Centre for Advanced Materials for Renewable Energy Generation

如果世界要实现《联合国气候变化框架公约》第21次缔约方会议商定的碳排放目标，可再生能源和低碳能源需要更具竞争力。CAMREG汇集了尖端材料研究人员，他们将跨越学科界限工作，以提高可再生能源技术的耐用性、可靠性、实用性、性能和能源产量。该中心的目的是将各种现有基础和应用材料科学能力的活动、专门知识和设施结合起来，以应对可再生能源发电方面的已知和新出现的挑战，包括陆上和近海风能、海浪、潮汐、常规和下一代太阳能光伏发电和能源储存。CAMREG将支持并加速在英国建立或扩大可行和可持续的可再生能源产业。拟议的中心在可再生能源的许多领域提供广泛和相当深入的材料研究能力和能力，旨在降低消费者的总体能源水平成本。该中心涉及以下3个主题中的4个建议领域：用于能源应用的多功能材料；用于能源转换和储存的材料；以及用于能源应用的智能材料。研究领域包括：高效的光伏和储能材料；提高发电机功率密度的材料；风电和潮汐涡轮机复合材料叶片的改进设计和测试；检测风力叶片早期损伤的智能材料和光学涂层；将叶片和海上支撑塔的侵蚀和腐蚀降至最低的智能涂层；结构钢的轻量化设计；部件的大规模结构测试；更好的材料疲劳和故障管理；更低维护的材料，提高耐磨性和腐蚀性；超导材料，以更少的损失远距离输送电力；高温陶瓷和熔盐储能；CAMREG是爱丁堡、克兰菲尔德和斯特拉斯克莱德三所研究密集型大学的合作伙伴关系，将汇集和联系RCUK在能源研究和培训方面的许多投资的兴趣、能力和网络，并积累200多个行业联系：通过3个SuperGen枢纽、海洋UKCMER、风能和电力网络；4个EPSRC博士培训中心-风能系统、风能和海洋能源系统、离岸可再生能源结构和海洋综合传感和测量；EPSRC离岸可再生能源工业博士中心和DECC SLIC(离岸风能结构生命周期)联合行业项目-全球最大的行业资助的离岸可再生能源相关材料和结构研究项目，涉及认证机构(DNV-GL和LR)和欧洲10家最大的能源公用事业公司。该中心还将回应设备开发商、项目规划者、立法者和同意机构的需求和经验，学术合作伙伴将继续与英国主要政策利益攸关方密切合作。CAMREG支持现有公认的可再生能源和材料科学研究中心的努力，并鼓励与在互补领域工作的新研究小组建立网络，并将这些中心连接成一个协调的国家网络。预期的国家影响包括：通过增加取代化石燃料的潜力而带来的环境效益；通过扩大就业和从现有近海能源行业转移人力而带来的经济效益；通过减少对进口燃料的依赖以及随着本土煤炭、石油和天然气产量的下降而增加电力供应的多样性、安全性和复原力。

Renewable and low carbon energy sources need to be more competitive if the world is to meet the carbon emissions targets agreed in COP21. CAMREG brings together cutting edge materials researchers who will work across discipline boundaries to increase renewable energy technology durability, reliability, utility, performance and energy yield. The aim of the Centre is to combine activity, know-how and facilities from a wide range of existing fundamental and applied materials science capacity to address the known and emerging challenges in renewable energy generation, including on- and off-shore wind, wave, tidal, conventional and next-generation solar photovoltaics and energy storage. CAMREG will support and hasten the establishment or expansion of viable and sustainable renewable energy industries in the UK. The proposed centre offers a wide breadth and considerable depth of materials research capability and capacity in many areas of renewable energy and is aimed at reducing the overall levelised cost of energy to the consumer. The centre addresses 4 of the suggested areas in the Call in the following 3 themes: multifunctional materials for energy applications; materials for energy conversion & storage and smart materials for energy applications. Research areas include: efficient materials for PV and energy storage; materials for increased power density in electrical generators; improved design and testing of composite blades for wind and tidal turbines; smart materials and optical coatings that detect early damage in wind blades; smart coatings to minimise erosion and corrosion on blades and offshore support towers; lighter-weight design of structural steels; large-scale structural testing of components; better materials fatigue and failure management; lower-maintenance materials with improved resistance to wear and corrosion; superconducting materials to transfer power over long distances with less losses; high temperature ceramics and molten salt for energy storage; electrically responsive artificial muscles that can morph the shapes of wind turbine blades to ensure better energy yields, materials for increased conversion efficiency and better mooring for wave and tidal devices.CAMREG is a partnership of 3 research-intensive universities, Edinburgh, Cranfield and Strathclyde, which would gather and network the interests, capacity and networks of many of the RCUK investments in energy research and training, and accruing over 200 industry connections: through 3 SuperGen Hubs, Marine UKCMER, Wind and Power Networks; 4 EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training - Wind Energy Systems, Wind & Marine Energy Systems, Offshore Renewable Energy Marine Structures and Integrative Sensing and Measurement; the EPSRC Industrial Doctorate Centre in Offshore Renewable Energy and the DECC SLIC (Offshore Wind Structural Lifecycle) Joint Industry Project - the largest industry-funded offshore renewables related materials and structures research project worldwide, involving Certification Authorities (DNV-GL and LR) and 10 of Europe's largest energy utility companies. The Centre will also respond to the needs and experience of device developers, project planners, legislators and consenting bodies, and academic partners will continue to work closely with key UK policy stakeholders.CAMREG underpins the efforts at existing recognised centres of renewable energy and materials science research, and encourages networking with new research groups working in complementary areas and linking centres into a coordinated national network. Expected national impacts include: environmental benefits, through increasing the potential to displace fossil fuels; economic benefit through the expansion of employment and human capacity transfer from the existing offshore energy industries; increased diversity, security and resilience of electricity supply through reduction in dependence upon imported fuel and as indigenous coal oil and gas production declines.