Our ability to harness technological innovation will be key to delivering safe, secure and sustainable energy in the future. From convening a centre to study the dynamics of energy security and founding a forum to study electricity policy and markets, to developing a long-term storage solution for nuclear waste, the Cambridge-MIT Institute has funded and supported projects and initiatives that could provide some of tomorrow’s energy solutions.

Making existing technology more efficient reduces our energy consumption and delivers environmental benefits, so we have developed ultra-light materials that could help vehicle manufacturers reduce emissions, engineered new chemical processes that could help the Pharmaceutical industry reduce emissions, and pioneered a revolutionary building design that exploits natural ventilation to reduce energy consumption.

Bright Sparks help keep the lights on

The last twenty years have seen energy markets across the world deregulate and liberalise. Environmental concerns have led to the introduction of emissions targets and trading, while shifting political climates and dwindling resources have increased concerns about future energy security. These radical changes in energy markets, regulatory regimes combined with technological innovation present great challenges and opportunities for suppliers, regulators and end-users, so the Cambridge-MIT Institute has founded two initiatives to help stakeholders navigate the shifting demands and constraints of the energy industry.

In 2002, we brought together the Department of Applied Economics at University of Cambridge with MIT’s Centre for Energy and Environmental Policy Research for a project to promote innovation and productivity in the electricity supply industry. The initial research has now grown into the Electricity Policy Research Project - a network of leading academics from Europe and the USA. Together, they have conducted a substantial body of applied research on a wide range of issues affecting electricity markets internationally - including regulatory challenges to liberalisation, pricing behaviour, security of supply, competition and emissions trading, low carbon power and network technologies - drawing out and disseminating policy implications and frame questions for future research. The group recently secured £2.3 million in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Energy security - the ability to meet a nation’s energy needs reliably in the future – is a key policy concern at present so the Cambridge-MIT Institute set up the Centre for Energy Security, now known as the Energy Security Initiative to stimulate debate and foster collaboration between stakeholders. It is hoped that this initiative will lead to a better understanding of the operation of the energy system and the development of new strategies for securing energy infrastructure.

Encapsulating Radioactive Waste

The UK has an estimated 470,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste (enough to fill the Royal Albert Hall five times) for which there is currently no agreed long-term management solution. In order to develop long-term storage solutions for radioactive materials, the Cambridge-MIT Institute and BNFL funded a team of researchers to investigate the Encapsulation of Radioactive Materials. The project analysed the behavior of crystalline solids under various conditions, particularly in response to radiation. Developing materials with long-term stability under these conditions could allow government and industry to store radioactive waste safely and permanently in newly-engineered crystalline materials.

Green Benefits of Supercritical Research

The organic solvents currently used in the manufacturing processes of the Pharmaceuticals industry, such as chlorinated hydrocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), are highly volatile, difficult to dispose of, and hazardous to health and the environment. Recognising the potential economic and environmental benefits of developing more Sustainable Chemical Processes, the Cambridge-MIT Institute funded a team of Chemical Engineers and Chemists at Cambridge and MIT to look into alternative options. The team has now made a significant breakthrough on the use of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as an environmentally-friendly alternative to organic solvents and has filed two patents. In addition to sharing their research with a consortium of universities and industry partners, the team has also identified cases where the use of scCO2 not only worked, but was also more efficient than organic solvents.

CASE STUDY: E-STACK

Buildings consume about 40% of all the energy used in the UK through heating, lighting, air-conditioning and ancillary equipment such as computers. Reducing the energy consumption of our built environment is vital if the UK is to meet its emissions targets, so the Cambridge-MIT Institute set up a project to design buildings that utilise natural ventilation and thereby consume less energy. The team of researchers have now spun out a company called E-Stack to commercialise the technology they have invented. The researchers have been backed by a development grant from BP – which has been funding the research since 2001.

E-Stack have developed new methods for cooling buildings using natural ventilation, and their ‘e-stack’ chimney could reduce energy consumption of buildings between 10 – 50%. Designing buildings to include natural ventilation minimises or eliminates the need for conventional air-conditioning systems. In summer, the E-Stack system ensures the room remains well-ventilated by bringing in fresh air from below and allowing hot air to escape upwards. In winter, it acts as a natural heat and air-exchanger, allowing the interior to remain well ventilated while retaining as much heat as possible. The team has already contributed to the design of a sustainable, low-energy building in central London – University College London’s School of Slavonic and East European Studies. It is currently trialling the E-Stack prototype in a number of schools, and there are plans to incorporate the technology in a planned new energy-efficient office building for 1,600 BP staff in Aberdeen, Scotland.

So why did BP get involved in this project? “We are one of the world’s largest energy companies and, looking at the long term future of the energy sector, we recognise growing concerns regarding oil prices, climate change and energy security,” says Justin Adams, Director of Long Term Technology at BP. “We have to find and develop novel technologies that will address some of these challenges. BP believes the technology E-Stack is developing has real potential to do that in the decades ahead.”