Welcome to our News and Blog page where you can read the latest stories from the team. If you are interested in a particular topic – you can filter the stories via the tags below:
£6m EU investment in SPECIFIC Innovation & Knowledge Centre recognises project’s success
In 2011, SPECIFIC was one of six UK Innovation and Knowledge Centres (IKCs) created by the UK Government. Nine years on, and countless projects and collaborations later, SPECIFIC is celebrating…
Professor Dave Worsley Wins Government Award
The national St David Awards scheme recognises and celebrates the exceptional achievements of people from all walks of life in Wales. Dave’s contribution to Wales in this category has been…
The Perils and Pitfalls of Perovskite XPS
Here at SPECIFIC, our PV team are looking at scaling up perovskite solar cells (PSCs). A recent paper published by the team notes that use of XPS in perovskite can…
Turning Waste Heat into Electricity
Dr Matt Burton is part of our Thermoelectrics Group and is working on research to allow the widespread use of thermoelectric materials to harness waste heat. Here, he explains why…
Using Electric Vehicles to ‘Flatten the Curve’
The team at SPECIFIC have long been advocates of using electric vehicles (EVs), from adopting the first generation Nissan Leaf to now operating a “fleet” of electric cars and vans.…
The Circular Economy and Photovoltaics
Developing sustainable renewable energy technologies is vital in the move to decarbonise industry. Renewable energy technologies, including solar, have enormous socio-economic benefits and are significantly better for the environment than fossil-fuels, which continue to…
Care Home and Frontline Housing Teams Now Using University-Made Hand Sanitiser
Frontline housing workers, homelessness support services and the people they look after, many of whom are vulnerable, are the latest groups to be using hand sanitiser made at Swansea University,…
New Fabrication Methods Improve Perovskite Solar Cell Efficiency
Here, SPECIFIC researcher and one of the paper’s authors, Rahul Patidar, discusses the processes and research that led to the paper being published. A newcomer to the photovoltaic industry, PSCs have gathered…
Active Versus Passive Buildings
At SPECIFIC, we are often asked: “What differentiates an Active Building from other “green” buildings?” This blog defines what we mean by an Active Building and also explores other environmentally-conscious…
Funding for Team to Test Speed Clean of Ambulances Carrying Covid-19 Patients
Swansea University has successfully won funding to reduce the time it takes to sanitise ambulances after carrying a suspected Covid-19 positive patient. Students from the university are helping slash the…
Virtual Sustainable Technology Workshops Target Future Engineers
Four sessions have been designed with a Sustainable Engineering theme in order to motivate young people to get involved with designing tomorrow’s solutions. The topics covered are similar to those…
Transforming Transport: the UK’s first Active Rail Shelter
SPECIFIC’s most recent Active Building demonstration is a rail-approved platform waiting shelter. The shelter has been installed at the Solar Heat Energy Demonstrator (SHED) site and is being used for testing and…
Swansea University shifts from solar to sanitiser – producing 5000 litres a week for the NHS
A solar tech lab at Swansea University has temporarily switched to producing 5000 litres of hand sanitiser a week, to help the NHS fight the Coronavirus outbreak.
Novel scribing method for carbon perovskite solar modules
Making solar modules is not like making single solar cells. When working on single cells, the main parameters that should be optimised include the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the…
Covid-19 Statement
SPECIFIC is committed to caring for the health and well-being of our staff and partners. Following guidance from Swansea University / UK Government, and to ensure the safety of our…
Innovative Energy Storage System for the Ever-Evolving Active Classroom
Having been running for 3 years, the Energy Storage System (ESS) in The Active Classroom is now being renewed to meet fresh challenges such as new electric vehicle charging ports,…
Materials – It’s What We Do
At Knowledge Transfer Network UK and Innovate UK‘s Materials Research Exchange in London last month, we brought 11 other Materials Engineering projects from Swansea University to exhibit as a group…
Achieving Net Zero: An Issue for Government, Industry and Consumers.
The UK has made significant progress in decarbonising the economy – overall emissions have fallen by 40% since 1990 and almost half our electricity came from renewable or low carbon…
Professor Dave Worsley Shortlisted for Government Award
The national St David Awards scheme recognises and celebrates the exceptional achievements of people from all walks of life in Wales. Dave’s contribution to Wales in this category has been…
Developing new functional coatings for 21st century steel
Steel is the core product in manufacturing, national infrastructure and high-tech 21st century industries such as electric vehicles and Active Buildings. It is the most widely used material in the…
Dr Jenny Baker Wins Research and Innovation Award
The Research & Innovation Awards celebrate the outstanding research and collaborations that are undertaken at Swansea University, and the enormous impact these are having across the world. The ceremony guests…
Scale-up to Star Trek: The Future of Industrial Coatings
What type of research is being undertaken by SPECIFIC’s Industrial Coatings group? In basic terms, our work has two primary strands:– Developing ways of putting a liquid on a substrate–…
Leading the way for inclusive, sustainable conferences
SUNRISE is an international project to address global energy poverty with partners from India, Mexico, South Africa, and Kazakhstan. Twice-yearly conferences have been essential to building collaborations and growing capabilities,…
Improving Protocols to test the stability of perovskite solar cells
There are existing protocols to evaluate emerging photovoltaic devices, but they are not appropriate for halide perovskite solar cells – a new generation of solar cells designed to overcome the…
Active Buildings Architect Shortlisted for Award
The aim of the award is to recognise a woman who has made an outstanding contribution to engineering in the built environment and is a fitting role model for women…
Trystan Watson publishes 100th paper!
Professor Watson has been a part of the SPECIFIC team for 12 years and is passionate about his work. Trystan and the group have gained a reputation within the PV community,…
Solar Heat Storage: Eliminating Gas Heating
This series of articles is a partnership between SPECIFIC, SUNRISE and the Active Building Centre. Our projects work with academic, industry and community partners in the UK and the Global South to research…
Building Collaborations in Mexico
Blog by Simone Meroni Yucatan is a Mexican state, surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, where the Mayan civilization flourished. Here, the sun shines all year. The winter, as most Europeans known, never makes an…
The Active Classroom: still providing insights and performing well…
This series of articles is a partnership between SPECIFIC, SUNRISE and the Active Building Centre. Our projects work with academic, industry and community partners in the UK and the Global…
Flexibility Hits the Headlines
[Written by Peter Bullock, Evergreen Smart Power] National Grid’s need to keep the electricity network balanced rarely makes for a stimulating topic of conversation, but the recent once-in-a-decade power outages…
CONGRATS TO JENNY BAKER ON HER EPSRC FELLOWSHIP!
Congratulations to Jenny Baker on being awarded a £1.3M, 5-year Early Career Research Fellowship by EPSRC to pursue her research in sustainable manufacturing of solid state batteries for fixed storage…
Strengthening Research Linked Between UK and China
This Summer, we hosted the first ever UK-China Workshop on Organic and Perovskites Solar cells at Swansea University Bay Campus. The main objective of the 3-day event was to bring…
The Active Office: One Year On…
A Q&A with SPECIFIC’s Technology Director, Dr Justin Searle, on how the Active Office has performed, and what’s next… How has the Active Office run over the last year? It…
Perovskite Solar Cells for Aerospace
Airbus works with researchers at Swansea University to investigate the performance and stability of perovskite solar cells in a simulated stratospheric environment. Following a successful application to Airbus Endeavr, researchers at Swansea…
Active Office scoops top honour at building awards for Swansea University
Innovative design and pioneering technology helped Swansea University scoop for a top award for one of its highest-profile new buildings. The Active Office, which demonstrates the Active Building concept developed…
Getting the Best out of Solar Technologies: a Q&A on the Latest Project…
A ‘Q&A’ with Chris Weirman on the latest solar PV and solar thermal project at SPECIFIC. Please introduce yourself and your role at SPECIFIC: My name’s Chris Weirman, and I’m…
Turning Waste Heat into Electrical Power: 3D Printed Device Could Help Cut Energy Bills and Carbon
[Article written by Kevin Sullivan, Swansea University Press Office] A new 3-D printed thermoelectric device, which converts heat into electric power with an efficiency factor over 50% higher than the…
Sêr Solar – End of Project Celebration
Sêr Solar was devised in response to the Welsh Government’s Sêr Cymru programme, established in June 2013 to strengthen research capability in Wales. The £50m scheme sought to attract leading…
Celebrating Shortlist Success for the Active Office
We’re thrilled to announce that the Active Office is following in the footsteps of its big sister, The Active Classroom, and has been shortlisted for numerous awards in 2019… The…
‘Active Homes’ are Key to a Decentralised Energy Future
[Written by Gill Kelleher, Policy and Engagement Manager at SPECIFIC] David Attenborough’s poignant message at the opening ceremony of the United Nations sponsored climate talks, COP24 in December 2018, highlighted…
A Year of Sunshine with the PV Team
[written by Silvia Villarroya-Lidon, Ser Solar Fellow – Industrial Engagement] As 2018 came to an end, we looked back at our PV teams’ technical and personal achievements, and we can…
Assessing the Viability of Producing PV instead of Textiles
[By Adrian Walters, IP & Project Manager for SUNRISE] Background: In 2017 the photovoltaic groups at Swansea University (SPECIFIC IKC) and CINVESTAV, Merida were awarded a Newton Fund grant, funded by the UK Department for Business,…
Active Office: Occupied & Generating Electricity AND Heat via PV-T
(Written by Joanna Clarke, Buildings Integration Manager at SPECIFIC) The Active Office is now occupied by members of the new Active Building Centre (ABC) team, bringing the building to life…
RSC Photophysics & Photochemistry Group Meeting 2018
[Written by Catherine Suenne De Castro from SPECIFIC’s Research Team] The RSC Photophysics and Photochemistry Group (PPG) meeting was held on the 20th and 21st of September 2018 at both the…
‘A Low Carbon Pathway to 2030’ Consultation
This month, we organised an event in response to the Welsh Government Low Carbon Pathway Consultation. The event was held at the Senedd and was arranged to raise awareness of…
Construction starts on homes that will generate, store & release their own energy
The 16 homes, on the site of a former care home, have been designed to maximise solar gain and will use a combination of innovative technologies to allow the homes to…
Chancellor of the Exchequer Announces £36 Million UK Funding for Swansea University Clean Energy Innovation
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP has announced new £36 million UK Government funding to develop clean energy innovation at Swansea University. The new Active Building…
NOVEL METHOD FOR PEROVSKITE SOLAR CELLS REPRESENTS AN IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS COMMERCIALISATION
A schematic of photonic phenomenon observed in perovskite solar cells due to the doping of high conducting ZnO nanoparticle in absorber layer Perovskite solar cells have garnered much interest over…
Adopting Circular Economy Principles into Complex Photovoltaic Design
Humankind is on the brink of significant climate change and material resource shortages. We have reached the limits of our traditional ‘take-make-dispose’ linear economic models in which materials are extracted…
Supersizing Perovskite Solar Cells
The PV upscaling team at SPECIFIC has been working hard in the last year and finally their efforts have been recognised. Their paper, “All printable perovskite solar modules with 198…
Breakthrough in Improving the Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells
Solar cells convert the ubiquitous power of the sun into electricity, making them an especially attractive source of sustainable energy. To do so, however, the cells should maintain their performance…
The World’s First ‘Thin-Film Tin Selenide’ Thermoelectric Generator
The team at SPECIFIC has been working alongside the Swansea University Engineering Department and Queen Mary University of London to produce a paper on thermoelectric materials; “Thin Film Tin Selenide…
Winners of ‘Outstanding Research & Innovation Collaboration’ at Swansea R&I Awards
We are delighted to announce that the Active Classroom has continued its winning streak; picking up its 7th award since completion in 2016. Last night (Thursday 21st June), the classroom…
Tomorrow’s office, today – UK’s first energy-positive office opens in Swansea
The UK’s first energy-positive office, which generates more solar energy than it consumes, will be opened at Swansea University on 21st June.
Winners of ‘Design through Innovation’ and ‘Project of the Year’ at RICS Wales Awards
We’re delighted to announce that The Active Classroom has received huge recognition at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Wales Awards tonight (Wednesday 23rd May); which was held at…
‘Best Public Service Building’ Winners at the NPT Building Awards 2018.
Active Classroom picks up further recognition at the Neath Port Talbot Building Awards by winning ‘Best Public Service Building.’
Education in Modular for Trinity St David’s Future Architects
Students from University of Wales Trinity St David’s School of Architecture and Built Environment were treated to an in-depth tour of the construction process behind the UK’s first energy positive…
£6.5m Funding to Develop ‘Coal Mine Central Heating’ Plan
A £6.5m grant has been awarded to pump naturally-heated water from an Caerau coal mine (Maesteg) and use it to heat 150 homes. The technology developed will pump water from…