The University's ATI has won funding from the UK and Indian governments for two projects exploring how nanotechnology will impact the future of renewable energy.
The two projects will involve close collaboration between the University's Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) and universities in India, with support from Tata Steel Research and Development UK. Funding is being provided jointly by the governments of the UK and India through the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UK-IERI).
The first research project – which will bring together researchers from Surrey and the University of Hyderabad, India – will investigate how to effectively capture and store solar energy using an approach known as 'inorganics-in-organics', in which composite materials work together to increase efficiency.
With collaboration from Tata Steel, which will lend its fuel cell expertise, the project will partner research with industry to provide technologies for improved energy generation and storage. Tata Steel is part of the Indian multinational conglomerate company, Tata group, which comprises over 100 companies operating in seven business sectors including communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals.
The second project will examine the use of zinc oxide nanomaterials in ultra-high sensitivity gas sensors. These gas sensors can be used in environmental monitoring devices to deliver improved sensitivity and increased energy efficiency. They can also be used in breathalysers, or even for sensing potentially explosive gas leaks in places such as hydrogen storage facilities.
This project will see the University of Surrey collaborating with researchers from Queen's University, Belfast, and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research.
The two UKIERI projects are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2014.