Leeds engineers will tackle Britain’s future energy needs

The University of Leeds has won funding for a new centre which will nurture the talent and expertise needed to meet Britain's future energy needs.

The £6.5m grant was announced today by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council – the UK funding body for science and engineering. It will establish a new Doctoral Training Centre to prepare the next generation of leading engineers and environmentalists who will be needed to drive forward the changing future of the energy industry.

Fifty PhD students will be funded by the EPSRC over five years. They will address a number of urgent priorities in the future of energy including carbon capture, sequestration, energy efficiency and the use of waste materials for power and will build on the research already in progress by scientists and engineers at Leeds.

The students will be given a clear vision of the environmental issues surrounding their work, to meet the challenges posed by our future energy needs.

Professor Paul Williams, head of the Energy and Resources Research Institute at the University of Leeds, said: "The centre will focus on the development of technologies for a low carbon future, providing a challenging, exciting and inspiring world class research environment for the development of tomorrow’s industry and research leaders.

"Our vision is to create young engineers and scientists who can participate in research through the design and appraisal of sustainable energy systems by the integration of science, engineering and wider socio-economic concepts.

"Key themes they will examine include low carbon technologies; transport and energy; carbon storage, climate change and energy systems research."

The Leeds announcement is part of a £250m initiative which will create 44 training centres across the UK and develop over 2,000 PhD students. They will tackle some of the biggest problems currently facing Britain such as climate change, energy, our ageing population, and high-tech crime.
Announcing the investment, Minister of State for Science and Innovation, Lord Drayson, said: “Britain faces many challenges in the 21st Century and needs scientists and engineers with the right skills to find answers to these challenges, build a strong economy and keep us globally competitive. EPSRC’s doctoral training centres will provide a new wave of engineers and scientists to do the job.”
He continued: “These new centres will help to develop clean renewable energy, fight high tech crime, assist in reducing carbon emissions, and discover new healthcare solutions for an ageing population. This is an exciting, innovative approach to training young researchers and will help build a better future for Britain.”
Professor Dave Delpy, chief executive of EPSRC, said: “People are the heart of our future strategy. We want to drive a modern economy and meet the challenges of tomorrow by investing in talented people and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.”

He continued: “EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training expand our existing training portfolio, focus on priority themes for the UK, emerging and multidisciplinary research, and greater collaboration with business.”

The initiative is widely supported by business and industry. Professor Jeremy Watson, global director of research at Arup, said: "Businesses like Arup need a good supply of highly-qualified scientists with the right skills to further innovation in the design of sustainable towns, cities and the wider environment. They need to understand how business works and also be able to turn their best ideas into a successful business proposition."