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

Harnessing the power of algae: new, greener fuel cells move step closer to reality

10 Jan 2018

A new design of algae-powered fuel cells that is five times more efficient than existing plant and algal models, as well as being potentially more...

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Unsplash

Clean energy: experts outline how governments can successfully invest before it’s too late

06 Dec 2017

Researchers distil twenty years of lessons from clean energy funding into six ‘guiding principles’. They argue that governments must eschew constant...

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Report highlights opportunities and risks associated with synthetic biology and bioengineering

21 Nov 2017

Human genome editing, 3D-printed replacement organs and artificial photosynthesis – the field of bioengineering offers great promise for tackling the...

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Carbon capture: universities and industry work together to tackle emissions

25 Oct 2017

An international collaboration between universities and industry will further develop carbon capture and storage technology – one of the best hopes...

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Winton Symposium tackles the challenge of energy storage and distribution

11 Oct 2017

The sixth annual Winton Symposium will be held on 9 November at the University’s Cavendish Laboratory on the theme of Energy Storage and Distribution.

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The GLA building’s solar panels. Perovskite solar cells are already challenging the energy-efficiency of silicon cells such as these.

10 quadrillionths of a second to extraction: Researchers set time limit for ultrafast perovskite solar cells

21 Sep 2017

Researchers have quantified the astonishingly high speeds at which future solar cells would have to operate in order to stretch what are presently...

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'The concoction of light with water and oxygen molecules leads to substantial defect-healing in metal halide perovskite semiconductors

Defects in next-generation solar cells can be healed with light

06 Sep 2017

Researchers have shown that defects in the molecular structure of perovskites – a material which could revolutionise the solar cell industry – can be...

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Bismuth oxyiodide light absorbers

Non-toxic alternative for next-generation solar cells

18 Jul 2017

Researchers have demonstrated how a non-toxic alternative to lead could form the basis of next-generation solar cells.

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Artistic representation of one of the encapsulated tellurium nanowire types predicted by researchers.

Scientists construct a stable one-dimensional metallic material

19 May 2017

Researchers have developed the world’s thinnest metallic nanowire, which could be used to miniaturise many of the electronic components we use every...

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Close-up of a leaf showing its veins

Leaf vein structure could hold key to extending battery life

06 Apr 2017

The natural structure found within leaves could improve the performance of everything from rechargeable batteries to high-performance gas sensors...

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Paper releasing gaseous hydrogen under solar light

Scientists harness solar power to produce clean hydrogen from biomass

14 Mar 2017

A team of scientists at the University of Cambridge has developed a way of using solar power to generate a fuel that is both sustainable and...

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Dar Es Salaam

A sewage system that ‘digests’ and ‘cooks’ human waste

10 Feb 2017

Student volunteers Susannah Duck and Izhan Khan describe working with a Tanzanian community to install a system that turns sewage into essential...

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