Tech Talk | Engineer or physicist?

The energy transition is demanding a range of new skills, some that can be gained from upskilling but others that must be attracted to the sector.

When one thinks of professionals in the electricity sector one tends to think first of engineers as a key role, be they electrical or mechanical.

But a new study by Britain’s Institute of Physics (IOP) highlights the important role of physics and physicists in delivering the energy transition and net zero – and perhaps no less important.

For example, physics has played a uniquely important role in the development of climate science which uses physics modelling techniques to help understand our world and its biosphere.

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Equally, most clean technologies are built on physics discovery and innovation and need physics skills for their continued development.

Tellingly, the study reports, since 2006 almost three-quarters of the £2.4 billion UKRI research council R&D investment in five of the central green economy technology areas – nuclear, renewables, hydrogen and clean fuels, energy storage and carbon capture, usage and storage – has been for research topics classed by the IOP as ‘core physics’ and ‘strongly physics’.

In particular, the greatest investment has been into less mature research topics, such as energy storage and newer areas of nuclear such as fusion, while hydrogen has seen a slight increase in growth over the last five years.

Conversely, the better established technology areas such as wind have seen lower levels of funding across the two decades, reflecting the maturity from an R&D perspective.

Green technology advancement

The report Physics powering the green economy states that investment in physics R&D over the last two decades has enabled a dramatic transformation in the energy system, reduced the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere and supported the development of significant numbers of low carbon businesses.

However, the scale of change still required cannot be overstated – as indeed IOP members believe, with 83% of those responding to a survey not thinking the UK is on track to net zero in 2050.

The report continues that each of the five technology areas are crucial to growing the green economy, but none will achieve this alone and they need to work in concert to successfully replace fossil fuels.

For example, the non-constant nature of renewable electricity generation from solar and wind means that energy storage is vital to their effective deployment.

Aside from fossil fuels, only nuclear energy or gas turbines/combined-cycle gas turbines powered by hydrogen or alternative fuels, and/or with carbon capture and storage, can provide the constant baseload power.

Alternative fuels are needed to power aircraft and heavy vehicles for which battery power is not enough.

Meanwhile, carbon capture, usage and storage is vital as a mitigating technology while fossil fuels continue to be used in conjunction with alternative fuels.

From its analysis, the IOP identifies no less than 41 key green technology advancement areas and 158 physics dependencies underpinned by a wide range of physics disciplines that are still needed to unlock their potential as drivers of change.

For example, for renewables the development of materials is a recurring theme to enable improvements in performance and scaling.

For solar energy high priorities are advancements in both solar electrical and solar thermal, while for wind energy storage and grid capacity as well as alternative wind turbine designs are named as short term priorities.

Similarly improvements in energy storage are needed with optimised lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries short-term priorities, while hydrogen as a national-scale storage solution is in the mid-term.

For nuclear the priority is seen as its ability to deliver flexibility to the system.

Building the business base

The report also points to the need to build on the business base – currently numbering 1,653 and 119 unique green economy companies across the UK and Ireland respectively – to drive sector growth and international competition.

However, there are challenges. Skills shortages was highlighted as the top one for growing the green economy, with others the lack of infrastructure and public attitudes.

In conclusion – and while focussed on the UK situation but undoubtedly applicable in numerous other countries – the report calls for public and private investment in physics R&D to remain a high priority and for policies to support business innovation.

“Physicists, trained to tackle complex systems through data analysis, have a vital role to play in developing solutions. A healthy physics ecosystem is therefore essential to the continued development of the green economy (in the UK and Ireland).”

Physics-trained professionals working in the electricity sector? – we would welcome your insights.

Jonathan Spencer Jones

Specialist writer
Smart Energy International

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