Organised by the Centre for Energy Transition and the University Entrepreneur in Residence Ian Phillips, the workshops seek to identify new areas of research in three Energy Transition areas:
- Research opportunities assuming the continued use of Hydrocarbons to supply energy across the world
- Research opportunities assuming that the human race completely replaces hydrocarbons to supply our energy
- Research opportunities helping society to just use less energy
Demand for energy continues to grow by 1.5-2.0% as the population of our planet increase. There are now over 8 billion people on earth – with projections between 9 and 11 billion by 2050. Today around 85% of the world’s energy is supplied by hydrocarbons. Although renewables are expanding rapidly, they are largely meeting the annual increase in energy demand rather than reducing our use of hydrocarbons.
The aim of these workshops is to identify research capability within the University that can map to the demands of industry and of government to the funding available in the UK and Europe, leading to new interdisciplinary research projects that attract new funding to the University.
Workshop 3 – Use less energy (3 hours)
Wednesday 21st January 2026, 9am – 1pm
Meeting Room 1 (7th Floor), Sir Duncan Rice Library
If we could simply use less energy, then the scale of the necessary energy transition would be reduced – so this workshop will focus on energy efficiency.
Today approximately 50% of the energy we produce is wasted – lost through hot exhausts going up chimneys and out of car exhaust pipes; through braking of vehicles; through poor insulation in buildings and cars and through “idling” of engines (e.g. in traffic queues or just to keep car occupants warm).
It is well understood that most processes that use electricity are more efficient than existing hydrocarbon processes (e.g. electric car overall efficiency is 30-40% compare with 10-25% for petrol and diesel cars).
Potential areas of interest include electrification of industrial processes; new ways of delivering space heating; improving the energy efficiency of buildings and industrial processes; costs; the commercial and economic impact; societal acceptance and other aspects of such major changes in how we consume energy.
Each workshop will consist of a blend of
- Information on aspects of the Energy Transition being presented to frame discussions
- Information on current and forthcoming grants and other funding opportunities in the Energy Transition space.
- Round table brainstorming and development of ideas that could evolve into fundable research programmes
- Initiating of groups interested in pursuing specific research objectives (and funding)
Each workshop will be led by Ian Phillips - the Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Aberdeen. He has an industrial career spanning 25 years in oil and gas, and a further 15 years in energy transition – most recently as the Project Director for the Acorn carbon capture and storage and blue hydrogen project. He will be supported by others invited to share their expertise and perspectives to ensure a productive workshop.
Please see the workshop flyer here:January_2026_-_Energy_Transition_Research_Workshops.pdf
How to sign up:
Please e-mail interdisciplinary@abdn.ac.uk stating
- Your name; school; areas of research interest
- Which workshops you wish to attend
- Venue
- Meeting Room 1 (7th Floor), The Sir Duncan Rice Library
- Contact
-
Please direct any queries to: interdisciplianry@abdn.ac.uk