Research stories
We support the energy industry to translate academic research into real-world solutions for some of the biggest challenges facing the sector and the world. Discover more about how our collaborative research is helping find the answers to complex problems.
Balancing all our electricity needs with one of the UK's largest storage systems
Balancing the electricity grid is key to receiving all the energy we need at the right time - balancing the electricity produced with the electricity used is a complex process. New flywheel technology can make this process greener.
Road to rail: Can we power trains with electric cars?
Parking your car at the train station could one day provide extra energy for the trains themselves. That's the vision of a group of researchers from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Improving the efficiency of Mobile Power's battery packs for Sierra Leone
Professor Dan Gladwin and his team have helped local Sheffield business Mobile Power to improve their smart battery packs which provide cheap, sustainable energy to people in low-income communities in West Africa and developing countries.
Reconstructing a nuclear meltdown
Safely decommissioning a nuclear reactor, post-meltdown, is impossible, without understanding the extraordinary environment inside. As Chernobyl and Fukushima wait to be deconstructed, Dr Claire Corkhill and her team are attempting to recreate Chernobyl’s meltdown in Sheffield, in a bid to safely deactivate both power plants.
Supporting the move to cleaner energy
We're developing affordable and sustainable carbon capture technologies as part of a new £21 million energy research centre. The Translational Energy Research Centre will support the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy, delivering the cleaner growth at the heart of government’s industrial strategy.
Energy, a powerful resource
From the cars we drive to the industrial processes that provide us with those cars, everything needs energy. But our growing population and desire to consume means that, at current rates, we're going to run out of resources.
The invisibles: tracking solar energy
A few years ago the UK's electricity came almost entirely from a few dozen power stations. Today, solar electricity comes from nearly a million homes, schools, hospitals, supermarkets, factories and fields. How do you track a million invisible energy creators?
A sweet approach to battery materials manufacturing
Researchers have been developing a novel approach to the production of battery materials, using biotemplating.
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