The University has launched its interdisciplinary MPhil Programme in Advanced Materials for the Energy Transition and PhD in Sustainable Energy Materials Innovations, with cohorts of both starting in October 2025.
Global warming and energy challenges are putting strong constraints on our society and will lead to major economic and societal changes in the future. To overcome these challenges and promote a sustainable modern society, it is necessary to develop new technologies with minimum environmental impact for example with low energy consumption and low carbon production.
The development of these energy-materials-based new technologies necessitates an interdisciplinary expertise in scientific and technological domains such as Physics, Chemistry, and Materials Science. This interdisciplinary training is necessary to understand and model new materials properties, find ways to synthesize them, and develop new zero-carbon energy technologies.
Now open for applications, the two programmess intend to address the challenges.
The MPhil in Advanced Materials for the Energy Transition is an 11 month Master Programme that is designed to deliver outstanding postgraduate level training in the sciences related to the development of new materials for low-carbon energy technologies.
The 3.5 years Sustainable Energy Materials Innovation PhD course will train diverse cohorts in science and engineering to drive the materials innovations needed to accelerate the global energy transition.
MPhil Programme in Advanced Materials for the Energy Transition
The MPhil is an 11 month programme designed to deliver postgraduate level training in the sciences related to the development of new materials for low-carbon energy technologies. The Master level degree combines core elements with general and specialised training with a strong research project element. The training will combine different scientific disciplines.
The diverse topics addressed in the course will prepare students for long-term careers in a rapidly growing zero-carbon energy sector where broad knowledge of flexible and agile energy materials and systems is required to deliver a secure and sustainable global energy landscape. The course offers a multidisciplinary approach to energy materials, such that graduates are well placed to work in a diverse range of energy-related areas that are in high demand from employers.
Find out the full details and application process
Sustainable Energy Materials Innovation PhD
Sustainable Energy Materials Innovations (SEM) PhD Programme is a 3.5 year interdisciplinary programme across Physical Science and Engineering at the University of Cambridge offering training in energy materials required to deliver net zero by 2050.
The course will provide diverse training in the design and discovery, development, scale-up, life-cycle analysis, and systems integration of advanced energy materials and devices in areas strongly guided by the needs of the ‘net-zero’ industry. It will train the future leaders needed for a rapid transition to a zero-carbon society and make transformational, incremental, and disruptive materials discoveries facilitating the energy transition.
Training is interspersed throughout programme and includes:
- Life cycle analysis project (run jointly with Advanced Materials for the Energy Transition MPhil)
- Cambridge Zero Postgraduate Academy
- Regular seminars and PI academic perspective talks
- Career development and innovation training
Research topics include:Batteries and supercapacitors, Carbon capture and storage, Enabling methodologies, Low-power information processing, Manufacturing and sustainability, Nuclear and Fusion, Photovoltaics, Power electronics, Sustainable green fuels/chemicals, Solid state heating and cooling, Supply chains/markets, Policy, Waste heat harvesting/thermoelectrics, Wind power
The current list of research projects for Michaelmas 2025 entry can be found here. Please note that this will continue to be updated as more projects become available.