Aston University researchers receive half a million pounds to lead next gen. of renewable cooling

A team of Aston University researchers has been awarded a prestigious £500,000 grant to lessen the environmental impact of cooling – one of the UK’s fastest-growing energy needs.

They will be exploring new methods of using renewable energy to power clean cooling technologies to alleviate the increasing stress on national energy supplies.

The new network, which will be led by Aston University, is called Renewable Energy Access for Future UK Net-Zero Cooling (Reef-UKC). It is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and supports a consortium of Aston University experts led by Dr Ahmed Rezk.

Dr Rezk said: “There’s an urgent need across various sectors, both in the UK and globally, to reduce carbon footprints and adopt more sustainable practices for cooling. However, the cooling industry, which plays a critical role in sectors like food and beverage, data centres, steel, cement, pharmaceuticals, supermarkets, hospitals, and district cooling hasn’t received the same attention in terms of sustainable innovation. Reef-UKC is an impact-driven network designed to address this important gap.

“Reef-UKC offers a collaborative platform for academia and industry to come together and explore sustainable cooling solutions, particularly focusing on technologies that harness waste heat and other forms of renewables. It also aims to expand the project’s outreach to regions like India, China, Africa, and the Middle East, where cooling is a critical requirement in many industries.”

A 2023 study shows that cooling already accounts for 10–20% of the UK’s total energy consumption, and demand is expected to multiply in the years ahead causing more heat waves and stressing the national grid. The Aston University research team believes that the issue is further compounded by the growing cooling requirements of emerging industries like hydrogen production, where ammonia production alone demands 2.8 gigajoules of cooling per ton.

The Reef-UKC network will also focus on circular economy business models, policies, and regulations. As a first step, the research team has announced a £100K seed funding call to support eight to 10 new research seed-funding projects which lead to larger, multidisciplinary, and impact-driven projects.

Professor Patricia Thornley is the director of Aston University’s Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI), which was founded to explore sustainable resources to deliver an affordable, resilient, and low-carbon energy future. She said: “Through this project, Aston University reaffirms its commitment to leadership in renewable energy innovation. Reef-UKC represents a vital step toward a net-zero cooling solution that not only supports environmental goals but also aligns with the UK’s economic, societal, and policy landscape.”

The network aims to bring together a community and develop a research agenda that will provide an opportunity to drive forward research and secure UK leadership as part of the engineering net zero mission-inspired priority to discover and develop the next generation of renewable energy technologies.

Aston University will be working with researchers from London South Bank University, the University of Oxford, the University of Birmingham, the University of Warwick, the University of Glasgow, the University of Edinburgh, Brunel University London, Ulster University, Imperial College and the University of Cranfield. They will also be collaborating with several industrial partners including Star Refrigeration, Phase Change Materials Products Ltd, Tyseley Energy Park, PAK Engineering, Birmingham City Council, and Belfast City Council.

Aston University’s history has been intertwined with the history of Birmingham, a remarkable city that once was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

Born out of the First Industrial Revolution, Aston University has a proud and distinct heritage dating back to its formation as the School of Metallurgy in 1875, the first UK College of Technology in 1951, gaining university status by Royal Charter in 1966, and becoming The Guardian University of the Year in 2020.