In January this year, former Energy Minister Chris Skidmore published his Net Zero Review. The report made 129 recommendations on ways to seize opportunities that would result from creating a green economy. Among the key recommendations were the need to deliver cheaper, greener homes; backing businesses to go green; increasing transparency and engaging people; and ramping up investment in R&D.
At the end of March, the government responded with its Net-Zero Growth Plan, which included a range of publications such as the Green Finance Strategy and the Energy Security Strategy.
The 2050 target was set at COP21 in Paris in 2016, committing signatory countries to pursue efforts to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius), compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this, countries must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2050.
Sustainability in the curriculum
How achievable are these recommendations, and what role do universities play in the journey to net zero?
Across the University of Derby, teaching, research and learning are aligned to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. These were created to ensure that approaches to tackling climate change and biodiversity loss are planned with strategies that will erase poverty and deprivation, improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth. This commitment cuts across all areas of activity, including business engagement and the University’s civic work.
Christopher Sansom is Professor of Concentrating Solar Power at the University of Derby and leads the Zero Carbon academic theme, which brings together all research and academic activity related to zero carbon. He explains:
“Zero carbon research cuts across a wide range of academic disciplines. At Derby we have about 100 people working in this area, and they vary from pure technical scientists working on power generation and renewable energy, to the other side of the carbon cycle – taking CO2 out of the atmosphere, exploring rock weathering technologies, peat bogs, and expanding our knowledge of other nature-based solutions.”
The heat is on
What, then, should be the main areas of focus if we are to meet our 2050 targets? Professor Sansom believes that the way we heat our homes and get hot water is a priority and an area where we are already starting to see the results of previous research. With the government’s Future Homes Standard set to be introduced in 2025, requiring new homes built after then to produce 75-80% fewer carbon emissions, heat pumps and solar thermal panels are among the most realistic alternatives. Extreme climate events are occurring more frequently in the UK, and cooling in the height of summer is also becoming an important consideration. Simple solutions such as shutters and thermal blinds can be very effective, and a heat pump run in reverse becomes a ‘chiller’.
Derbyshire-based Vaillant is one company that will be able to cater for what is expected to be an increase in demand and has expanded production of heat pumps with a new production line in Belper and a new factory opening in Derby next year. Henrik Hansen, MD of Vaillant Group UK and Ireland, explains:
“We know there is no single solution when it comes to heating our homes in the UK as the breadth of property type is diverse. Heat pumps are a here and now technology that can offer decarbonisation benefits, however the future is likely to be made up of a mix of heat pump, hybrid and boiler technologies. The widescale need to transition to low carbon is a once in a generation occurrence. The popularity of heat pump technology is growing at pace and is expected to do so as homeowners become more comfortable with the workings of lower carbon heating systems.”
Pioneering approach
Beyond the UK, some of the technologies being developed at the University are helping find solutions for cleaner energy in other parts of the world. The University is the only institution in the UK that specialises in concentrated solar power as an alternative energy source, and is the only UK institution to be a full member of the European Energy Research Association (EERA) Joint Programme in Concentrated Solar Power, which steers European research in concentrating solar technologies.
Zaharaddeen Hussaini, a Concentrated Solar Power Researcher at Derby, is part of a team working on a pioneering energy system that could help reduce premature deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. The project aims to provide clean cooking and off-grid renewable energy to rural communities in Nigeria and Ghana and create a way to deliver secure, low-emission and affordable energy.
He explains:
“The lack of access to grid energy in these regions forces people to rely on traditional open-fire cooking methods, leading to indoor pollution that contributes to over 500,000 premature deaths each year. The system that we are trialling with our partner Thermoelectric Conversion Systems uses concentrated heat from the sun for cooking with a thermoelectric generator; waste heat from the cooking process is captured and transformed into electricity that can power small domestic appliances such as mobile phone chargers and radios.”
Over the next 18 months the team will be perfecting the design of the system in the UK, while partners in Ghana and Nigeria carry out market and social research to ensure successful commercialisation of the product that allows for equal and inclusive access for users in local communities. The team will then travel to Africa to support with assembly and testing.
Going electric
In addition to home energy, Professor Sansom believes that transport is a key area of focus for research and development. In 2021, cars and vans produced 20% of the UK’s CO2 emissions. “We’ve got electric vehicles,” he says, “but not the infrastructure to support their uptake. There needs to be government policy and investment and a strategy for growing the infrastructure to better support the use of electric cars.”
Another problem presented by electric vehicles is that of batteries. Recycling batteries is currently difficult and expensive so there is a need to find an efficient and cost-effective solution. The University is offering a PhD, working with start-up company EV Green to develop and design systems that will separate battery components and extract key materials such as lithium in a form that is purer than is possible using current technology.
Professor Sansom is enthusiastic about the potential: “We may also be able to expand the project to include recycling solar PV panels. This will help to address the issue that green electricity may not be totally green depending on how it's produced. If turbines and PV panels are made in a sustainable way then we can really decarbonise electricity production.”
An integrated transport system also needs rail transport. With the recent announcement that the Great British Railways headquarters will be established in Derby, the University’s research into low carbon locomotive propulsion systems, passenger and freight infrastructure and improved efficiencies of locomotives will be of significant strategic value.
Beyond net zero
While there is clearly a lot of scope for research and development to find green solutions for our future, is there more to a sustainable economy than net zero? Dr Fred Paterson believes there is. As Associate Professor in the College of Business, Law and Social Sciences, he leads the Low Carbon Business Network which supports pro-environmental SMEs across the East Midlands.
He comments: “Net zero tends to focus on technological innovation and measures that help firms reduce waste. We need to make radical shifts in the way we consume, as well as changes to energy production and use and shifting to low emission mobility. This requires small and large companies to shift to sustainable business models and supply chains, and to work cooperatively to become more sustainable. We provide practical support for this via our SME Pathways to Net Zero, and applied research in this area can be found in our Sustainable Business Cluster and in our Centre for Supply Chain Improvement.”
The greatest challenge, believes Dr Paterson, is “to move at sufficient pace and scale to meet international emissions targets. This will require both top-down regulation and bottom-up changes in consumer and social behaviour."
There’s no doubt that universities have a major role to play, in supporting key areas of research and development and providing advice and support to address barriers and overcome obstacles at a business and individual level. “Giving advice is an important part of what we should be doing,” says Professor Sansom. “In addition to research, we have a role to inform the public and dispel a few myths – we can help people understand at least what’s possible and how the future could look.”
Written by Heather Turley
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