International Activities
UKERC participates and leads energy research activities internationally as part of its mission to act as a bridge between the UK energy research community and the wider world.
Europe
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European Commission Energy Research and Technical Development (RTD) Strategy |
UKERC Executive Director Prof John Loughhead is a member of the Advisory Group on Energy. The Group is set up to look at different options facing Europe in terms of future energy policy. The work will be carried out in cooperation with the Commission's Bureau of European Policy Advisers and bring valuable expertise from outside the Commission |
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European Commission - Framework 7 Energy (FP7) |
The objective of energy research under FP7 is to aid the creation and establishment of the technologies necessary to adapt the current energy system into a more sustainable, competitive and secure one. Whilst Research Director at UKERC, Prof Jim Skea was one of the UK representatives on the FP7 Energy Committee and the Advisory Group until planning for the FP7 finished in summer 2012. The role of the FP7 Energy Committee helped to approve the annual calls for proposals and confirm the projects which were ultimately funded. |
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European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) |
The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) is one element of the SET-Plan and aims to elevate cooperation between national research institutes to a new level – from an ad-hoc participation in uncoordinated joint projects to collectively devising and implementing joint programmes. The EC plans to boost the scale of EERA’s joint programmes through additional investment. Over the next year, the Alliance will launch and implement joint programmes addressing the key challenges of the SET-Plan with concrete technological objectives. Strong links will be developed with the Industrial Initiatives to ensure industrial relevance. It is expected that the Alliance will expand its activities to effectively manage an additional public investment, EU and national, of €5Bn over 10 years. Prof John Loughhead is on the Executive Committee of EERA; and Dr Jonathan Radcliffe (from the Energy Research Partnership) facilitates the UK's contribution. |
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Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan |
The EU needs to develop cost-effective low-carbon technologies, lower the cost of clean energy and put EU industry at the forefront of the rapidly growing ‘green’ technology sector. The SET-Plan of the EU aims to establish a new energy research agenda for Europe, to make better use of and increase resources, both financial and human, so as to accelerate the development and deployment of low-carbon technologies of the future. The two main components of the SET-Plan are European Industrial Initiatives (EIIs) and the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA, described above). EIIs are a set of large-scale public-private demonstration activities aimed at rapid development of key energy technologies at the European level. The Energy Research Partnership organised a meeting to discuss UK engagement in the EIIs, with participants from Government, industry and academia. More information can be found at www.energyresearchpartnership.org.uk/eii  |
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Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (FCH) Initiative |
The FCH Joint Undertaking is one of the first European Industrial Initiatives, which aims to accelerate the demonstration and deployment of FC&H within Europe. Over the next seven years it expects to spend nearly €1Bn on a mixture of development, demonstration, and research. Prof John Loughhead was co-chair of the body that published the Implementation Plan of its predecessor Technology Platform, and is now the UK representative on the research grouping of the JU. |
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International
| Task Force on Energy Efficiency and Urban Development, of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) | The China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) is a high level, non-profit international advisory body. The main task of CCICED is exchanging and disseminating international successful experience in the field of environment and development; studying key environment and development issues in China, and putting forward policy recommendations. |
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| International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE) |
The IPHE is an international institution set up to accelerate the development and deployment of fuel cells and hydrogen in the world's economy. Prof John Loughhead was co-chair of Implementation and Liaison (ILC) and is now a member of the Steering Committee. |
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| International Research Network for Low-Carbon Societies (LCS-RNet) |
Established under the Japanese G8 Presidency, LCS-RNet is an international network of research institutions providing policy-makers with up-to-date scientific findings on low carbon societies. UKERC is a founding member of LCS-Rnet and is represented on its Steering Group by UKERC's Dr Mark Winskel. |
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International Council of Academies of Engineering and technological Sciences Inc (CAETS) |
CAETS has initiated a number of joint projects on engineering issues of international importance and activity. Prof John Loughhead is the UK participant in work developing strategies to accelerate the rate at which new low-carbon technologies can be deployed internationally. |
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| International Energy Agency (IEA) |
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an intergovernmental organisation which acts as energy policy advisor to 28 member countries. UKERC researchers are engaged with the IEA through Implementing Agreements and Annex projects in the Energy Technology Systems Analysis Program, Energy Networks Analysis, Research and Development, Buildings and Community Systems, Task 23 (Offshore Wind Energy Technology Deployment), Task 25 (Solar Heating and Cooling Programme). For more information contact Dr Mike Weston. |
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| Energy Technology Systems Analysis Programme (ETSAP) |
ETSAP is an Implementing Agreement of the International Energy Agency (IEA). It is a consortium of member country teams (in 70 countries) and invited teams that actively cooperate on multi-country energy/economy/environment/engineering (4E) analytical capability. Its backbone consists of common, comparable and combinable methodology, mainly based on the MARKAL / TIMES family of models, permitting the compilation of long term energy scenarios and in-depth national, multi-country, and global energy and environmental analyses. Dr Neil Strachan of UKERC's Energy Systems team at University College London are the lead UK team in this network.ETSAP is an Implementing Agreement of the International Energy Agency (IEA). It is a consortium of member country teams (in 70 countries) and invited teams that actively cooperate on multi-country energy/economy/environment/engineering (4E) analytical capability. Its backbone consists of common, comparable and combinable methodology, mainly based on the MARKAL / TIMES family of models, permitting the compilation of long term energy scenarios and in-depth national, multi-country, and global energy and environmental analyses. Professor Neil Strachan of UKERC's Energy Systems theme at University College London leads the UK team in this network. |
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| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) |
The IPCC assesses the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change.
Former UKERC Research Director Prof Jim Skea was a member of the IPCC Bureau and a Vice-Chair for Working Group III. |
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| Open Source Energy Modelling System (OSEMOSYS) Energy Modelling Network |
OSEMOSYS represents a group of international experts developing the OSEMOSYS model into a working analytical framework. OSEMOSYS would be a fully fledged energy systems optimisation model, substantially extending existing simpler analytical models that are accounting in nature such as LEAP. |
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| UK-UAE Renewable Policy Centre |
UKERC leads the UK's contribution to this Centre whose purpose is to foster the practical exchange of knowledge and lessons learned on policy development for renewable energy. The UAE partner is the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST). The Centre will be responsive to requests for advice from IRENA (the International Renewable Energy Agency) as well as individual countries. |
Individual Countries
| Agence Nationale de Recherche (ANR) |
Prof John Loughhead is on the Energy Committee of the French Agence Nationale de Recherche. The French National Research Agency (ANR) aims to increase the number of research projects issued from the entire scientific community, and to provide funding based on calls for proposals and peer review selection processes. |
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| Carbon Management Canada (CMC) |
Professor John Loughhead is Non–Executive Director of Carbon Management Canada (CMC). CMC-NCE is a national network of academic researchers working with experts in the fossil energy industry, government, and the not-for-profit sector. |
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| Government of Victoria, Australia |
Professor John Loughhead is a member of Independent Advisory Panel on energy technology development programmes for the Government of Victoria. |