The University of Birmingham was the first red brick university to gain a charter. Today, it is a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and a founding member of Universitas 21. This reflects its long history of globally significant research: in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, 57% of the University’s research was ranked “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”.

Birmingham brings a long tradition and strong expertise in energy to the Centre for Low Carbon Futures. In particular, it is one of the UK’s leading research bodies on the topic of energy storage. Researchers are working on refining energy storage technologies, including:

• cryogenic energy storage
• compressed air electrical storage
• phase change materials in building fabrics
• high power supercapacitators
• large-scale batteries
• superconducting magnetic energy storage

The University’s expertise therefore extends from local micro-scale solutions to large-scale, centralised energy storage systems. This is complemented by broader work on energy distribution and policy to ensure that energy storage systems can be integrated effectively into existing and planned energy infrastructure. This provides a means to manage supply and demand to increase the resilience of our energy systems and viability of renewable technologies.

Birmingham is also working at the forefront of other diverse energy technologies. It is the only research institution in the UK to work across all aspects of hydrogen energy, from developing bacterial strains that can produce hydrogen from organic waste to the synthesis of chemical hydrogen storage materials to the commercial utilisation of fuel cells. The University’s work on next generation biofuels for diesel cars is also notable, with £2.12m in funding from Jaguar/Land Rover and Shell. Much of this work is conducted and commercialised through the Institute of Energy Research and Policy, established in 2005, and the Energy Technologies Institute, a new collaboration with the Universities of Nottingham and Loughborough that has just received £1.1bn for low carbon technologies.

The University of Birmingham also brings extensive experience in urban planning and the built environment to the Centre for Low Carbon Futures’ Climate Smart Cities programme. Its researchers specialise in spatial planning to support the development and re-organisation of economic activity to encourage growth and ensure high quality of life for the city’s residents. Their work encompasses housing policy, environmental sustainability, governance and community engagement in order to create more resilient urban systems. This research is coordinated by the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies and fed back into cities through the Leadership of Place initiative, a capacity building programme to help urban leaders develop the spatial and relational skills to deliver urban projects.

There is a particular focus within the Centre on studying the built environment to facilitate climate change mitigation and adaptation. Researchers within the University are improving building materials, particularly their structural insulation and relationship with open spaces; improving the sustainability of urban water systems through recycling, risk assessments and cost-optimisation of water treatment works; and planning resilient, low carbon transport infrastructure networks. Notable among these efforts is the Birmingham Urban Climate Lab’s HiTemp project, which is modelling and mapping heat island effects through an extensive network of temperature sensors and weather stations across Birmingham. Their findings are being implemented with planned behavioural and infrastructure adaptations to minimise the impacts of climate change on urban environments.