As the UK gradually moves away from fossil fuels, new challenges are arising in electricity generation and distribution. While coal, gas and oil power stations produce climate-changing CO2, they have one great advantage in that they are very flexible. Power stations can be fired up or shut down at short notice, reacting quickly to electricity demand.
Low-carbon forms of energy tend to be less flexible.
Sun, wind and tide power do not provide a constant, reliable supply, while nuclear power stations must remain on all the time and cannot react to spikes in demand. If electricity supply is to remain reliable as the proportion of no-carbon generation rises, we will need ways to store power in large quantities to smooth out the supply.
UCL, along with partner institutions, has been granted a large grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to investigate novel ways of storing power. The UCL component, shared between UCL Chemistry and UCL Chemical Engineering focuses on battery technologies.
The device pictured above is a testing rig for small scale button cell batteries, carrying out an experiment in UCL Chemistry. Characterising small batteries like these is one step along the path to designing better energy storage technology on larger scales.
Photo credit: O. Usher (UCL MAPS)
Links
High resolution image
This image can be reproduced freely providing the source is credited
EU Referendum
EU referendum: UCL Provost’s message to students and staff
In light of the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, UCL President & Provost Professor Michael Arthur assures UCL students and staff from EU countries that they will continue to be as valued and as welcome as before. Professor Arthur also confirms that there will be no immediate changes to arrangements for EU staff and students.
Open Days
The Faculty participates in a number of open days throughout the academic year, including the UCL Undergraduate Open Days and the UCL Graduate Open Day.
Friends of Out@UCL
Professor Ivan Parkin - Dean, UCL Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
“I fully support the aims of the Friends of Out@UCL campaign. I have personal experience of the need for such a campaign and the difficulties that the LGBTQ+ community face.” Read more…
Snapshots from Space History
Online exhibition of historic space photos from the faculty’s planetary science archives.