Energy research within Midlands Innovation
The Midlands is at the heart of energy research in the UK, and the Midlands Innovation partnership boasts a range of world-class expertise in energy technologies.
The global need to move from a dependency on fossil fuels to renewables has never been more acute. The need for clean, affordable and secure energy, coupled with the applied skills to be able to deliver innovation is a national priority, and the Energy Research Accelerator (ERA), has been established to help deliver a step change in energy innovation in the UK. ERA builds upon the partnership of Midlands universities who formed the Midlands Energy Consortium in 2007 and hosted the Energy Technologies Institute.

The purpose of ERA is to work with the UK government, industry and the higher education sector to undertake innovative research, develop the next generation of energy leaders and demonstration low carbon technologies that help to shape the future of the UK’s energy landscape.
A Midlands Innovation initiative, ERA is working to address the most pressing global energy challenges. Based on the four innovation themes of Energy Conversion, Energy Storage, Energy Distribution and Energy Use, ERA is finding new ways to address the issue of climate change through the development of renewable energy solutions and the reduction of carbon emissions.
The Energy Research Accelerator draws on the vast expertise of the universities of Aston, Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham and Warwick, plus the British Geological Survey. Drawing on unrivalled facilities and over 400 staff and 1000 PhD students working in energy-related areas, ERA is focused on finding solutions to the most pressing energy challenges, through research, the development of demonstrators and through training the next generation of energy researchers.
New partners to ERA programme, the universities of Cranfield and Keele, boast a range of world-leading facilities and demonstration projects in energy research, which are also available for businesses to utilise.