Energy Materials

Engineering Materials for the Energy Transition

Transforming Energy Through Materials Innovation

The global energy transition requires transformative advances in materials science, engineering and digital technologies. From renewable generation and clean fuels to energy storage and resilient infrastructure, materials sit at the heart of every future energy system.

AMTEC's Energy Materials theme brings together researchers from chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering and materials science to develop the technologies needed to support the global energy transition.

By combining fundamental discovery with applied engineering, we create solutions that improve efficiency, reliability, sustainability and commercial viability across the energy landscape.

Why Energy Materials Matter

The transition to cleaner, more resilient energy systems will require more than new sources of energy. It demands materials that can withstand challenging environments, improve energy conversion and storage, and enable the deployment of clean technologies at scale.

Future energy systems require materials that can:

• Generate and convert energy more efficiently
• Operate reliably in demanding environments
• Support the production, storage and transport of clean fuels
• Minimise environmental impact across their lifecycle
• Enable circular and sustainable energy technologies

Meeting these challenges requires expertise across materials design, synthesis, characterisation, modelling and engineering implementation. AMTEC brings these capabilities together within a single interdisciplinary research community.

Research Strengths

Hydrogen and Energy Transition Technologies

Hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in the global energy transition as both a clean fuel and an energy storage solution. AMTEC researchers investigate the materials challenges associated with hydrogen production, storage, distribution and utilisation, helping to enable the deployment of future energy technologies across industry, transport and infrastructure.

A distinctive advantage of Energy Materials research at Keele is access to the University's unique energy innovation infrastructure. The Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND) provides a campus-scale testbed that integrates renewable generation, energy distribution, storage and smart energy technologies. Complementing this, the Green Hydrogen Generation Hub demonstrates the production, storage and utilisation of hydrogen generated from renewable electricity on campus. Together, these facilities provide a unique real-world environment for developing, testing and evaluating hydrogen materials, technologies and infrastructure for the future energy system. The Green Hydrogen Generation Hub uses renewable electricity generated through Keele's on-campus wind and solar assets connected via SEND, creating an end-to-end hydrogen demonstrator at real-world scale.

Functional Energy Materials

Researchers develop advanced materials with tailored electrical, optical, magnetic and chemical properties for use across renewable energy technologies, energy conversion systems and emerging energy applications. This includes materials designed to improve efficiency, durability and performance in next-generation energy systems.

Photovoltaics and Energy Harvesting

Research within the Centre explores innovative materials and devices designed to improve solar energy conversion, energy harvesting and sustainable power generation technologies.

Computational Design and Digital Engineering

Advanced modelling, simulation and data-driven approaches support the design, optimisation and understanding of energy materials. By integrating experiment, theory and computation, researchers gain insight into complex physical processes and accelerate the development of innovative energy technologies.

Energy Materials research at AMTEC encompasses a broad range of scientific and engineering capabilities that support innovation across emerging energy technologies. This expertise enables the Centre to contribute to both fundamental research and application-focused challenges across the evolving energy landscape.

AMTEC has capability in:

• Hydrogen infrastructure materials
• Quantum nanotechnology
• Ceramics
• Sustainable catalysts and electrocatalysis
• Photovoltaic materials and energy harvesting
• Functional and smart materials
• Circular energy materials
• Integrated renewable technologies
• AI-enabled materials discovery
• Resilient energy systems

Facilities and Infrastructure

Energy Materials research at AMTEC is supported by specialist laboratories, advanced characterisation facilities and computational resources that enable researchers to investigate materials across multiple scales.

Our capabilities include materials synthesis, imaging and microscopy, surface engineering, spectroscopic analysis, mechanical and environmental testing, computational modelling and high-performance computing. Together, these facilities support collaborative research with academic, industrial and public-sector partners and provide opportunities for student training and skills development.