Earth Resources

The Net Zero energy transition will place unprecedented demand on natural resources, both as a means of generating renewable energy and as sources of raw materials required for generation, storage and transmission of electricity. The urgency of the transition calls for new thinking about where to explore for and how to recover natural resources. The Resources Research theme covers novel sources of energy, such as geothermal brines and hydrogen, strategies for geological sequestration of CO2, and techniques for recovering critical metals from a wide variety of natural and waste fluids. This research challenge is approached through a combination of geophysics, geochemistry, high-temperature experiments and materials science.  Neither resource discovery and extraction nor waste disposal comes without environmental considerations. It is by applying and combining our understanding of geological, geochemical, geophysical and biogeological systems that we can find new resources, new ways of producing them with minimal environmental cost, and new and safe places to responsibly dispose of waste. Current projects are funded through diverse grants from research councils and industry.

Faculty working in this area include:

Chris Ballentine
Joe Cartwright
Hugh Jenkyns
Stuart Robinson
Jon Blundy