Sustainable Energy

Reaching net-zero requires a rapid global transition away from fossil fuels and towards sustainable, low-carbon and low-cost energy production and storage systems. To completely decarbonise all sectors in society we need multiple types of sustainable energy, including low-carbon electricity and heating, sustainable fuels and sustainable chemicals. Therefore, in addition to our research on Solar Energy and Energy Storage, we specialise in wider Sustainable Energy research covering: 

• Ambient energy harvesting systems that can simultaneously or separately harvest mechanical, thermal or indoor ambient light using piezoelectric nanostructures, thermoelectrics and light absorber materials respectively. 

• Printed thermoelectric devices, polymer and perovskite thermoelectric materials. 

• Advanced materials and devices that harvest electrical energy directly from ambient moisture and humidity, providing a sustainable and continuous source of renewable power for self-powered electronics and sensors. 

• Sustainable fuels production (for example hydrogen, ammonia and biofuels) using catalytic, photoelectrochemical and pyrolytic approaches. This includes AI-Guided Formulation of Next-Generation Sustainable Fuels (https://deepfuel.org/) 

• Advanced computational methods for reactor physics and multiphysics simulation, enabling more accurate, efficient, and predictive modelling of neutron transport, heat transfer, fluid flow, and safety-critical behaviour in existing and next-generation nuclear reactors.