In the field of power generation, as in most other industrial sectors, Britain is quietly developing a research and design base to replace its lost manufacturing activities. The findings from its many initiatives mean that the country’s researchers are being enabled to change the face of power generation globally. Eric Russell reports.

With an unprecedented act of long term thinking, the British government is helping fund research into power generation over four-year timescales.

Professor Peter Hall, of Strathclyde University, says this has changed the face of UK research. Previously, research was thought of in single projects, managed by a single student, and the results filed, perhaps never to see the light of day again. Now, researchers can plan for the long term and develop stronger relationships with other academicians and commercial organisations. The results of research projects under these circumstances should be improved, particularly in the area of commercial implementation.

Consortia of universities and commercial organisations have been recruited to research different aspects of the power generation industry under the Supergen, Sustainable Power Generation and Supply, umbrella. These are detailed at www.epsrc.ac.uk/ResearchFunding/Programmes/Energy/Funding/SUPERGEN/default.htm.

The results will have repercussions beyond Britain and act as an international yardstick. The resulting technologies can be sold to countries wishing to bring their power networks up to today's standards and to ensure they are fit for purpose in tomorrow's environment.

The consortia fall broadly into two groups, those trying to improve on today's technologies; and those looking to bring in new materials and products that will meet tomorrow's power generation demands. These are covered in a separate article.

Sweating the assets

In a move that makes economic sense, the Conventional Power Plant Lifetime Extension group aims to gain the most out of existing plant. It is developing tools and methods to help extend the lifetime of current fossil fuel fired power generation plants. The consortium's researchers are tackling challenges in monitoring the condition of power plants, degradation of materials and modelling mechanical behaviour.

Inspecting a power plant is extremely costly especially when major components have to be stripped down. The consortium is developing miniaturised and on-line condition monitoring tools to assess the in-situ state of power plant components. These tools will reduce costs and provide important condition assessment information.

In the area of environmental degradation and protection, research is focusing on characterising the environmental degradation of selected power plant materials in order to develop predictive lifetime models for critical components. Changes are happening in the way that power plants are operated so that environmental targets can be met. Research will quantify the effect of the changes on plant life.

The microstructure and properties of high temperature power plant materials can degrade as a function of time, temperature, environment and stress. The consortium's researchers are characterising and quantifying microstructural changes which occur in service in order to accurately predict their effect on remaining service life.

In the area of modelling of mechanical behaviour, research aims to improve life prediction and failure assessment methods for critical high temperature component parts in power plants, such as welded joints in steam plant and coated components in gas turbines.

Finally, the consortium will bring together all the results, methods, hardware and software into a single life assessment toolbox, and form a network of expertise to support the UK power generation and supply industry.

Deeper research

Other consortia may be tracking over previous ground when they research existing techniques. But the nature of Supergen means that each subject will be looked at more deeply and the results circulated more widely.

Biomass, for example, has been studied for some considerable time. Now, the Supergen Bioenergy Consortium is researching power generation from vegetable matter, especially fast growing crops such as miscanthus, switchgrass and reed canary grass that will thrive in a range of climates.

It is also looking at the impacts of biomass on the environment and the rural economy. This is to make sure that energy production is sustainable and to find out how farming practices may need to change to grow energy crops rather than food crops.

The bioenergy system can be divided into production: energy crops, agricultural wastes, short rotation forestry and forest wastes; conversion: combustion, gasification, pyrolysis; and utilisation: engines, turbines, fuel cells and boilers. Researchers in the consortium are investigating how the technological aspects of bioenergy interact with each other and the environment, economy and society.

Deeper research is also the order of the day in the Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Consortium. Hydrogen energy has already been tested in a number of cities and the group is taking a multidisciplinary approach to the many problems associated with turning hydrogen into a commercial fuel source.

Current hydrogen generation processes centre mainly on the thermal conversion of fossil fuels or the electrolysis of water. The consortium is focusing on developing and optimising the biological generation of sustainable hydrogen from renewable resources such as biomass using fermentation.

Storage study

Being able to store hydrogen is very important to its use as an energy source. The science and technology of hydrogen storage is a significant proportion of the consortium's research activities. The aim is to advance the state-of-the-art in safe and cost-effective hydrogen storage materials.

Researchers are investigating the complex nano-scale processes which accompany the sorption and desorption of hydrogen in a range of advanced storage materials. Materials being investigated include porous carbons, metal-organics, carbon nanofibres, zeolitic materials and light metal hydrides. Researchers are also searching for new hydrogen storage materials.

As well as researching some of the technological aspects of hydrogen energy, the consortium is also investigating the socio-economic implications. They are studying how acceptable and feasible hydrogen is as an energy carrier through projects including public awareness, acceptability, economic impact analysis and regulation. This gives the consortium the opportunity to interrogate the viability and acceptability of technological solutions, performance requirements and science and technology research priorities.

Offshore, there is still a lot to learn about marine energy resources says the Marine Energy Research Consortium and it aims to make marine energy more attractive to investors, reducing investment risk and uncertainty through greater knowledge.

The consortium's researchers are working on methods to increase understanding of the nature and size of recoverable, sustainable and renewable marine energy resources. This includes work on appraising energy resources and the interaction between converters and the fluid environment; on developing methodologies for device optimisation and development; and on engineering guidance.

In the area of energy conversion, delivery and storage, research is focusing on offshore energy conversion and power conditioning, chemical conversion and transport, network interaction and novel control systems for converters. Research is also being carried out on moorings and foundations, validation and laboratory testing of devices.

Fuel cells

The Fuel Cells consortium is tackling the considerable challenges associated with making powerful, durable fuel cells. Researchers are working on three types of fuel cell technology and considering how cells can run on a variety of fuels including anything from bio alcohol to diesel.

One technology is based on a thick-film solid oxide fuel cell with zero leakage and researchers are addressing the technical challenges of producing such material. Success would significantly improve fuel cell durability by halving the present degradation rate, substantially improving the power density of existing fuel cells, and improving fuel flexibility to cover renewable and logistic fuels.

Areas of investigation include polymer electrolyte fuel cells, fuels, solid oxide fuel cell anodes cathodes and electrolytes, novel routes to powders and components, characterisation techniques, fuel cell modelling, high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells, high temperature and metal-supported intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells and military applications.

To store generated electricity, the Energy Storage Consortium will be developing new materials to improve rechargeable lithium ion battery and supercapacitor technology. The new technologies could be very important for storing energy from renewable resources and for using in hybrid electric vehicles.

It says cheap and efficient energy storage is essential for any power grid that gets 15 per cent or more of its energy from renewable sources. This is because energy sources such as wind or wave turbines provide power intermittently.

The consortium involves electrochemists, materials chemists, chemical engineers and electrical engineers. The consortium’s researchers are working on producing devices for energy storage and on the application of devices. Most of the work in device production is on producing new nanostructured materials to improve the performance or capabilities of lithium ion batteries and electrochemical supercapacitors.

Research includes the production of new carbons and metal oxides for electrodes, materials modelling and device testing. In applications, research is focusing on designing, modelling and producing devices suited to power grid interfacing and the automotive industry.

The comprehensive and co-ordinated approach of the Supergen initiative will deliver a strong set of results that will provide one of the strongest foundations for the power generating industry. The findings will be Britain's new future in a world where IP is a valuable and tradable commodity.