Driving innovation in the energy sector to help society reach Net Zero. Working with industry partners we can develop innovative projects to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Energy keeps us moving, it drives economies and our lives, it runs our cars and our tech, it impacts every part of our lives but energy production and its use is also the single biggest contributor to global warming as evidenced by two thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions being attributed to human activity.
And more than a billion people still lack access to electricity, while three billion rely on dirty fuels like charcoal and animal waste for cooking and heating.
One of societies biggest challenges is to minimise our reliance on fossil fuels to produce energy to heat and power our homes, businesses and transportation systems, and instead make sustainable, reliable and affordable energy available to everyone on the planet.
Sustainable energy presents an opportunity to transform lives and economies while safeguarding the planet.
The University of Edinburgh has been the centre of academic research in Energy for over 50 years and is ideally placed to help society reach Net Zero by developing innovative solutions in collaboration with partners.
Key capability
We bring together academic expertise and cutting-edge facilities to develop multi-disciplinary approaches to resolve energy challenges and to minimise our impact on nature.
Key capability
Energy@Edinburgh is an interconnected community of 200 researchers across different Schools in the University, aligned with Industry in recognising that “energy systems and technologies are social as well as technical”. Our research aligns with the Energy Trilemma and feeds into the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In order to meet the social and technical challenges, we collaborate closely across a number of highly connected research themes, which also involve working closing with external partners from industry, local and national government, communities, regulatory and trade bodies, as well as other university partners, all at a national and international level.
Energy@Edinburgh’s vision is to galvanise the multi-disciplinary energy expertise at the University of Edinburgh along with industrial partners, local and global, to address climate change and decarbonisation by providing access to clean, affordable, secure and sustainable sources of energy.
The Edinburgh Earth Initiative is The University of Edinburgh’s response to the climate crisis. Drawing on strengths from across the University and working with our global partners, we will deliver ambitious solutions for a future that effectively manages and mitigates the effects of climate change. The Edinburgh Earth Initiative is The University of Edinburgh’s core themes are:
Edinburgh Climate Change Institute (ECCI)
Collaborating to accelerate climate action.
Centre for Business, Climate Change, and Sustainability (BCAS)
Working towards a more sustainable society.
The Centre for Future Infrastructure
Co-creating a powerful network of experts who can tackle issues from different and unconventional perspectives.
Institute for Energy Systems
Institute for Materials and Process
Institute for Infrastructure and Environment
Key research Institutes in the University.
Markus Muller is the lead the Electrical Machines and Power Electronics research group in the Institute for Energy Systems within the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. His research covers the interface of electrical and mechanical engineering, specialising in the design of novel power take off systems in renewable energy converters, such as direct drive wave, wind and tidal current systems.
Henry Jeffrey is a specialist in ocean energy roadmaps, action plans and strategies. He is co-director for SuperGen ORE (Offshore Renewable Energy) UKCMER and leads the Policy and Innovation Group in the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Energy Systems. He also chairs the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) Ocean Energy Joint Programme (JP), and International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Ocean Energy Systems (OES) programme
and collaborates on numerous European ocean energy projects.
Professor Gareth Harrison is Bert Whittington Chair of Electrical Power Engineering and Deputy Head of the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. He leads research activity across a wide area including integration of renewable energy within multi-vector energy systems, renewable resource assessment, climate change impacts on energy systems; and carbon footprints of energy systems. He is Associate Director of the National Centre for Energy Systems Integration (CESI), was previously Principal Investigator of the Adaptation and Resilience in Energy Systems project and is currently a Co-investigator on a range of EPSRC and InnovateUK projects covering energy storage, hydrogen, conventional generation and offshore renewable energy.
Professor in Carbon Capture and Storage, School of GeoScience, University of Edinburgh.
Professor of Industrial Mathematics, School of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh.
Chair in Climate Change Finance, Business School, University of Edinburgh.
Business Development Executive for Energy
