探花直播 of Cambridge - solar power /taxonomy/subjects/solar-power en Birdlife soars on nature-friendly solar farms /www.cam.ac.uk/stories/solar-biodiversity-birds <div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Birds across Eastern England's arable landscapes are thriving on solar farms managed with nature in mind.</p> </p></div></div></div> Thu, 13 Feb 2025 09:46:57 +0000 plc32 248697 at Electricity prices across Europe to stabilise if 2030 targets for renewable energy are met /research/news/electricity-prices-across-europe-to-stabilise-if-2030-targets-for-renewable-energy-are-met-study <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/research/news/anadonpic_0.jpg?itok=_gwkpjry" alt="High voltage electricity towers combined with economic charts" title="High voltage electricity towers combined with economic charts, Credit: Anton Petrus via Getty images " /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Hitting the current national 2030 quotas for solar and wind energy could reduce the volatility of electricity markets by an average of 20% across 29 European countries, according to a new study from the 探花直播 of Cambridge.聽聽</p> <p> 探花直播intensity of spikes in power prices are predicted to fall in every country by the end of the decade if commitments to green energy are met, as natural gas dependency is cut.聽 聽</p> <p> 探花直播UK and Ireland would be the biggest beneficiaries, with 44% and 43% reductions in the severity of electricity price spikes by 2030, compared with last year.</p> <p>Germany could experience a 31% decline in electricity price volatility, with the Netherlands and Belgium seeing price spikes ease by 38% and 33% respectively.</p> <p> 探花直播simulations conducted for the new study show that scaling up renewable energy minimises the market impact of fluctuations in natural gas price 鈥 increasing stability even when considering the reliance of renewable technologies on weather.</p> <p>Some EU leaders and energy ministers have called for renewables targets on grounds of energy security as well as decarbonisation, particularly since Putin鈥檚 war on Ukraine stemmed the flow of Russian gas.</p> <p> 探花直播study, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01704-0">published in the journal <em>Nature Energy</em></a>, calculates in detail how such aims would affect the volatility of wholesale electricity prices in energy markets across Europe.</p> <p>鈥 探花直播volatility of energy prices is a major cause of damage to national economies,鈥 said Laura Diaz Anadon, the 探花直播 of Cambridge鈥檚 Professor of Climate Change Policy.</p> <p>鈥淐onsumers are still reeling from sharp increases in electricity prices brought about by natural gas shortages following Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine,鈥 said Anadon. 鈥淲e show that hitting renewables targets reduce the likelihood of such price spikes in the future.鈥</p> <p>Daniel Navia, a researcher with the 探花直播鈥檚 Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance (CEENRG), said: 鈥淢eeting renewable energy targets is not only good for carbon neutrality, but we can see it is a boost to economic resilience鈥</p> <p>鈥淲e had probably underestimated how costly energy price shocks are to our societies, and the last crisis has been a stark reminder.鈥</p> <p> 探花直播Cambridge researchers used the 探花直播鈥檚 high performance computing facilities to model a wide range of factors 鈥 from fluctuations in weather patterns and energy demands to fuel capacity 鈥 to map the current and future grids of all 27 EU nations plus the UK and Switzerland.</p> <p>They assessed electricity markets in 2030 based on the commitments to renewables as stated in each nation鈥檚 national energy and climate plan.</p> <p>鈥 探花直播UK in particular is projected to see major benefits to its energy market stability from renewables,鈥 said Anadon.</p> <p>鈥 探花直播UK has struggled with its exposure to gas prices due to a lack of energy storage and limited connections to the European grid. This has led to more hours where electricity prices are set by natural gas.鈥</p> <p> 探花直播research also suggests that wholesale prices of electricity could fall by over a quarter on average across all countries in the study by decade鈥檚 end if they stick to current national renewables targets.</p> <p>Again, populations in the UK and Ireland stand to gain significantly, with electricity prices predicted to fall by around 45% by 2030, compared with the current situation.</p> <p>Several of the Nordic nations could see over 60% reductions in electricity costs by 2030, while in Germany the price is predicted to fall by 34%, with Belgium seeing a similar drop of 31%. 探花直播study suggests the Netherlands could see the price of electricity fall by 41%.</p> <p>While the study鈥檚 authors caution that trends in electricity prices depend on factors that are 鈥渋mpossible to predict鈥, they say their results are in line with recent outputs by institutions such as the International Energy Agency.</p> <p>In fact, Navia and Anadon say their modelling may even underestimate the potential for electricity price stability across Europe, as the projections were calculated using data from 1990-2021 鈥 before the energy crisis created by Russia鈥檚 attack on Ukraine.</p> <p>鈥淚t makes sense to think about renewables as a security investment, and if we lose the momentum towards green energy, we are clearly harming the climate, but we also exposing ourselves to unknowable risks down the line,鈥 said Anadon. 聽</p> <p> 探花直播new study also charts the effects on electricity prices if countries overshoot on renewables. If Europe exceeds its renewable energy goals by 30%, electricity prices could become 50% less sensitive to natural gas, compared to just meeting renewables targets.</p> <p>However, the study suggests there are tipping points where renewables cause the price of power to fall so far that it stops providing sufficient return on investment, and the green energy industries may stall.聽</p> <p>Added Navia: 鈥淚f we are to fully utilise solar and wind as a security tool, Europe might have to rethink how its energy markets are designed, and what incentives it can offer the private sector to maintain the societal insurance value it gets from renewable energy.鈥</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>National targets for solar and wind power will see reliance on natural gas plummet, reducing electricity price volatility across Europe, with major beneficiaries including the UK and Ireland, the Nordics, and the Netherlands.</p> </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> 探花直播UK in particular is projected to see major benefits to its energy market stability from renewables</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote-name field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Laura Diaz Anadon</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/" target="_blank">Anton Petrus via Getty images </a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-desctiprion field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">High voltage electricity towers combined with economic charts</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License." src="/sites/www.cam.ac.uk/files/inner-images/cc-by-nc-sa-4-license.png" style="border-width: 0px; width: 88px; height: 31px;" /></a><br /> 探花直播text in this work is licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏 探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥 on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div> Mon, 03 Feb 2025 10:24:42 +0000 fpjl2 248671 at Trash into treasure: making clean fuel from waste and sunlight /stories/making-fuel-from-sunlight <div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Professor Erwin Reisner and his team are developing prototype devices that convert waste, water and air into practical fuels and chemicals.</p> </p></div></div></div> Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:22:55 +0000 sc604 248291 at 探花直播cost of solar power: how low can we go? /stories/low-cost-solar <div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Professor Sam Stranks is developing next-generation solar cell technology, which could drive down renewable energy prices even further.</p> </p></div></div></div> Tue, 08 Oct 2024 14:27:07 +0000 sc604 248301 at A simple 鈥榯wist鈥 improves the engine of clean fuel generation /research/news/a-simple-twist-improves-the-engine-of-clean-fuel-generation <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/research/news/gettyimages-1393857067-dp.jpg?itok=mXUjtfvK" alt="Abstract orange swirls on a black background" title="Abstract orange swirls, Credit: orange via Getty Images" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p> 探花直播researchers, led by the 探花直播 of Cambridge, are developing low-cost light-harvesting semiconductors that power devices for converting water into clean hydrogen fuel, using just the power of the sun. These semiconducting materials, known as copper oxides, are cheap, abundant and non-toxic, but their performance does not come close to silicon, which dominates the semiconductor market.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>However, the researchers found that by growing the copper oxide crystals in a specific orientation so that electric charges move through the crystals at a diagonal, the charges move much faster and further, greatly improving performance. Tests of a copper oxide light harvester, or photocathode, based on this fabrication technique showed a 70% improvement over existing state-of-the-art oxide photocathodes, while also showing greatly improved stability.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> 探花直播researchers say their <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07273-8">results</a>, reported in the journal <em>Nature</em>, show how low-cost materials could be fine-tuned to power the transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean, sustainable fuels that can be stored and used with existing energy infrastructure.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Copper (I) oxide, or cuprous oxide, has been touted as a cheap potential replacement for silicon for years, since it is reasonably effective at capturing sunlight and converting it into electric charge. However, much of that charge tends to get lost, limiting the material鈥檚 performance.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>鈥淟ike other oxide semiconductors, cuprous oxide has its intrinsic challenges,鈥 said co-first author Dr Linfeng Pan from Cambridge鈥檚 Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. 鈥淥ne of those challenges is the mismatch between how deep light is absorbed and how far the charges travel within the material, so most of the oxide below the top layer of material is essentially dead space.鈥</p>&#13; &#13; <p>鈥淔or most solar cell materials, it鈥檚 defects on the surface of the material that cause a reduction in performance, but with these oxide materials, it鈥檚 the other way round: the surface is largely fine, but something about the bulk leads to losses,鈥 said <a href="https://www.stranks.oe.phy.cam.ac.uk/">Professor Sam Stranks</a>, who led the research. 鈥淭his means the way the crystals are grown is vital to their performance.鈥</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To develop cuprous oxides to the point where they can be a credible contender to established photovoltaic materials, they need to be optimised so they can efficiently generate and move electric charges 鈥 made of an electron and a positively-charged electron 鈥榟ole鈥 鈥 when sunlight hits them.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>One potential optimisation approach is single-crystal thin films 鈥 very thin slices of material with a highly-ordered crystal structure, which are often used in electronics. However, making these films is normally a complex and time-consuming process.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Using thin film deposition techniques, the researchers were able to grow high-quality cuprous oxide films at ambient pressure and room temperature. By precisely controlling growth and flow rates in the chamber, they were able to 鈥榮hift鈥 the crystals into a particular orientation. Then, using high temporal resolution spectroscopic techniques, they were able to observe how the orientation of the crystals affected how efficiently electric charges moved through the material.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>鈥淭hese crystals are basically cubes, and we found that when the electrons move through the cube at a body diagonal, rather than along the face or edge of the cube, they move an order of magnitude further,鈥 said Pan. 鈥 探花直播further the electrons move, the better the performance.鈥</p>&#13; &#13; <p>鈥淪omething about that diagonal direction in these materials is magic,鈥 said Stranks. 鈥淲e need to carry out further work to fully understand why and optimise it further, but it has so far resulted in a huge jump in performance.鈥 Tests of a cuprous oxide photocathode made using this technique showed an increase in performance of more than 70% over existing state-of-the-art electrodeposited oxide photocathodes.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>鈥淚n addition to the improved performance, we found that the orientation makes the films much more stable, but factors beyond the bulk properties may be at play,鈥 said Pan.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> 探花直播researchers say that much more research and development is still needed, but this and related families of materials could have a vital role in the energy transition.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>鈥淭here鈥檚 still a long way to go, but we鈥檙e on an exciting trajectory,鈥 said Stranks. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of interesting science to come from these materials, and it鈥檚 interesting for me to connect the physics of these materials with their growth, how they form, and ultimately how they perform.鈥</p>&#13; &#13; <p> 探花直播research was a collaboration with 脡cole Polytechnique F茅d茅rale de Lausanne, Nankai 探花直播 and Uppsala 探花直播. 探花直播research was supported in part by the European Research Council, the Swiss National Science Foundation, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Sam Stranks is Professor of Optoelectronics in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em><strong>Reference:</strong><br />&#13; Linfeng Pan, Linjie Dai et al. 鈥<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07273-8">High carrier mobility along the [111] orientation in Cu2O photoelectrodes</a>.鈥 Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07273-8</em></p>&#13; &#13; <p><em><strong>For more information on聽energy-related research in Cambridge, please visit the聽<a href="https://www.energy.cam.ac.uk/">Energy聽IRC</a>, which brings together Cambridge鈥檚 research knowledge and expertise, in collaboration with global partners, to create solutions for a sustainable and resilient energy landscape for generations to come.聽</strong></em></p>&#13; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Researchers have found a way to super-charge the 鈥榚ngine鈥 of sustainable fuel generation 鈥 by giving the materials a little twist.</p>&#13; </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/" target="_blank">orange via Getty Images</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-desctiprion field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Abstract orange swirls</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License." src="/sites/www.cam.ac.uk/files/inner-images/cc-by-nc-sa-4-license.png" style="border-width: 0px; width: 88px; height: 31px;" /></a><br />&#13; 探花直播text in this work is licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏 探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥 on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p>&#13; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div> Wed, 24 Apr 2024 14:31:37 +0000 sc604 245791 at Solar-powered device produces clean water and clean fuel at the same time /research/news/solar-powered-device-produces-clean-water-and-clean-fuel-at-the-same-time <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/research/news/img-1422-dp.jpg?itok=KQ5-vF60" alt="Device for making solar fuels on the River Cam near the Bridge of Sighs" title="Device for making solar fuels on the River Cam near the Bridge of Sighs, Credit: Chanon Pornrungroj" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p> 探花直播device, developed by researchers at the 探花直播 of Cambridge, could be useful in resource-limited or off-grid environments, since it works with any open water source and does not require any outside power.</p> <p>It takes its inspiration from photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight into food. However, unlike earlier versions of the 鈥榓rtificial leaf鈥, which could produce green hydrogen fuel from clean water sources, this new device operates from polluted or seawater sources and can produce clean drinking water at the same time.</p> <p>Tests of the device showed it was able to produce clean water from highly polluted water, seawater, and even from the River Cam in central Cambridge. 探花直播<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-023-00139-9">results</a> are reported in the journal <em>Nature Water</em>.</p> <p>鈥淏ringing together solar fuels production and water purification in a single device is tricky,鈥 said Dr Chanon Pornrungroj from Cambridge鈥檚 Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, the paper鈥檚 co-lead author. 鈥淪olar-driven water splitting, where water molecules are broken down into hydrogen and oxygen, need to start with totally pure water because any contaminants can poison the catalyst or cause unwanted chemical side-reactions.鈥</p> <p>鈥淚n remote or developing regions, where clean water is relatively scarce and the infrastructure necessary for water purification is not readily available, water splitting is extremely difficult,鈥 said co-lead author Ariffin Mohamad Annuar. 鈥淎 device that could work using contaminated water could solve two problems at once: it could split water to make clean fuel, and it could make clean drinking water.鈥</p> <p>Pornrungroj and Mohamad Annuar, who are both members of Professor Erwin Reisner鈥檚 research group, came up with a design that did just that. They deposited a photocatalyst on a nanostructured carbon mesh that is a good absorber of both light and heat, generating the water vapour used by the photocatalyst to create hydrogen. 探花直播porous carbon mesh, treated to repel water, served both to help the photocatalyst float and to keep it away from the water below, so that contaminants do not interfere with its functionality.</p> <p>In addition, the new device uses more of the Sun鈥檚 energy. 鈥 探花直播light-driven process for making solar fuels only uses a small portion of the solar spectrum 鈥 there鈥檚 a whole lot of the spectrum that goes unused,鈥 said Mohamad Annuar.</p> <p> 探花直播team used a white, UV-absorbing layer on top of the floating device for hydrogen production via water splitting. 探花直播rest of the light in the solar spectrum is transmitted to the bottom of the device, which vaporises the water.</p> <p>鈥淭his way, we鈥檙e making better use of the light 鈥 we get the vapour for hydrogen production, and the rest is water vapour,鈥 said Pornrungroj. 鈥淭his way, we鈥檙e truly mimicking a real leaf, since we鈥檝e now been able to incorporate the process of transpiration.鈥</p> <p>A device that can make clean fuel and clean water at once using solar power alone could help address the energy and the water crises facing so many parts of the world. For example, the indoor air pollution caused by cooking with 鈥榙irty鈥 fuels, such as kerosene, is responsible for more than three million deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization. Cooking with green hydrogen instead could help reduce that number significantly. And 1.8 billion people worldwide still lack safe drinking water at home.</p> <p>鈥淚t鈥檚 such a simple design as well: in just a few steps, we can build a device that works well on water from a wide variety of sources,鈥 said Mohamad Annuar.</p> <p>鈥淚t鈥檚 so tolerant of pollutants, and the floating design allows the substrate to work in very cloudy or muddy water,鈥 said Pornrungroj. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a highly versatile system.鈥</p> <p>鈥淥ur device is still a proof of principle, but these are the sorts of solutions we will need if we鈥檙e going to develop a truly circular economy and sustainable future,鈥 said Reisner, who led the research. 鈥 探花直播climate crisis and issues around pollution and health are closely related, and developing an approach that could help address both would be a game-changer for so many people.鈥</p> <p> 探花直播research was supported in part by the European Commission鈥檚 Horizon 2020 programme, 探花直播European Research Council, the Cambridge Trust, the Petronas Education Sponsorship Programme, and the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability. Erwin Reisner is a Fellow of St John鈥檚 College. Chanon Pornrungroj is a member of Darwin College, and Ariffin Mohamad Annuar is a member of Clare College.</p> <p><em><strong>Reference:</strong><br /> Chanon Pornrungroj, Ariffin Bin Mohamad Annuar et al. 鈥<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-023-00139-9">Hybrid photothermal-photocatalyst sheets for solar-driven overall water splitting coupled to water purification.</a>鈥 Nature Water (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s44221-023-00139-9</em></p> <p><em><strong>For more information on聽energy-related research in Cambridge, please visit the <a href="https://www.energy.cam.ac.uk/">Energy聽IRC</a>, which brings together Cambridge鈥檚 research knowledge and expertise, in collaboration with global partners, to create solutions for a sustainable and resilient energy landscape for generations to come.聽</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>A floating, solar-powered device that can turn contaminated water or seawater into clean hydrogen fuel and purified water, anywhere in the world, has been developed by researchers.</p> </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">These are the sorts of solutions we will need to develop a truly circular economy and sustainable future</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote-name field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Erwin Reisner</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/" target="_blank">Chanon Pornrungroj</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-desctiprion field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Device for making solar fuels on the River Cam near the Bridge of Sighs</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License." src="/sites/www.cam.ac.uk/files/inner-images/cc-by-nc-sa-4-license.png" style="border-width: 0px; width: 88px; height: 31px;" /></a><br /> 探花直播text in this work is licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏 探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥 as here, on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div> Mon, 13 Nov 2023 16:21:43 +0000 sc604 243191 at Cambridge Zero highlights 探花直播 efforts at Climate Week NYC /news/cambridge-zero-highlights-university-efforts-at-climate-week-nyc <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/news/thomas-habr-6nmnrajpq7m-unsplash_0.jpg?itok=q1UUSWY_" alt="Photo of New York" title="Credit: Credit: Paul Casciato/ 探花直播 of Cambridge" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Cambridge Zero Director Professor Emily Shuckburgh took centre stage at the world's biggest climate event of its kind in New York to talk to global leaders of government, business and philanthropy about Cambridge鈥檚 efforts to tackle climate change.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>At the opening ceremony of Climate Week NYC, Professor Shuckburgh offered a glimpse of optimism and urged everyone assembled to press on with implementing the urgent efforts needed this decade to tackle climate change.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>"We have all the building blocks...we just simply haven't put them together, yet," she said.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Professor Shuckburgh appeared at Climate Week's main stage for one of the key discussions on the <em>"New frontiers of Climate Action"</em>. Joining her were:</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Clarkson聽(Corpus Christi 1993) Chief Executive Officer of the Climate Group which organises Climate Week</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kate Brandt聽(Selwyn 2007) Chief Sustainability Officer of Google</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Judith Weise聽Chief People &amp; Sustainability Officer of Siemens AG聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p> 探花直播four women discussed聽the innovation and investment needed to achieve net zero. In particular, Professor Shuckburgh talked about what the聽 探花直播 of Cambridge聽is doing.</p>&#13; &#13; <p></p>&#13; &#13; <p>She mentioned Cambridge research on materials, batteries, photovoltaics, the Cambridge ecosystem for innovation, including Cambridge research on AI, aviation, the Centre for Landscape Regeneration and the ground-breaking work of the聽Cambridge Conservation Initiative.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>She also mentioned how Cambridge is making efforts to support a more just transition around the world with the support of the聽Mastercard Foundation聽Programme with African institutions and scholars.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>"Green innovation is going to be absolutely essential to our future...[and] one of the things we've been talking a lot about in Cambridge is not just how we can ensure that we are benefiting the UK, but also how we can collaborate externally."</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Climate Week NYC takes place in partnership with the United Nations General Assembly and is run in coordination with the United Nations and the City of New York. It is the largest annual climate event of its kind, bringing together some 400 events and activities across the City of New York 鈥 in person, hybrid and online.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>This year it centred around the UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General鈥檚 Climate Ambition Summit as well as hundreds of national government, business and climate group initiatives, making it a unique opportunity for Cambridge to communicate with the world.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On Wednesday evening, just hours after the UN Secretary-General鈥檚 Climate Ambition Summit concluded at the nearby headquarters of the United Nations, Professor Shuckburgh took part in聽Mission Possible: Creating a Better Planetary Future, an alumni event hosted by聽Cambridge in America at the Morgan Library in New York.聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Professor Shuckburgh was joined by Professor of Planetary Computing Anil Madhavapeddy聽(Pembroke) and Fiona Macklin (St John鈥檚 2012), Senior Adviser to Groundswell, a joint initiative between Bezos Earth Fund, Global Optimism and the Systems Change Lab.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> 探花直播panel focused on the technological and behavioural solutions available to build a sustainable future for the whole planet and was chaired by Professor Matthew Connelly, the new Director of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the 探花直播 of Cambridge.聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p>鈥淥ur alumni network is one of Cambridge鈥檚 greatest pillars of support and with their help the 探花直播 is able to amplify its work, linking one of the world鈥檚 top research universities to peer institutions, policymakers and business leaders,鈥 Professor Shuckburgh said. 聽聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Throughout the visit to New York, Professor Shuckburgh met with dozens of supporters, policymakers, business, industry and climate leaders in a packed schedule, with only brief moments to spare.聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During a brief interlude between engagements, she managed to show up and support new initiative聽Climate Basecamp, which sponsored an "endangered flavors" ice cream stand at Union Square with TV screenwriter Chuck Tatham, whose hits include: Modern Family, Arrested Development and How I Met Your Mother.聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p>While there she also shared a selfie and a chat with fellow climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe.</p>&#13; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Cambridge Zero Director Professor Emily Shuckburgh took centre stage at the world's biggest climate event of its kind in New York to talk to global leaders of government, business and philanthropy about Cambridge鈥檚 efforts to tackle climate change.</p>&#13; </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">We have all the building blocks...we just simply haven&#039;t put them together, yet</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote-name field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Prof Emily Shuckburgh</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-media field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div id="file-214001" class="file file-video file-video-youtube"> <h2 class="element-invisible"><a href="/file/facing-the-new-reality-climate-week-nyc-opening-ceremony">Facing 探花直播New Reality - Climate Week NYC Opening Ceremony</a></h2> <div class="content"> <div class="cam-video-container media-youtube-video media-youtube-1 "> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/lCCONXOt9Nc?wmode=opaque&controls=1&rel=0&autohide=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> </div> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/" target="_blank">Credit: Paul Casciato/ 探花直播 of Cambridge</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-slideshow field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/sites/default/files/panel_photo4.png" title="Kate Brandt (Google), Helen Clarkson (Climate Group), Emily Shuckburgh (Cambridge), Judith Weise (Siemens)" class="colorbox" data-colorbox-gallery="" data-cbox-img-attrs="{&quot;title&quot;: &quot;Kate Brandt (Google), Helen Clarkson (Climate Group), Emily Shuckburgh (Cambridge), Judith Weise (Siemens)&quot;, &quot;alt&quot;: &quot;&quot;}"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow/public/panel_photo4.png?itok=2_KHzogC" width="590" height="288" alt="" title="Kate Brandt (Google), Helen Clarkson (Climate Group), Emily Shuckburgh (Cambridge), Judith Weise (Siemens)" /></a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/sites/default/files/shuckburgh_and_hayhoe.png" title="Emily Shuckburgh and Katharine Hayhoe" class="colorbox" data-colorbox-gallery="" data-cbox-img-attrs="{&quot;title&quot;: &quot;Emily Shuckburgh and Katharine Hayhoe&quot;, &quot;alt&quot;: &quot;&quot;}"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow/public/shuckburgh_and_hayhoe.png?itok=PxS4lP78" width="590" height="288" alt="" title="Emily Shuckburgh and Katharine Hayhoe" /></a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/sites/default/files/shuckburgh_and_tatham.png" title="Emily Shuckburgh and Chuck Tatham" class="colorbox" data-colorbox-gallery="" data-cbox-img-attrs="{&quot;title&quot;: &quot;Emily Shuckburgh and Chuck Tatham&quot;, &quot;alt&quot;: &quot;&quot;}"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow/public/shuckburgh_and_tatham.png?itok=U5KWOsu5" width="590" height="288" alt="" title="Emily Shuckburgh and Chuck Tatham" /></a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/sites/default/files/panel_cam.png" title="Anil Madhavapeddy, Fiona Macklin, Emily Shuckburgh, Matthew Connelly" class="colorbox" data-colorbox-gallery="" data-cbox-img-attrs="{&quot;title&quot;: &quot;Anil Madhavapeddy, Fiona Macklin, Emily Shuckburgh, Matthew Connelly&quot;, &quot;alt&quot;: &quot;&quot;}"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow/public/panel_cam.png?itok=LxZpkY1S" width="590" height="288" alt="" title="Anil Madhavapeddy, Fiona Macklin, Emily Shuckburgh, Matthew Connelly" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License." src="/sites/www.cam.ac.uk/files/inner-images/cc-by-nc-sa-4-license.png" style="border-width: 0px; width: 88px; height: 31px;" /></a><br />&#13; 探花直播text in this work is licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏 探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥 as here, on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p>&#13; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-license-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Licence type:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/imagecredit/public-domain">Public Domain</a></div></div></div> Fri, 06 Oct 2023 14:29:51 +0000 plc32 242431 at Clean, sustainable fuels made 鈥榝rom thin air鈥 and plastic waste /research/news/clean-sustainable-fuels-made-from-thin-air-and-plastic-waste <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/research/news/2-capture-conversion-no-text-crop-2.jpg?itok=BpKOhSXg" alt="Carbon capture from air and its photoelectrochemical conversion into fuel with simultaneous waste plastic conversion into chemicals." title="Carbon capture from air and its photoelectrochemical conversion into fuel with simultaneous waste plastic conversion into chemicals., Credit: Ariffin Mohamad Annuar" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p> 探花直播researchers, from the 探花直播 of Cambridge, developed a solar-powered reactor that converts captured CO2 and plastic waste into sustainable fuels and other valuable chemical products. In tests, CO2 was converted into syngas, a key building block for sustainable liquid fuels, and plastic bottles were converted into glycolic acid, which is widely used in the cosmetics industry.</p> <p>Unlike earlier tests of their solar fuels technology however, the team took CO2 from real-world sources 鈥 such as industrial exhaust or the air itself. 探花直播researchers were able to capture and concentrate the CO2 and convert it into sustainable fuel.</p> <p>Although improvements are needed before this technology can be used at an industrial scale, the <a href="https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(23)00219-2">results</a>, reported in the journal <em>Joule</em>, represent another important step toward the production of clean fuels to power the economy, without the need for environmentally destructive oil and gas extraction.</p> <p>For several years, Professor Erwin Reisner鈥檚 <a href="http://www-reisner.ch.cam.ac.uk/">research group</a>, based in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, has been developing sustainable, net-zero carbon fuels inspired by photosynthesis 鈥 the process by which plants convert sunlight into food 鈥 using artificial leaves. These artificial leaves convert CO2 and water into fuels using just the power of the sun.</p> <p>To date, their solar-driven experiments have used pure, concentrated CO2 from a cylinder, but for the technology to be of practical use, it needs to be able to actively capture CO2 from industrial processes, or directly from the air. However, since CO2 is just one of many types of molecules in the air we breathe, making this technology selective enough to convert highly diluted CO2 is a huge technical challenge.</p> <p>鈥淲e鈥檙e not just interested in decarbonisation, but de-fossilisation 鈥 we need to completely eliminate fossil fuels in order to create a truly circular economy,鈥 said Reisner. 鈥淚n the medium term, this technology could help reduce carbon emissions by capturing them from industry and turning them into something useful, but ultimately, we need to cut fossil fuels out of the equation entirely and capture CO2 from the air.鈥</p> <p> 探花直播researchers took their inspiration from carbon capture and storage (CCS), where CO2 is captured and then pumped and stored underground.</p> <p>鈥淐CS is a technology that鈥檚 popular with the fossil fuel industry as a way to reduce carbon emissions while continuing oil and gas exploration,鈥 said Reisner. 鈥淏ut if instead of carbon capture and storage, we had carbon capture and utilisation, we could make something useful from CO2 instead of burying it underground, with unknown long-term consequences, and eliminate the use of fossil fuels.鈥</p> <p> 探花直播researchers adapted their solar-driven technology so that it works with flue gas or directly from the air, converting CO2 and plastics into fuel and chemicals using only the power of the sun.</p> <p>By bubbling air through the system containing an alkaline solution, the CO2 selectively gets trapped, and the other gases present in air, such as nitrogen and oxygen, harmlessly bubble out. This bubbling process allows the researchers to concentrate the CO2 from air in solution, making it easier to work with.</p> <p> 探花直播integrated system contains a photocathode and an anode. 探花直播system has two compartments: on one side is captured CO2 solution that gets converted into syngas, a simple fuel. On the other plastics are converted into useful chemicals using only sunlight. 聽</p> <p>鈥 探花直播plastic component is an important trick to this system,鈥 said co-first author Dr Motiar Rahaman. 鈥淐apturing and using CO2 from the air makes the chemistry more difficult. But, if we add plastic waste to the system, the plastic donates electrons to the CO2. 探花直播plastic breaks down to glycolic acid, which is widely used in the cosmetics industry, and the CO2 is converted into syngas, which is a simple fuel.鈥</p> <p>鈥淭his solar-powered system takes two harmful waste products 鈥 plastic and carbon emissions 鈥 and converts them into something truly useful,鈥 said co-first author Dr Sayan Kar.</p> <p>鈥淚nstead of storing CO2 underground, like in CCS, we can capture it from the air and make clean fuel from it,鈥 said Rahaman. 鈥淭his way, we can cut out the fossil fuel industry from the process of fuel production, which can hopefully help us avoid climate destruction.鈥</p> <p>鈥 探花直播fact that we can effectively take CO2 from air and make something useful from it is special,鈥 said Kar. 鈥淚t鈥檚 satisfying to see that we can actually do it using only sunlight.鈥</p> <p> 探花直播scientists are currently working on a bench-top demonstrator device with improved efficiency and practicality to highlight the benefits of coupling direct air capture with CO2 utilisation as a path to a zero-carbon future.</p> <p> 探花直播research was supported in part by the Weizmann Institute of Science, the European Commission Marie Sk艂odowska-Curie Fellowship, the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Erwin Reisner is a Fellow and Motiar Rahaman is a Research Associate of St John鈥檚 College, Cambridge. Erwin Reisner leads the <a href="https://www.energy.cam.ac.uk/Plastic_Waste">Cambridge Circular Plastics Centre</a> (CirPlas), which aims to eliminate plastic waste by combining blue-sky thinking with practical measures.</p> <p>聽</p> <p><em><strong>Reference:</strong><br /> Sayan Kar, Motiar Rahaman et al. 鈥<a href="https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(23)00219-2">Integrated Capture and Solar-driven Utilization of CO2 from Flue Gas and Air</a>.鈥 Joule (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2023.05.022</em></p> <p><em><strong>For more information on聽energy-related research in Cambridge, please visit聽<a href="https://www.energy.cam.ac.uk/">Energy聽IRC</a>, which brings together Cambridge鈥檚 research knowledge and expertise, in collaboration with global partners, to create solutions for a sustainable and resilient energy landscape for generations to come.聽</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Researchers have demonstrated how carbon dioxide can be captured from industrial processes 鈥 or even directly from the air 鈥 and transformed into clean, sustainable fuels using just the energy from the sun.</p> </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">We鈥檙e not just interested in decarbonisation, but de-fossilisation 鈥 we need to completely eliminate fossil fuels in order to create a truly circular economy</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote-name field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Erwin Reisner</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/" target="_blank">Ariffin Mohamad Annuar</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-desctiprion field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Carbon capture from air and its photoelectrochemical conversion into fuel with simultaneous waste plastic conversion into chemicals.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License." src="/sites/www.cam.ac.uk/files/inner-images/cc-by-nc-sa-4-license.png" style="border-width: 0px; width: 88px; height: 31px;" /></a><br /> 探花直播text in this work is licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏 探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥 as here, on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div> Mon, 19 Jun 2023 15:15:53 +0000 sc604 239941 at