Imperial College London

Self-Powering Smart Cities

The cost of renewable energies such as tidal and wave power in the open sea, wind and solar power have come down greatly in recent years but they are rarely considered viable for base power, largely because of the energy storage needed.

Gravitricity

Gravitricity are a Edinburgh based engineering startup working on the area of gravity fed energy storage. They have developed a mechanical stationary storage system using the gravitational potential of a heavy weight within a vertical shaft. IDTechEx spoke with Gravitricity's Managing Director Charlie Blair in June 2018 to understand the company's future plans and the wider potential for gravity fed storage within the global energy ecosystem.

Supercapacitors Exceed the Energy Density of Batteries

Some supercapacitors will become smart materials and be sold as feedstock by value added material companies such as Dow DuPont and Nitto Denko. Which companies and when is as yet uncertain. This is part of the emerging big picture for supercapacitors that will make even their materials a multi- billion dollar business.

Tracking cancer-cell development with "drinkable" electronic sensors

Thanks to an unorthodox approach being proposed by researchers, patients may soon be able to track their illness simply by drinking a solution containing millions of tiny electronic sensors disguised as bacteria.

Pop-up EV charging for residential streets

The UEone is an app-operated, pop-up EV charge point for residential streets that retracts underground when not in use, minimising the impact on the urban environment to leave roads free of street clutter.

Wind produces more electricity than nuclear in UK for the first time

In the first few months of 2018 Britain's wind farms produced record-breaking amounts of electricity, for the first time producing more than nuclear.

Mine shaft utilisation, a new frontier in distributed energy storage?

A recent independent study by Imperial College London has evaluated the potential for new gravity-fed energy storage within the UK energy system. With tens of thousands of vertical mine shafts in the UK alone (UK Coal Authority), the potential initial market is sizeable.

Battery research to help super-charge electric vehicle revolution

The University of Bath is part of a consortium of academic and industry partners awarded Government funding to conduct research aimed at overcoming battery challenges to accelerate the electric vehicle revolution.

3D printing creates super soft structures that replicate brain, lungs

A new 3D printing technique allows researchers to replicate biological structures, which could be used for tissue regeneration and replica organs.

New collaboration developing a flexible, smart energy network

Researchers from Imperial College London are part of a new project, FUSION, to help customers save money and reduce the UK's carbon emissions.

New way to write magnetic info

Researchers have shown how to write any magnetic pattern desired onto nanowires, which could help computers mimic how the brain processes information.

Biosensor detects bacteria biomarker in CF patients

A team of researchers has developed a tool which 'lights up' when it detects the chemical signature of harmful bacteria in the lung.

Wallpaper bio-solar panel

A two-in-one solar bio-battery and solar panel has been created by researchers who printed living cyanobacteria and circuitry onto paper.