Government funds to continue carbon research at University of Sheffield

The UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre (UKCCSRC) has been given the money to continue its work in the field.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has given £6.1 million of funding for the centre. An additional £1.5 million is also expected from partner institutions.

The University of Sheffield leads the carbon capture and storage centre which includes 10 other partner institutions. Based in Sheffield, the funding will allow the centre to deliver a core research programme as well as providing finance for additional collaborative projects.

Carbon capture and storage is a low carbon technology which captures carbon dioxide that is emitted from the burning of coal, gas or biomass for energy generation, or from manufacturing processes.

The carbon dioxide is then pumped deep underground where it is permanently stored and unable to re-enter the atmosphere.

A report published last month by the International Energy Agency and the International Renewable Energy Agency ahead of the G20 meeting, again emphasised the importance of carbon capture and storage in reducing global emissions from heavy industry as well as from energy generation.

Professor Jon Gibbins, UKCCSRC director and professor of power plant engineering and carbon capture from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield, said: “The continued investment in the centre demonstrates the importance of the technology going forward in the UK.

“Our centre benefits from the expertise of leading academics from Sheffield and the 10 other partner institutions, as well as knowledge from industry and government.

“This new funding will allow us to build on the progress we have made and strengthen our research with new funding calls and support for early career researchers.

"This will help ensure that our industries and consumers are able to see the benefits of CCS in the 2020s.”

Professor Mike Hounslow, vice-president and head of the Faculty of Engineering, said: "carbon capture and storage is an important area of energy research in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sheffield.

"We are immensely proud of our leading academics who continue to further global understanding of this area.

“I am pleased that the work of the UKCCSRC has been secured for a further five years and that Sheffield and its institutional partners will continue to work together with industry and government to develop CCS technology in the UK."

The centre operates as a virtual network where academics, industry, regulators and others in the sector collaborate to analyse problems, devise and carry out world-leading research, and share delivery, thus maximising impact.

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