era.ac.uk #energyleaders PUTTING THE MIDLANDS AT THE FOREFRONT OF ENERGY INNOVATION A PROPOSAL BY THE ENERGY RESEARCH ACCELERATOR FUNDED BY DELIVERED BY SUPPORTED BY SOME OF ERA’S INDUSTRIAL SUPPORTERS CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 ERA OVERVIEW 6 OUR ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE 8 INTRODUCTION TO THE BIG IDEAS 16 REGIONAL FOCUS 22 THE BIG IDEAS: 1. ENERGY STORAGE 24 2. DECARBONISING HEAT 27 3. SYSTEM SIMULATION, DATA, DIGITAL AND INFORMATICS 30 4. INTEGRATING RESOURCE RECOVERY WITH ENERGY PRODUCTION 34 5. ALTERNATIVE FUELS 38 6. LOW-CARBON INTER AND INTRA-URBAN TRANSPORTATION 41 CROSS-CUTTING THEMES: 1. POLICY AND ECONOMICS 44 2. ACCELERATING BUSINESS GROWTH 45 3. LIVING LABS, DEMONSTRATORS AND ENERGY INNOVATION ZONES 48 4. ENERGY SYSTEM BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE 52 5. SKILLS 54 6. EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY 56 SUPPORT AND MATCH-FUNDING 58 MAPPING REGIONAL INTERESTS – STRENGTHS BY LEP AREA 62 LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND DELIVERY 64 ERA’S RESEARCH PARTNERS 66 ERA PUBLICATIONS 70 CONTACTS 71 THE ERA PARTNERS ® 2 Energy Research Accelerator Phase 2 proposal Energy Research Accelerator Phase 2 proposal 3 WELCOME In the next 100 years the most successful societies will be the most innovative societies and we in this country have the knack of innovation. We lead the world EXECUTIVE SUMMARY in net-zero planes, and in the long term solutions to global warming, wind, solar, hydrogen technology carbon capture and storage, nuclear… we can be a science superpower, but we must end the chasm between invention and application so that British ideas produce new British industries and British jobs.” The Energy Research Accelerator (ERA), is a regional experiment in innovation. It brings Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Dudley, June 2020 together nine Midlands research intensive organisations, a research community of nearly 1,500 researchers, with a mission to deliver regional impact in energy and interconnected systems. With an initial funding of £60 million, managed through Innovate UK, within a short The “Big Ideas” recognise that based, solutions. The regional development of a hydrogen based freight and logistics space of time ERA has delivered beyond the original expectation. ERA has created 23 new ■ Medium duration energy storage is going to be infrastructure is planned. research facilities, obtained £120 million of industrial funding and close to £450 million of needed as part of decarbonised electricity systems total value in terms of new investments in energy research and development. This document and that large-scale demonstration projects are This is an ambitious programme that builds on the describes the next phase of activity that ERA plans to deliver over the next five years - themes required. outstanding ERA track record with a commitment that have been co-created with our industrial partners, along with the Manufacturing ■ Decarbonisation of heat remains the biggest from the ERA partners to deliver. In the year that the eyes of the world will be on our country as we host Technology Centre and the Energy Systems and Connected Places Catapult. energy challenge and acceleration and coordination in this sector is required; a National COP26, the ERA programme offers an opportunity Centre for Decarbonisation of Heat is proposed. to show that the UK is at the forefront of energy ERA has, and through its next phase, will continue to The Energy Research Accelerator has worked to join innovation. It is a wide-reaching intervention that ■ Dramatic changes to our energy infrastructure is focus on: up fundamental research and development with small will fundamentally change the way that the Midlands hard to manage and hard to plan and digitisation and large scale demonstration and deployment with exploits energy, and has the potential to deliver over Making the UK a scientific superpower, leading in and data are of increasing importance. Real time ■ the ability then to manufacture successful solutions. £1.5 billion in GVA and over 6,800 jobs. the development of technologies that will support ERA has shaped regional policy, helping to establish simulation, data curation and informatics and the government’s ambition to reach net-zero Energy Innovation Zones and encompasses large scale large-scale demonstration is key. To date we have indications of support and aligned carbon emissions by 2050. demonstration projects such as the Trent Basin in ■ The low-carbon management of resources funding from partners of £1.4 billion, which recognises ■ Strengthening the UK’s place in the world, making Nottingham, the hydrogen demonstrator on the Keele produced in energy systems and beyond is the potential of the proposed ERA-2 investment. With sure the UK does not fall behind other countries in Campus, the Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham, essential. The recycling of electric motors, plastics this proposal we are seeking £250 million of regional relation to developing solutions to tackle climate the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre in Warwick and organic waste streams are key elements. investment over five years to support energy and the newly established Peterborough Integrated innovation and deployment. change. ■ Development and characterisation of Renewables Infrastructure project. This ability to drive ■ Levelling up economic opportunity within the replacements for fossil fuels is essential in innovation through the technology readiness levels Midlands region and beyond by investing in decarbonisation of transport sectors such as into real-world, city-level projects is what makes ERA infrastructure, innovation and people, helping aviation and hard to reach off-grid homes for heat. unique and provides the platform for the greater push to close the gap with the UK’s competitors by A National Centre for Fuel Standards is proposed. required towards 2050. spreading opportunity. ■ Decarbonisation of regional transport can Professor Martin Freer ■ Strengthening the UK’s economic recovery from Working with the community of academics, industry, only be part delivered by electric cars. Freight Director, Energy Research Accelerator COVID-19 by prioritising jobs and skills. ERA has policy makers, the Manufacturing Technology Centre and logistics will likely need other, hydrogen already helped to create jobs, develop skills and and the Energy Systems and Connected Places support over 1,000 SMEs. Our next phase has the Catapults, ERA has identified the major national potential to deliver over £1.5 billion in GVA and and regional energy challenges. By building on the over 6,800 jobs. facilities we have created and our collective expertise, ERA’S MISSION we believe that we can provide significant future Since 2016, when the ERA programme started, economic growth and stimulate the creation of new, The mission of the Energy Research Accelerator ■ Foster knowledge exchange between partners to there has been significant progress made in the high-skilled jobs. This process, called “Big Ideas” has is to utilise academic research and industrial allow the successful development of the sector. decarbonisation of the energy system in its broadest distilled out six major themes and a further six cross- collaborations to: ■ Provide technical input to regional energy policy terms. The commitment made by the UK to reach cutting activities. The latter are the development of developments. net-zero remains an important national ambition and skills, the need to support business, the opportunity ■ Support the low-carbon transformation of the ■ Strive to attract the best individuals to learn, is crucial to safeguarding the global environment and for developing living campus laboratories, the need Midlands’ energy infrastructure and through a develop and grow such that ERA is recognised providing social and economic stability. However, as to understand and stimulate behavioural change, suite of physical energy demonstrators, attract for its contribution to a vibrant and successful every year, and then every year and decade passes, the requirement to recognise and stimulate equality, further inward investment and deliver technology Midlands skills base. meeting net-zero becomes ever more challenging. diversity and inclusivity in the energy sector and than can aid growth relevant to both national and There continues to be a need to accelerate innovation finally to support national and regional policy international markets. and implementation. development. 4 Energy Research Accelerator Phase 2 proposal Energy Research Accelerator Phase 2 proposal 5 IMPACT OF ERA-1 ERA OVERVIEW MORE THAN ENGAGED PUTTING THE MIDLANDS MIDLANDS 1,400 100+ AT THE FOREFRONT OF 9 PARTNERS RESEARCHERS PHD STUDENTS ENERGY INNOVATION £60M + £120M Government investment Co-investment from (Realising 9:1 ROI) universities and private sector ERA: THE STORY SO FAR The ERA programme involved a capital investment of £60 million from government matched by £120 million Established in 2016 as the UK’s first cross- of co-investment from the universities and the private disciplinary energy research hub, the sector. pioneering Energy Research Accelerator The programme is run by a small team of staff who (ERA) brings together 1,400 researchers in are funded entirely by the ERA partnership. The eight internationally-recognised research funding has helped create 23 new research facilities universities from the Midlands region across the Midlands, which have been recognised by the UKRI Infrastructure Roadmap published in 2019, (Aston, Birmingham, Cranfield, Keele, which states that the Midlands has the majority of the Leicester, Loughborough,