Combining Expertise

NECEM will run many different projects, with each university contributing their existing strengths and bringing together their expertise in tidal, wave, solar, biomass, energy storage, smart grids, and other fields.

The £58m Urban Sciences Building on Science Central was opened at Newcastle University in September last year. Constructed on the former Scottish and Newcastle Brewery site, the building contains several full scale energy research laboratories such as the EPSRC National Centre for Energy Systems Integration (CESI), with which Durham University is also a partner.

The Durham Energy Institute (DEI), based at Durham University, will contribute particularly in the areas of solar energy, simulation, and in the advanced analytical tools needed to observe how materials behave at the molecular level. Northumbria University will build on researchers’ recent successes in developing sustainable solar paint which could be applied to a wide range of building and automotive surfaces.

In addition to the expertise and facilities of the three universities, several industrial partners are involved with the centre. These include local businesses such as Solar Capture Technologies from Blyth, the Kromek Group from Sedgefield, and Big Solar from Sunderland, as well as international companies such as Siemens. Together, the expertise of these constituent parts combine to create NECEM. As explained by the Director of NECEM, Professor Ulrich Stimming:

“Coming together in this new Centre means we are able to provide a regional hub to engage with the industrial community, particularly in the North East, but also with the wider UK and international energy community.”

Last modified: Tue, 13 Mar 2018 15:29:04 GMT