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Why do we need research into energy?
The UK’s own gas and oil reserves are dwindling so if we do not develop alternative, secure energy sources we could be at the mercy of a volatile global energy market as we are forced to import more of our energy from abroad. At the same time the burning of fossil fuels worldwide has led to a build up of greenhouse gases (especially carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and induce global warming in what’s termed ‘the greenhouse effect’. Evidence suggests that recent rapid climate change is being driven by global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions. If left unchecked, climate change will lead to flooding across many parts of the globe as well as severe droughts and permanently lower temperatures elsewhere - causing untold damage to ecosystems and economies.
To tackle the dual problems of the UK’s declining energy resources and the global threat of climate change we need a mix of new technologies to generate ‘clean’ energy and an updated energy infrastructure that can cope with future demand.
What sort of energy research do the Research Councils support?
EPSRC is taking the lead on energy research on behalf of all the UK Research Councils: This entails managing research into everything from energy storage and ‘renewable’ energy sources – such as wind, marine and solar power – to the social, economic and environmental aspects of new energy technologies.
Engineers and scientists are, for instance, investigating alternative fuels, such as biomass or hydrogen, as well as new ways of generating energy from existing fuels – one example being ‘clean coal’ technology. Integrating these diverse energy sources into a flexible and reliable energy infrastructure that can deliver them to homes and businesses is another challenge researchers are working to address.
In the long-term we may even be able to harness the energy of the stars through advances in fusion power. All this research has to take into account that the energy needs of tomorrow may be very different from those of today and that any solutions must be sustainable – they should not adversely affect the resources available to future generations.
How could this research change our lives?
This research is likely to offer a wide range of solutions to the problem of combating climate change and at the same time ensuring that we have a secure and reliable energy supply. Solutions might include building energy-efficient homes, powering devices with fuel cells and designing cheap, renewable energy technologies for developing countries.
Because so many human activities depend upon fossil fuels we cannot switch to a sustainable, emission-free lifestyle overnight. Instead, energy research will help us to change to a ‘low carbon’ (low greenhouse gas emission) economy while we decide which combination of solutions will best meet our future energy needs. |