MSc Sustainable Energy

In this module, students will learn economic concepts to understand and analyse sustainable energy systems. The module will introduce energy demand and supply concepts, provide frameworks for analysing energy investments, discuss energy markets, pricing, environmental and climate change issues, and present economic policies and regulations to support sustainable energies. The interactions of energy systems with the economy will be considered as well. By completing this module, students will gain the principal knowledge required to develop a sustainable economy based on the challenges associated with technological transformations and the energy transition into the net-zero era. The information gained in this module helps students analyse the techno-economic viability of modern energy systems. This module complements all other modules in this programme and is highly applicable to successfully delivering the MSc Dissertation module and/or Group Project.

In this dynamic module, you will be at the forefront of understanding the principles behind renewable energy sources and their conversion technologies, delving into the realms of wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal power. As active participants in this course, you will explore the foundations of sustainability, gaining insights into the crucial role it plays in transitioning towards a low-carbon economy.Throughout the module, you will not only grasp theoretical concepts but also engage hands-on with the energy generating devices. Picture yourself harnessing the power of sunlight in solar panel laboratory sessions and understanding the sustainable potential of biomass and geothermal resources. You won't just be learning about the future; you will be actively contributing to it.As we guide you through the course, you will develop a holistic perspective on the global energy landscape. We will unravel the complexities of sustainable transitions, empowering you to critically assess the challenges and opportunities in our journey towards a cleaner, greener future. Be prepared to explore next-generation materials and technologies proposed to meet the world's escalating energy demands responsibly.The foundation knowledge obtained in this module closely relates to all other modules in the study programme, particularly Sustainable Energy Storage and Smart Energy Systems & Analysis. Together, they provide a full picture of sustainable energy systems and the necessary knowledge of analytical tools required for designing modern energy systems.

Solar Energy is quite wide and large subject. It based on different branches of science and technologies. The model is focused on photo-voltaic side of solar energy applications. It tries to deal with the subject from different angles of consideration; the physics base, technology development, technical work, system design and economics.

ENGM270 Energy Geotechnics is a postgraduate module focused on the geotechnical design principles essential for contemporary and emerging energy infrastructure projects. The curriculum encompasses shallow geothermal energy systems, renewable energy foundations for both offshore and onshore wind turbines, offshore oil and gas installation foundations, and nuclear power systems. Specialised lectures cover high-level nuclear waste disposal and carbon geo-sequestration. Key topics include heat transport in soils, geothermal energy pile systems, and offshore wind turbine foundation design, supplemented by practical coursework on numerical modelling of geothermal systems. The module is designed for students with a foundational understanding of soil and structural mechanics, equivalent to a final-year Bachelor of Engineering.

This module provides a trans-disciplinary exposition and discussion of the core concepts of Sustainable Development, covering economic, political, ethical, social and ecological dimensions. It also reflects on the real-life application of the concept in organisations across sectors and scales, focusing on policies, strategies, performance and governance. It is aimed at a wide range of students and is suitable as a foundation for students who have not previously studied sustainability. It provides a grounding to the concepts but also raises awareness of the leading-edge challenges in the integration and implementation of sustainable development in reality.

In this module, students will gain a general understanding of sustainable energy storage and distribution systems by reviewing the most common types of renewable energy vectors and modern energy conversion and transformation technologies. The energy security concerns, in principle, and the uncertainties associated with the natural fluctuation of renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydroelectric, etc.) limit their large-scale applications in serving the global energy demand. This module aims to address these concerns by studying in-depth the principles of operation, characteristics, and challenges with a range of sustainable energy storage technologies, including the mechanical energy storage system, green hydrogen and hydrocarbon storage, various types of batteries (lithium-ion, redox-flow cell, lead acid battery), supercapacitors, thermal energy storage, along with the modern micro-grid and power-grid distribution systems. Gaining knowledge in various sustainable energy storage technologies applied in the net-zero emission plan, this module aims to develop students' engineering knowledge and competence in sustainability, digital capabilities, and employability. The module expands the skills obtained in the foundation module “Introduction to Renewable Energy Systems” and is closely related to the other core modules of this programme, particularly Smart Energy Systems, Economics and Policy of Sustainable Energy, and Group Project.

Wind energy is an emerging renewable technology that has received wide attention in the context of dealing with global energy demand and sustainable development. It is a broad subject encompassing several branches of science and engineering. This module is to introduce the concept, technical approaches, and the practical aspects in applications.

Infrastructure systems play a crucial role towards sustainable development as they serve the needs of the society. An understanding of the three dimensions of sustainability, economic, environmental and social, is vital towards the planning, design and operation of sustainable infrastructure systems. This module evaluative frameworks that can capture economic, environmental and social constraints to understand the balance between these three dimensions towards the development of sustainable infrastructure projects. Particular focus is given to whole-life carbon accounting and life cycle assessment for assessing the environmental impact of infrastructure systems and multi-criteria decision analysis and environmental/social impact assessments, capable of capturing the three pillars of sustainability for holistic decision-making within the context of infrastructure.

This module offers an introduction to industrial aerodynamics and wind engineering, covering applications of aerodynamics to areas beyond the classical aerospace ones. Particular focus is given to the main characteristics of natural winds, concentrating on four aspects: Meteorology and the atmospheric boundary layer Wind power aerodynamics Pollutant dispersion in the atmosphere Building aerodynamics The above applications are designed to introduce students to wider applications of aerodynamics not covered elsewhere in the aerospace and mechanical engineering programmes.

Nature Based Solutions (NBS) are defined by International Union for Conservation of Nature as actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, which address societal challenges (e.g., climate change, water security or natural disasters) effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. NBS are increasingly used as a more sustainable way of managing environments or environmental systems. NBS use nature's own resources (clean air, water, plants, and soil) to provide cost-effective environmental, social, and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more diverse nature and natural features and processes into existing networks and infrastructure systems including cities, landscapes, and coastal areas, through site specific, locally adapted, resource-efficient interventions. Engineers are working to restore natural buffering systems (e.g., wetlands and tree canopies), utilise green infrastructure, and better manage natural areas to restore riparian corridors, create resilient coastal ecosystems, manage flood risk, enhance water quality and waste treatment, improve air quality, mitigate climate change and more. NBS are often seen as an alternative, more sustainable solution to hard engineered infrastructure solution (by fulfilling multiple services and / by having fewer adverse characteristics). However, NBS cannot be unilaterally implemented due to prevailing characteristics of the built and natural environments. The module will provide the knowledge and skills needed to explore, critically assess, and evaluate the ¿why¿ ¿how¿ and utility of NBS to protect, manage and restore ecosystems vulnerable to societal and environmental challenges. An important part of the module will be to critically assess, compare, and determine the feasibility of different solutions drawn from literature and case studies where NBS have been successful implemented. The module will draw on the desire of communities to live in green spaces and explore options for engineers to design and integrate facilities within ecosystems in a way that benefits ecological and human health. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of NBS, the module will explore different environments (air, water, coastal, rural, and urban) ensuring the interaction between different research disciplines such as coastal management, wastewater treatment, air quality, material and infrastructure, and urban management.

The course provides an introduction to nuclear energy generation and applications of nuclear science. Nuclear reactors, their physics and operation are described. Nuclear reactor safety case work is also discussed. Future potential energy generation mechanisms such including nuclear fusion will be discussed. The module will also present a range of applications of radioactivity measurement including aspects of Environmental Science and Medical Diagnogstics and treatment therapy. The module will include some aspects of calculus and first order differential equations.

Energy systems are becoming increasingly complex in terms of configuration, type of sources and distribution. The common challenges include the integration of fluctuating energy sources, disruption in energy demand and distribution bottlenecks. The inclusion of different, often disparate technologies associated with renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wind, bio-generation and hydrogen sources, and frequently opposing requirements of sustainability, economic viability and legislation impose further complexity and requirement for smart solutions at operational and design levels. This module covers a multidisciplinary space between energy engineering and information technology to support timely solutions in real-life environments. It consists of two parts: i) lectures covering fundamentals of energy networks (centralized vs distributed), energy supply chains and operational bottlenecks, energy integration and different optimization methods, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, and ii) supervised group project work to find example solutions by applying the methods taught in the first part. The information obtained in this module closely relates to all other modules in the programme (particularly Introduction to Renewable Energy Systems and Sustainable Energy Storage), which together provide a complete picture of the sustainable energy sector, from the fundamental principles to niche applications in designing autonomous smart energy systems based on AI.

The research dissertation is a report on the individual project carried out by students to demonstrate research potential and ability to use existing and to acquire new knowledge and apply them in specific situation. A number of dissertations are carried out in collaboration with industry and upon successful completion of the module, the students will be able to approach an open-ended topic to research new ideas and experiment with new technologies.

The MSc Group Project module provides an opportunity for students to work on a realistic, multi-disciplinary project related to the Sustainable Energy discipline. According to their stated preferences regarding the subject areas, the students are allocated to groups and each group is assigned a project proposed by two academic staff. The projects involve designing, modelling, prototyping, analysis, testing and experimental work, synthesis, computing, and information processing in varying proportions consistent with the topic being addressed. Technical quality, integration, comprehension, creativity, team working, communication and project management are all part of the experience. The Group Project module focuses on the application of theoretical knowledge and practical techniques. Module staff act as project clients and provide an initial project definition, often through consultation with industrial partners. Over the lifecycle of the project, there will be changing priorities and responsibilities, so a group will need to adapt their team organization, their choice of sub-groups and their allocation of individual roles, for each phase of the project.