Tuesday 14 February 2017

Midlands’ universities team up on decarbonisation

A new scheme aims to develop new energy technologies and decarbonise the Midlands by 2050.

The Midlands Innovation initiative is made up of six universities across the region - Aston, Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham and Warwick.

The group's Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) has secured £60 million of government funding and £120 million from industry to drive the transition to a low carbon economy.

It will bring together 450 academics from across the different research institutions to find ways to make better use of resources, create smart systems, reduce dependence on imports, enhance energy security and help to achieve the UK’s carbon reduction targets.

These energy projects will be split into three main categories - geo-energy, energy storage and thermal energy.

Collectively the six universities account for 10% of the UK’s total research staff, attract 90% of the region’s publically funded research, add more than £2 billion in gross value added to the region’s economy and support 60,000 jobs.

The group is aligned with the Midlands Engine for Growth, the region’s counterpart to the Northern Powerhouse.