Energy

Topic description and stories

Research is tackling the need to reduce energy demand, maintain energy supply, increase the efficiency of energy-requiring processes, and develop policy and pricing strategies. To find out more about our research in energy, visit the Energy Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) website.

What now for the future of energy?

22 Feb 2013

Alarming headlines this week claimed that we are dangerously close to power shortages and teetering on the brink of a major ‘energy crisis’...

Thermogram of a Passivhaus with a traditional house in the background., Credit: Passivhaus Institut via Wikimedia Commons.

Energy efficiency and human behaviour

18 Feb 2013

Are buildings that consume less energy really more energy efficient as a result? As the University of Cambridge begins Switch Off Week, researcher...

Europe pledges one billion euros on graphene as platform for emerging technologies

28 Jan 2013

A major research initiative which will create a European network of academics and companies working on graphene has been approved, with the...

Smarter infrastructure

10 Jan 2013

A team from the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction has developed a mechanical amplifier which converts ambient vibrations into...

Detail from a hybrid three-dimensional heterostructure consisting of graphene, boron nitride and molybdenum disulphide in two dimensional layers.

Changing our material future, layer by layer

20 Dec 2012

Researchers are aiming to develop a new class of materials with remarkable properties using one atom-thick substances such as graphene and other two...

Initial ISI-MIP simulation showing the effects on vegetation productivity at the highest emissions scenario (reduction: red to yellow; increase: green to blue)

Modelling impacts of a warming world

03 Oct 2012

A community-driven modelling effort aims to quantify one of the gravest of global uncertainties: the impact of global warming on the world’s food...

Energy efficiency symposium - new attendees welcome

24 Jul 2012

Inaugural event will explore some of the latest in energy research.

Thermal image of two people standing outside a building. The study found that in many European countries, including the UK, predicted energy usage in homes bears little resemblance to the amount used in practice.

The prebound effect

03 Jul 2012

Many homes with poor energy efficiency are actually consuming far less energy than predicted, new research has found. The study has implications for...

The galaxy NGC 4151. Researchers were able to use this galaxy to accumulate data about flares coming from a mysterious X-ray source close to the giant black hole at its centre.

“Echo” of light augurs new era in study of black holes

31 May 2012

A long-sought “echo” of light that promises to reveal more about supersized black holes in distant galaxies has been identified by an international...