General information on the development of the ETP

 The ETP Advisory Group held its second meeting in May 2009, co-chaired by Ian Marchant (CEO of Scottish and Southern Energy) and Prof. Anne Glover (Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland). The Advisory Group, which comprises senior industry and public sector agency representatives from across Scotland, provides strategic advice and support to us in relation to key business and policy drivers.

Papers discussed at the meeting;

• Proposal for the ETP to establish a 'Wind Energy Technology Alliance' to help connect the various Research-Development-Demonstration-Deployment activities in Scotland and elsewhere;
• ETP plans for a pan-Scotland Energy Studentship programme (response to current SFC call);
• Plans for an ETP Business Plan, 2009-2012;
• Management of Intellectual Property (IP) within the ETP.

The second meeting of the ETP's Research Advisory Forum involved representatives of Scotland's main industry trade groups and research pools (e.g. chemistry, physcis, computing etc.). The main focus of the meeting was to review a set of detailed ETP Research Challenges for each of our main technology areas and to use this to start the process of identifying areas of overlap where others could best engage with our work. Follow up meetings are now being arranged to discuss priority interfce areas in a 1-1 basis.

We would like to thank all those people outside of the ETP who provide their time and expertise to support the work of the ETP.

Activities

Some of our main activities since the last newsletter are shown under our four main Strategic Objectives:-

• Capacity Building;
• Relationship Building;
• Internationalisation;
• Economic Impact.

Capacity Building - "Deepening and broadening existing relationships and partnerships (within the ETP) to promote increased collaboration."

• Several bids for funding have been submitted, and a number of them has been successful, which have included more than one university or have been led by a single institution with cross-reference in the proposal to the ETP's broader capabilities. Our ability to jointly submit and then win collaborative proposals is a key indicator of our success as a Partnership; 

• We are currently working up a bid submission to establish an Energy Studentship programme in Scotland, funded both from industry and the Scottish Funding Council as part of their recent call. The final bid submission from the ETP is due in September '09;

• We are planning to hold three technology workshops in 2009 aimed at bringing ETP researchers together to share knowledge and to work collaboratively on specific funding opportunities. The first of these was held on 24 June 2009, focussing on the built environment/demand side management and co-hosted by the ETP, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Construction Centre. Other workshops are planned in the areas of bio-energy and oil&gas. 

Relationship Building - "Promoting the expertise and capabilities within the ETP, to develop new strategic relationships with industry, academia and others."

• ETP promotion and awareness raising continues with high quality promotional features published in the Times and Scotsman supplements and our attendance at a number of energy related conferences and exhibitions. This included the recent All-Energy conference in Aberdeen where we had a busy stand; a keynote address; a 90 min session to showcase our technology areas as well as participation and presentations in the rest of the conference from a number of our members. Click here to see ETP slides from the showcase session; 

• Members have participated in EPSRC meeting to discuss the next phase of the UK SUPERGEN programme. Of the 15 previous and ongoing programmes, the ETP has a principal investigator/lead role on 7 and participation in a further 6 and will be seeking high levels of engagement going forward; 

• Discussions have been held with several companies (Scottish, UK and International) that have approached  us to discuss potential partnerships. The concept of the ETP being a 'front door' for new entrants is working well in practise.

Internationalisation - "Projecting the scale and expertise of the ETP on the international stage in order to promote new outreach and knowledge exchange opportunities."

• Professor Jim McDonald (ETP Chairman) and several colleagues from around the ETP visited China in April '09 as part of the First Minister's visit programme. Discussions were held with representatives from a number of Chinese Universities to discuss the level of interest in developing a more formal partnership or 'China-Scotland Energy Research Collaborative'. We have subsequently been invited back to China in early September to co-host  an energy technology workshop as part of a major energy conference; 

• We have been shortlisted to provide energy related mentoring support to one of the new Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Punjab) and await news of the final outcome; 

• Professor Rangan Banerjee, Head of Dept of Energy Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay visited the ETP for 3 days in early June and gave two excellent lectures (Renewable Energy in India and Modelling of Energy Systems) related to the challenges of developing the renewable energy industry in India. We have subsequently been invited to co-host a workshop at an international energy conference being held at IIT Bombay in December 09. We are also discussing the concept of an 'India-Scotland Energy Research Collaborative';  

• The UKTI's Energy Excellence web site has now been formally launched with support from the ETP. The site aims to promote UK excellence in energy (companies and academia) and we will feature on a part of the site showcasing UK energy R&D excellence;

• A very successful Scottish-Italian conference on Renewable and Clean Energy Technologoes was held at the end of May at Heriot-Watt University and involved presentations from a number of our members;

• The University of Strathclyde recently hosted a visit from members of Board of Directors of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB). The IDB loans $12-15 billion each year to help foster sustainable economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbea and the delegation was visiting Scotland to gain an understanding of the Scottish renewable energy capabilities, particularly marine renewables and to explore potential partnerships with Scottish companies and universities; 

• We contunue to work closely with our Programme Partners in the Scottish European Green Energy Centre (SEGEC). SEGEC is soon to be incorporated as a company, with Duncan Botting as Interim Chair and other recruitment taking place over the coming months. This new team will provide the necessary resource to develop existing and new EU opportunities, working in partnership with the ETP, industry, Scottish Government and others.

Economic Impact - "Connecting the work of the ETP with Scottish Policy and economic development opportunities for Scotland."

• We are working with Scottish Enterprise and consultants SQWconsulting on a piece of work to help identify opportunities for us to further increase our knowledge exchange and commercialisation impact;  

• Professor Jim McDonald has been appointed Co-Chair (with the First Minister) of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board that will provide opportunities to further develop links between the ETP and Scotland's economic agenda. The Advisory Board is intended to be a forum for strategic discussion on current and future energy challenges and opportunities and will develop a Scottish industry view on energy issues, with a shared ambition on how to influence and direct existing and future policies for the benefit of the energy sector and Scottish economy. We have has also been invited to participate in the three sectoral Advisory Groups (oil&gas, power generation and CCS, renewables) that will be chaired by Scotland's Minister for Enterprise, Energy & Tourism, Jim Mather MSP; 

• Planning is underway to develop an ETP Business Plan for the period 2009-2012.

Please contact us if you would like more information on any of the above.

Project teams led by the universities of Nottingham, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Leeds will investigate combustion and CO₂ capture and transport technologies that could help make a crucial step towards meeting UK and global emission reduction targets. E.ON and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council announced the award of £6.9 million of research funding to four university-led projects investigating carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies which could drastically cut CO₂ emissions from fossil-fuel power stations.

National Sub Sea Research Institute  

The National Subsea Research Institute (NSRI) was formally launched in February '09 as a partnership between the UK subsea industry and the University sector with a remit to develop and push forward a co-ordinated research strategy and programme for the subsea sector. 

Advanced Forming Research Centre

The Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) has recently been approved and will open in early 2010 near to Glasgow airport. This £25m investment is a collaborative venture between the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Enterprise and engineering firms including Boeing and Rolls-Royce. The AFRC will develop forming and forging technologies to support the design and manufacture of new products, including components and structures for aircraft wings and body parts, engines, cars, ships, medical devices, power generation and wind turbines.

New Energy SEEKIT Programme

The University of Edinburgh in partnership with the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde has received SEEKIT funding to form RENEW-NET (Renewable Energy Electrical System Technology Transfer). RENEW-NET was formally launched on 29 April 09 and will collaborate with SME's and public sector organisations who are involved in any of the following activites:

Selection of energy related funding opportunities

EPSRC has recently published its future funding calls 2009-2011, including many related to energy technologies. Current EPSRC calls can be found here.

The Technology Strategy Board has competitions open in the areas of; Low Carbon Vehicles; Design and Decision Tools for Low Impact Buildings; Energy Generation and Supply: Carbon Abatement Technologies and has also announced plans for a new £10m programme related to the Monitoring of Demonstrator Buildings.

The Technology Strategy Board, The Northern Way and the Department of Energy and Climate Change are to jointly invest £15 million in innovative research |that will see the development and demonstration of technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel power stations and other CO₂ intensive process industries. Expressions of interest by 23 July 2009. 

The Energy Technologies Institute has a request for proposals in the following three areas;

• 'Macro' Distributed Energy: Assessment of the UK Opportunity for Optimised Low-Carbon Distributed Energy Solutions for Aggregated Demand Centres.
• 'Micro' Distributed Energy and Energy Services Management: Application to Existing UK Residential Buildings.
• Carbon Capture & Storage by Mineralisation: Analysis of UK Opportunities.

EU Framework 7 Programme - The 2010 work programme is due to be released in July 2009 with closing dates expected around the October/November period. The Energie Helpline UK, the UK support service for FP7 Energy, is holding a free Information Day in July presenting information on the forthcoming 2010 FP7 Energy Calls for Proposals.  SEGEC will be available to help develop and support bids.

RCUK China office summer school competition - call for proposals for Summer Schools taking place between April 2010 and March 2011. The RCUK Office in China offers awards up to maximum £12,000 each, to enable travel between UK and the People's Republic of China (PRC) for attendance at activities of the Summer School type, run jointly by a UK centre of excellence and a Chinese centre of excellence linked by a formal research collaboration agreement. RCUK China expects to fund up to 15 awards depending on the quality of proposals. The deadline for applications is 22 October 2009.

EPSRC - Transforming Energy Demand through Digital Innovation - Call for Attendees. Applications are invited to attend a one day meeting (21 July 2009) that will help finalise the scope for a call for proposals concerned with the application of digital technologies to the reduction of energy demand in other sectors. The resulting call will specifically exclude single discipline research directed at a single sector e.g. improving energy efficiency of computers, servers and devices. A further objective of the meeting will be to encourage researchers in the different communities to engage, with a view to collaboration. Closing date for applications - Midday, June 30 2009

EPSRC - Nanotechnology Grand Challenges: Solutions for the Environment. This call invites proposals for large-scale interdisciplinary, integrated projects to provide nanotechnology solutions for the environment, specifically  proposals that address the contribution which nanotechnology can make to Carbon Capture and Utilisation. Funding in these areas will be provided through a two stage process. This call is for the first stage only. Subject to the quality of the proposals received, up to £5 million is available for this call, which is expected to support 3 to 4 projects. Additional funding from ESRC will be available for high quality social science research that is embedded in the projects. Closing date is 5 August 2009.

Call for proposals to aid economic recovery by granting Community financial assistance to projects in the field of energy.  The European Commission, Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, has launched a call for proposals in order to award grant(s) to projects in the field of energy, in the context of the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR Regulation). Three of the projects in the draft list are of particular relevance to Scotland;

• North Sea Grid
• Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm (European testing centre)
• Carbon Capture and Storage (Longannet)

The closing date for submission of proposals is 15 July 2009.

Interdisciplinary Challenges for Complexity Science. The Complexity-NET European Research Area Network (ERA-NET), coordinated by EPSRC, invites Expressions of Interest for transnational interdisciplinary research projects. Proposed projects should be grounded in the mathematical and physical sciences, designed around meaningful collaboration with other scientific disciplines, and should have a clear emphasis on the development of methodologies, tools and techniques of complexity science for addressing real-world challenges. Expressions of Interest are invited from consortia which include investigators from at least three different countries participating in this call. The research projects funded through this activity will have a duration of up to 24 months and a total budget of up to €500,000 across all investigators.  The closing date for Expressions of Interest is Thursday 30 July 2009.

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology |has opened a call for independent experts. The call is addressed to individuals for the establishment of a database of independent experts to provide expertise in support of evaluations and of implementation of the EIT and of Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). The deadline for submissions is 27 August 2009.

The EIT is looking for experts from a wide range of profiles and with a high level of professional expertise within the following areas: 

•  Thematic area: Sustainable energy
•  Thematic area: Climate change adaptation and mitigation
•  Thematic area: Future information and communication society
•  Business creation and venture capital
•  Innovation in existing business
•  Entrepreneurial Education
•  Research and product development  

 India-UK Collaborative Research Initiative in Solar Energy

The Research Councils UK (RCUK) and the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST) are looking to strengthen collaboration between UK and Indian research institutions. India remains one of the UK Research Councils' priority countries for increasing research collaboration. 

This call will focus on Thin Film and Excitonic Solar Energy Technologies|. The area of the call was agreed upon through a dialogue between the UK Research Councils' Energy programme and the Government of India's Department of Science and Technology (DST). Development of technologies relating to solar energy was agreed to be of importance to both countries. Closing date for proposals 30 September 2009.

Energy-related articles of a more general interest

UK Energy Research Centre - Phase II

UKERC Phase II funding is now underway. In Phase II, around 40% of UKERC's total funding for research will be allocated through a new Research Fund. Under these arrangements, specific projects will be offered, on a competitive basis, to the wider research community. The aims of the Research Fund are:

• to bring a wider range of researchers and disciplines into UKERC's research programme;
• to ensure that the best science is used to deliver the programme; and
• to allow the programme to develop flexibly in the light of new scientific insights or external developments. 

The Research Fund will support work that is an integral part of UKERC's overall research programme. UKERC will therefore issue targeted calls for proposals rather than general, responsive mode, type calls within the broad area of energy. The invitations will specify the objectives of the research, the extent to which it is expected to build research capacity and the contribution it is expected to make to UKERC's research programme. Bids may be rooted within an individual discipline but will be expected to contribute to UKERC's interdisciplinary research effort.

 UKERC Energy 2050 Project

The UKERC Energy 2050 Project report was launched on 30 April 2009. Key messages as summarised by Professor Jim Skea at the launch were:

• Achieving a resilient low-carbon energy system in the UK is technically and economically feasible at an affordable cost
• There are multiple pathways to a low-carbon economy. A key trade-off is the speed of reduction in energy demand versus the decarbonisation of energy supply
• Driving down energy demand plays brings multiple benefits. It insures against:
  • The possible failure of key technologies to deliver
  • Social resistance to the use of certain supply side technologies
  • Price shocks and import dependence
• Aggressive promotion of energy efficiency and conservation technologies is the least cost means of driving down energy demand

 A 1-day workshop was subsequently held on 23 June 09 at the University of Edinburgh to review the implications of the report and focus in particular on understanding the potential costs of decarbonisation.

 Plans for a new Knowledge Transfer Network in energy generation and supply

The Technology Strategy Board has announced that it intends to establish a Knowledge Transfer Network in the field of energy generation and supply. More information will be available in the near future.

New Scottish Government Energy Publications

The Scottish Government has published several significant energy related reports in the past few months;

• Opportunities for CO2 Storage around Scotland - an integrated strategic research study [Report]

The Scottish Centre for Carbon Storage has brought together the expertise of a number of our leading scientists, engineers and technologists from a range of disciplines and organisations to address the potential for, and challenges associated with, carbon capture and storage in Scotland.

• Energy Sector: Key Sector Report [Report]

• Climate Change Delivery Plan [Report]

The Climate Change Delivery Plan sets out the high level measures required in each sector to meet Scotland's statutory climate change targets, to 2020 and in the long term.

Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm

The EU has shortlisted a number of key energy projects across Europe for funding under its recent stimulation package, including a proposed investment of 40 million Euros on the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm and associated test and demonstration facilities. The ETP is working with the developers of this project to consider how the ETP's expertise in wind energy R&D might be best integrated with the demonstration and deployment aspects of this exciting new development.