News

Cavendish Laboratory National Facility for Physics

The Cavendish Laboratory National Facility for Physics is the newest world-class facility supporting the physics community across the UK. It makes Cavendish Laboratory’s state-of-the-art equipment and resources readily accessible to all UK university researchers and facilitates industry access. Opening its doors to the...

Opinion: Russian gas will fund Putin’s war on Ukraine no matter what decisions Europeans might take

Would Europe cutting off Russian oil and gas imports be enough to convince Putin to stop the war on Ukraine? According to Dr Chi Kong Chyong from the Energy Policy Research Group at Cambridge Judge Business School, the global nature of energy markets means that stopping the flow of Russian oil and gas into Europe may not...

Tiny ‘skyscrapers’ help bacteria convert sunlight into electricity

Researchers have made tiny ‘skyscrapers’ for communities of bacteria, helping them to generate electricity from just sunlight and water. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, used 3D printing to create grids of high-rise ‘nano-housing’ where sun-loving bacteria can grow quickly. The researchers were then able...

Opinion: Why people in some parts of England pay far more than others to heat their homes

In this article from The Conversation, co-authors Dr André Neto-Bradley and Professor Ruchi Choudhary join researchers from the University of Leeds in discussing ways of improving the energy efficiency of England's homes and reducing the carbon used to heat them. The energy used to heat and light our homes doesn’t get as...

New, nature-inspired concepts for turning CO2 into clean fuels

Researchers have developed an efficient concept to turn carbon dioxide into clean, sustainable fuels, without any unwanted by-products or waste. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, have previously shown that biological catalysts, or enzymes, can produce fuels cleanly using renewable energy sources, but at...

Scientists develop fully woven, smart display

Researchers have developed a 46-inch woven display with smart sensors, energy harvesting and storage integrated directly into the fabric. An international team of scientists have produced a fully woven smart textile display that integrates active electronic, sensing, energy and photonic functions. The functions are...

Zero-carbon refrigeration spin-out sets its sights on environmentally-friendly heating systems

Zero-carbon refrigeration pioneer Barocal has secured a £1.3 million investment to accelerate commercialisation of its novel technology designed to cut global CO₂ emissions. As the technology also works in heating applications, the University of Cambridge spin-out now plans to explore the potential of its breakthrough for...

Historic buildings could use solar panels to protect from rising energy costs

Installing solar panels could help historic buildings beat the rising costs of energy, according to a new study. Researchers have carried out a feasibility study and found that installing solar panels on the Grade I listed Bath Abbey could save around 10 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, significantly reducing the carbon...

Launch of the challenge to decarbonise our everyday lives Programme 2022

The Carbon Challenge: Daily Decabonisation Programme launch

Competition launch for postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers to submite scalable ideas to decarbonise activities in our everyday lives. Are you a problem solver who thrives on challenge? Do you want to take action on climate change? The Cambridge Carbon Challenge is an initiative for student and staff teams to...

Templating approach stabilises ‘ideal’ material for alternative solar cells

Researchers have developed a method to stabilise a promising material known as perovskite for cheap solar cells, without compromising its near-perfect performance. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, used an organic molecule as a ‘template’ to guide perovskite films into the desired phase as they form...