Technology, Research & Development
The UK has a highly vibrant research and development sector engaging with energy systems, power engineering and low carbon technologies, including CCS.
This activity is spread across universities, institutes and private companies, much of it in collaborative projects being partly funded by government. More than a dozen universities have ongoing research programmes in energy related topics, covering basic and applied science, engineering, economics, management and policy aspects. Leading UK educational institutions carrying out energy research include Imperial College, Oxford, Cambridge, Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt, Strathclyde and Warwick Universities.
There is also the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). The ETI is a joint venture partnership which brings together the public and private sectors in a matched funding arrangement that is projected to allocate $2 billion over ten years. The Institute connects the best scientists and engineers working in academic and industrial organisations in the UK and overseas. The ETI will provide a way to support major R&D initiatives on low carbon technologies and form the basis for eventual deployment from around 2017 onwards.
Some of the world’s biggest energy companies are participating in the ETI, including BP, Shell, E.on (UK), Edf Energy, Rolls Royce and Caterpillar.
The UK focuses considerable R&D effort on developing technology and business solutions that optimise the availability, reliability and ease of maintenance of power plants. High design and manufacturing standards produce turbines of the highest efficiency operating under the strictest environmental regulations.
In Scotland organisations like the Energy Technology Partnership strive to bring collaborative research to benefit the industry.
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