is a light driven chemical process which generates powerful radical species that are capable of reforming biomass to desirable products via oxidation and reduction reactions. The impact of photons, specifically light intensity, is a key factor at the forefront of the transition between academic research and industry for this field. It is vital to investigate how intensifying incident light can impact the rate at which a reactions occurs. Such an integrated process could provide instantaneous and storable energy on site simultaneously and be blended into current biomass processing systems. This is completely novel research and the characteristics of such a system requires preliminary investigations to determine feasibility. If promising, the methods could be used by Bennamann, who are currently leading the ERDF funded project: Energy Independent Farming.

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Nathan Skillen - University of Manchester

Principle Investigator: Binjian Nie - University of Birmingham

Project Summary:This study will investigate the technical feasibility and economic performance of using ocean renewable energy for marine cold chain. The unique feature is to use liquid air to cool the reefer containers. It will be based on the previous liquid air and reefer container techno-economic research, as well as a new study in offshore renewable energy and cost-benefit analysis. A thermodynamic analysis of the whole process will be carried out. The quantitative analysis will be conducted for a daily cold energy demand of an existing marine reefer container. The economic viability of the proposed system will be assessed by cost-benefit analysis. Through the study, a new gate will be opened for marine cold chain research using the liquid air and offshore renewable energy. It will encourage the utilization of clean ocean wind energy instead of fossil fuels. The outcome will directly benefit the UK’s ambitious net-zero carbon 2050 vision.

Meet the Team

Project Partners:

• Yulong Ding - University of Birmingham
• Xiaowei Zhao - University of Warwick