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The Guardian | Wednesday 6 April 2011
Centre for science Low-carbon technology
Energy research gets the green light
Biofuels could play an important role in creating a low-carbon economy, but the technology is still very much
in development. However, scientists in the West Midlands are leading the way, says Christopher Mowbray
T
he green energy of the
future will be crucial to
the way society powers its transport, homes
and industry, reducing dependence on
fossil fuels.
And the West Midlands region, which has already pioneered
electric vehicle testing, is now on its way
to becoming a leading centre for important low-carbon vehicle and fuel research,
through a series of groundbreaking
projects at a number of universities.
Extensive resources are working on
making hydrogen fuel a realistic possibility and a number of West Midlands universities are currently undertaking significant research in bioenergy. Aston University, whose vice chancellor, Julia King,
advises Birmingham city council on how
to reduce its carbon emissions by 60% by
2026, is a leading bioenergy research centre. Ms King says: “We have both depth
and breadth of expertise in low-carbon
technologies in West Midland universities and businesses. I am confident that
the application of our research will have
a major, positive impact on the reduction
of carbon emissions and the growth of the
regional and national economy.”
King, who is also a member of the Committee on Climate Change and UK Trade
and Investment’s low-carbon business
ambassador, adds: “At Aston, our work
promises to provide an important breakthrough in the quest to produce really
sustainable, clean and reliable power from
new sources – a concept of cities powered
by their own waste.
“After power generation, decarbonising
transport is the next most critical challenge if we are to reduce emissions to meet
the targets required to limit temperature
rise to manageable levels.’’
The university is partnered with Coventry University and the University of
importer of Asian foods and spices, East
End Foods, on an urban farm which combines integrated biotechnologies and the
production of energy with the cultivation
of crops and use of food waste.
Heading the project is Dr Lynsey
Melville, head of bioenergy, who advises
the All-Party Renewable Transport Fuels
Group at the House of Commons. Her
team is investigating the use of algae as
a fuel source.
“Algae can consume atmospheric CO2
around 10 times faster than terrestrial
vegetation,” she says. “This project could
have enormous benefits for society and
the environment.”
Centre of excellence
Giant tanks at Aston University are used to grow algae, which can then be harnessed to produce power
Birmingham, the respective city councils
and a number of private sector companies
in the CABLED project, which is testing
electric cars around the region.
Aston is also investigating the production of biofuels from several materials
including algae, wood, sewage and gen-
Driving forward Engine research
Revolutionary engines which will power
the low-carbon hybrid vehicles of the
future can now be tested at a unique new
centre, which has been opened at the
University of Warwick.
The £2.3m Vehicle Engine Facility
(VEF) at the university is the only
purpose-built hybrid engine testing
facility in the UK not owned by an
individual automotive company.
Funded as part of the Science City
Research Alliance Energy Efficiency
Project, which unites the Universities of
Warwick and Birmingham in a strategic
research partnership, the VEF will give
businesses access to state-of-the-art
equipment and research support. The
VEF is another element in the way in
which the West Midlands, the historic
home of the UK’s car industry, is now
becoming an important centre for
research into low-carbon vehicles
and fuels.
The VEF uses an advanced control
system and a robot driver to test
various hybrid power designs including
electric motors and gasoline, diesel,
ethanol and biofuel-based internal
combustion engines.
It also includes a battery simulator
and test station as well as equipment
for carrying out full exhaust emissions
measurement. It will test engines,
The Guardian | Wednesday 6 April 2011
transmissions, drive shafts and other
vehicle parts to provide technical
information on how to make them work
most efficiently, and on how they will
operate in the real world.
Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, director
of WMG at the university where the new
facility is based, says: “We are delighted
to be able to bring the Midlands a
facility that will enable British-based
manufacturing companies to engage in
low-carbon engineering, which will be
vital in helping manufacturing companies
improve products and compete on the
world stage in low-carbon technologies.”
The facility, which is one of the most
advanced aids to hybrid development
technology to be found anywhere in
the world, has been warmly welcomed
by leading car manufacturers including
nearby Jaguar Land Rover.
“This new facility further strengthens
WMG’s applied research credentials
and we look forward to benefitting from
the work undertaken there, especially
in the complex area of reducing
vehicle emissions,” says Dr Ralf Speth,
the company’s chief executive officer.
“There is also real potential for
further advances in knowledge coming
from supplier involvement, which in
turn generates additional research
and results.” CM
eral waste and is working with scientists
in India, Norway and other West Midlands
colleges to produce “next generation”
biofuels. Aston’s European Bioenergy
Research Institute (EBRI) plans to open a
£16.5m demonstration facility by October
2012 to showcase West Midlands-based
bioenergy technologies in operation. The
work may provide a blueprint for cities all
over the world to build plants converting
organic waste into heat, power, fertiliser
and fuel for vehicles.
Meanwhile, Birmingham City University is working with the UK’s largest
At Staffordshire University, a new £30m
science and technology centre will house
the university’s renewable energy work,
including a £6.3m project to promote Staffordshire as a European centre of excellence for biomass fuels.
Led by Professor Tarik Al-Shemmeri,
the project aims to accelerate the use of
biomass fuels in north-west Europe. It has
European funding and the university also
has a new demonstration facility which
companies can use.
Al-Shemmeri explains: “North-west
Europe relies strongly on imported energy.
Our regions are facing common challenges
about how to reduce waste going to landfill and meet energy demands through
biomass. Our project will identify where
co-operation can help.”
One of Staffordshire University’s
research partners is Shropshire-based
Harper Adams University College, a
leading farming and agriculture centre
for learning. The college is installing a
350 kW waste-to-energy plant utilising
its own farm and food waste to generate renewable power. This will make the
college’s large campus virtually self-sufficient in electricity.
Home help Reducing energy consumption
Householders in Birmingham are being
shown how to reduce their energy use
through a pioneering home-monitoring
system, developed by the city council
and a local housing association as part of
a wider EU project.
About 50 households have reduced
energy use by an average of 8% using
the Digital Environment Home Energy
Management System (DEHEMS).
The unit, which measures electricity
use every six seconds, is linked to an
online “dashboard”, which families in
three different parts of the city can
access to see how much energy they are
using throughout the day. The scheme
is a joint project between the council’s
Digital Birmingham initiative and the
Birmingham Family Housing Association.
Heike Schuster-James, programme
manager for Birmingham city council’s
Digital Development and Communities
department, says: “The dashboard helps
people understand their consumption
and change their attitude to saving
energy; people learn to make small
changes to their habits.”
At the end of the 12-week trial,
twice as many people were undertaking
energy-saving practices, such as
switching lights off, unplugging
chargers from sockets and never leaving
appliances on standby.
Households in Birmingham are trialling an energy-monitoring system
“Some people became quite competitive
about getting their energy use down,” says
Schuster-James. “Some of the eco-warriors
tried to get their energy use down to zero,
but most were engaged enough with the
project to make small, easy changes – and
they saved money.”
Emily Jupp