Research group

Ocean Energy

Offshore wind turbines producing renewable and green energy

We bring together experts addressing energy challenges from the perspectives of technology, the environment, society, finance, and policy. Our aim is to unlock the potential of ocean renewable energy.

About

The Ocean Energy Special Interest Group (SIG) serves as a hub at the University of Southampton for matters related to the role of seas and oceans in decarbonizing the economy. It also helps achieve net-zero goals worldwide.

Research areas

Our topics of interest are centred around technological, environmental, societal, financial, and policy challenges related to:

  • harvesting of renewable energies (eg offshore wind, wave, freestream tidal energy, tidal barrages and floating solar systems)
  • storage and transformation of offshore energy (eg energy islands, H2 creation)
  • sustainable decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructures

Oceans are pivotal in the world strategy to meet the net-zero objectives, by providing abundant and clean sources of renewable energy. However, the full exploitation of this energy resource faces many challenges of diverse nature. These include the harsh offshore environment, sharing the ocean with many stakeholders, and evolving policy and regulations. Most importantly, it is essential to avoid mistakes of the past and wild industrialisation of our seas and oceans.

Vision and aims

Our vision is to bring together people and skills from across the university and many fields of research to develop transdisciplinary approaches for sustainable ocean energy exploitation. We do this through:

  • fostering research collaboration between faculties and fields of research
  • fostering collaboration with non-academic stakeholders and serving as a contact point for ocean energy matters
  • raising awareness of ocean energy challenges and showcasing how the University of Southampton is working to address these challenges through research, knowledge exchange and other means

Activities

Our events and opportunities are designed in line with the goals we aim to achieve. They include a combination of internal and external activities, such as:

  • themed workshops or lectures bringing together academic and non-academic partners
  • sandpit activities to lay the foundations of interdisciplinary grant application or paper writing
  • invited lectures on case studies from industry
  • development of educational material or media briefings

To find out more about the Ocean Energy Special Interest Group and what we do, get in touch with group champions Dr Yao Zhang, Dr Luke Myers and Dr Benjamin Cerfontaine.

Join the SMMI Community to sign up to this group, and any others of interest to you.

Research highlights

Making offshore carbon storage safe

A team of researchers in Southampton played a key role in a European project to determine the viability of safely and securely storing carbon offshore.

Optimising power transfer for renewable energy

Our researchers are running a series of projects to optimise the design of marine high voltage cables, used in offshore windfarms, to maximise power transfer and save money.

People, projects and publications

People

Professor AbuBakr Bahaj

Professor of Sustainable Energy

Research interests

  • Renewable Energy (Solar photovoltaics, Marine energy, Wind energy)
  • Low carbon cities and infrastructure
  • Energy for Development
Connect with AbuBakr

Professor Adam Prugel-Bennett

Prof of Electronics & Computer Science
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Professor Adam Sobey

Professor of Data-Centric Engineering

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Mr Adrian Bodenmann

Senior Research Fellow

Research interests

  • High-resolution visual seafloor mapping for benthic habitat mapping and subsea infrastructure monitoring
  • Remote awareness for autonomous offshore mapping operations
  • Uncertainty characterisation in digital 3D reconstructions
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Dr Adrian Nightingale

Lecturer in Microfluidics&Sensor Design

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Professor Alan J Murphy

Professor in Maritime Engineering

Research interests

  • Decarbonising shipping
  • Emission reduction from ships
  • Energy efficiency for maritime systems and ship propulsion

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Emeritus Professor Alan Kemp

Research interests

  • Diatom ecology and palaeoecology and the role of diatoms in biogeochmical cycling
  • High resolution records of palaeoclimatic and environmental change, especially from laminated sediments
  • Interannual to decadal scale climate variability
Connect with Alan

Professor Alberto Naveira Garabato

Professor in Physical Oceanography

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Alberto

Dr Alessandro Silvano

NERC Independent Research Fellow

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Alessandro

Related research institutes, centres and groups

Related research institutes, centres and groups

Connect with us

Enquiries

If you're interested in joining us or collaborating, get in touch with the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute.