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December 2014
I am delighted to launch the new, dedicated Birmingham Energy Institute (BEI) In Focus bi-monthly newsletter.
Energy research is a subject which transcends discipline and College boundaries and lies at the heart of a national revolution driven by the imperatives of low generation and energy security. As we look to the future, research in energy is likely to be funded strongly by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK and Horizon2020, and research solutions will require bringing disciplines together.
The Birmingham Energy Institute brings together our research centres linked to:
- Energy Storage
- Nuclear Energy
- Fuel Cells and their Fuels
- Railway and Automotive Systems
- Energy Policy and Economics
These newsletters will highlight the activity of the BEI, together with the opportunities for collaboration. In this first edition I am pleased to highlight some important new appointments to the Institute as well as developments for the new centre for energy storage and the launch of our next policy commission on the 'cold economy'.
We look forward to receiving your thoughts, comments and opinions, but, most of all, your involvement.
Martin Freer, Director of the Birmingham Energy Institute
We are now on Twitter! Join the online conversation with @bhamenergy
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Highview Cryogenic Storage Pilot Plant Arrives at the University of Birmingham
Over 300 researchers and senior scientists in academia and industry attended the first UK Energy Storage Research Conference (UKES2014) on Tuesday 25 - Thursday 27 November 2014.
The University of Birmingham concluded the conference with a tour of the Birmingham Centre for Cryogenic Energy Storage, and a preview of the installation of the Cryogenic Storage pilot plant, set to take shape on the University's campus in spring 2015. Read the full article online.
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Cryogenic Energy Storage Expands On the World Stage
Highview Power Storage, a UK based designer and developer of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) systems and a major collaborator in the Birmingham Centre for Cryogenic Energy Storage (BCCES) has signed a licence agreement with Advanced Emissions Solutions of Denver, Colorado.
High view's 350kW/2.5MWh pilot plant, which proved the viability of this grid-scale energy storage solution, is currently being moved from Slough to the University of Birmingham campus in the UK deployment of this exciting technology. Read the full article online.
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A cool appointment: Birmingham introduces new Visiting Professor of Power and Cold Economy
Toby Peters, long-time advocate of UK-based innovation in energy systems and founder of Highview Power and the Dearman Engine Company, has been appointed to the position of Visiting Professor in Power and Cold Economy at the University of Birmingham.
As the need for 'cold' across the globe increases with a rising demand for air conditioning, industrial and medical cooling and refrigerated food storage and transport, a radical new, sustainable approach needs to be taken to the way 'cold' is provided and recycled. Read the full article online.
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High Speed Rail: Celebrating ambition
The Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education last week hosted an international conference on high speed rail. The 3-day event explored new developments in transport power as part of a celebration of 50 years of high speed rail and important debate on how to prepare for future generations.
Highlights of the conference have been recorded in storify.
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Birmingham Energy Institute (BEI)- 'Commission on Cold'
In 2015, the Birmingham Energy Institute will launch its policy commission on the 'cold economy'. Birmingham Policy Commissions bring leading figures from the public, private and third sectors together with Birmingham academics to generate new thinking on contemporary issues of global, national and civic concern.
At the Birmingham Energy Institute, our aim is to look at cold at a system level, joining up the demand and the waste. This approach would cut energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, toxic air pollution and cost. Read the full article online.
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Parliamentary and Scientific Committee Appearance
On Tuesday 18 November, Dr Jonathan Radcliffe, Senior Research Fellow, and Toby Peters, Honorary Professor, Chair of Power and Cold Economy, at the University of Birmingham, presented to the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee at the Palace of Westminster, to discuss the issues surrounding Energy Storage.
The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee is a major focus for scientific and technological issues providing a liaison between Parliamentarians and scientific bodies, science-based industry and the academic world.
Read the full article online.
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