University of Sussex to establish new £15 million centre to help reduce UK energy demand

The University of Sussex will play a part in the UK's bid to reach net zero by being home to a new Energy Demand Research Centre.

The new national centre will be led by the universities of Sussex and Newcastle and involve ten other UK universities.

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It will deliver important research and policy recommendations into how to reach net zero by investigating how domestic, industrial and transport energy demands can be reduced across the UK.

Sussex university has received £15 million from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to establish the new centre - part of £53 million in funding awarded by UKRI to decarbonise the energy sector.

"Sussex's expertise in energy research goes back several decades and the new centre draws on this intellectual tradition," said Professor Steven McGuire, dean of the university of Sussex business school.

"The addition of the Energy Demand Research Centre to our existing Sussex Energy Group and the newly announced Bennett Institute for Policy Innovation and Acceleration means that Sussex has an exceptionally large, deep and expert collection of leading academics working on combating climate change through rigorous research that informs policy and practice."

Mari Martiskainen, Professor of energy and society in the university of Sussex business school, added:

"This new centre will deliver important research and policy recommendations into how to reach net zero.

"Energy demand reduction will improve energy security, reduce household energy bills and address climate change.

"Many people and businesses across the UK, including in the Brighton area, have struggled with their energy costs in the last year, so it is vital that we improve energy efficiency of our buildings to make them more resilient to both extreme weather and future price shocks."

The funding for the Energy Demand Research Centre comes from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council.

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