Scotland's energy sector centres of excellence

Scotland’s 15 universities produce thousands of graduates and world class research every year.

A tradition of partnership working between Scotland’s academic research sector and and the oil and gas industry continues to benefit the energy industry today.

Many of Scotland’s universities are involved in cutting-edge research that is directly benefiting Scotland’s renewable energy companies.

Scotland’s centres of excellence include:

  • Scottish Energy Laboratory (SEL) - Scotland's new national energy laboratory, a hub for Scotland's energy research, test and demonstration sector
  • Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) – largest, most broad based power and energy research partnership in Europe with around 250 academics and 600 researchers
  • University of Aberdeen Oil and Gas Centre – building on the University’s close links with the industry and promoting oil and gas related activities
  • University of Dundee Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy – internationally renowned graduate school in the field of international business transactions, natural resources, energy law, and policy
  • European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) – Based in Orkney, EMEC is the first centre of its kind in the world offering opportunities to test full-scale grid-connected devices in unrivalled wave and tidal conditions
  • Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) - Part of the International Technology and Renewable Energy Zone (ITREZ) in Glasgow, the TIC will house 850 academics and 500 engineers, researchers and project managers from industry. 
  • Scottish European Green Energy Centre (SEGEC) – based at the University of Aberdeen, SEGEC’s position at the forefront of renewable energy innovation was recently recognised with £1.6 million grant from European Regional Development Fund
  • BioMara Project – a UK and Ireland joint venture, the University of Strathclyde has been researching the economic, social and technological aspects of generating biofuel from algae
  • Hydrogen Office - created to accelerate the development of sustainable energy in Scotland by demonstrating the important role renewable energy can play in Scotland's future
  • SUPERGEN – a consortium of universities researching the development of PV materials and excitonic solar cells, the University of Edinburgh is investigating cost reduction techniques
  • Institute for Energy Systems (IES) – based at the University of Edinburgh, IES has a current research grant portfolio of around £10 million
Play the Energy Technology Partnetship video