The Edinburgh Research Partnership
in Engineering and Mathematics
Joint Research Institute in Energy
The JRI in Energy brings together engineers and scientists within the Institute for
Energy Systems at the University of Edinburgh and the Energy Academy at HeriotWatt University. There are six key areas of common activity that act all the way
down the renewable energy supply chain.
Marine Energy & Coastal Defence
These activities support the development of the
marine energy sector by increasing understanding of
the interaction of marine energy devices with the sea
at all scales, from university test tank to the open sea.
Work on coastal defence explores the overtopping of
sea walls by increasingly stormy seas.
Renewable Energy & Climate
Understanding the atmospheric interactions that determine and
characterise future wind, wave and hydro resources will be
fundamental to the evolution of the energy mix and designs of
generating equipment. JRI effort explores the influence of
climate change on the nature and availability of these
renewable energy resources to future-proof the technology.
Photovoltaics & Solar Energy
While the solar resource is limited in northern
Europe, photovoltaics will play a major role in
future energy supply given their ability to
generate electricity and heat directly at the
point of consumption in cities. JRI research
extends from developing new thin-film solar
cells, the integration of PV/thermal systems that
concentrate diffuse light into buildings, to PVpowered
water
treatment
systems
for
developing countries and disaster relief.
Energy Conversion & Network Delivery
JRI staff are developing new breeds of electricity generator
that can operate slowly but yet be robust and not too
expensive, to convert renewable energy from wind, wave and
tidal sources. Understanding the effects of large amounts of
renewable energy generation in future electricity networks
allows JRI staff to explore new system operation and
management to enable the delivery of remote energy
resources to distant demand centres.
Fuel Cells & Energy Storage
Newly-established work in the areas of high- and low-temperature
fuel cells is developing advanced materials to improve operation at
lower temperatures and reduce costs of devices. Energy storage
will be a key enabler of a future renewable energy portfolio, at all
levels of scale from atmospheric to geophysical and to chemical at
device level. Work in this area is developing understanding and
new materials for short and long term energy storage.
Urban Energy Demand and Supply
At the urban scale JRI research focuses on demand-side technological interventions,
supply/demand matching of micro-generation, electricity generation at the micro-scale,
and understanding the time-of-day carbon intensity of network electricity.
Contact:
Prof. Robin Wallace, University of Edinburgh, Robin.Wallace@ed.ac.uk
Dr. Bryce Richards, Heriot-Watt University, B.S.Richards@hw.ac.uk
Heriot-Watt University EH14 4AS
www.erp.ac.uk
© 2005 Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body
University of Edinburgh EH9 3JL