Food, energy and sustainability challenges

The power of language in a plastic waste crisis

Only 9 per cent of plastic in the UK is successfully recycled. With over half of UK households choosing to put one or more items in the general rubbish, researchers at Sheffield are taking a linguistic approach to change the nation’s throwaway culture.

A multidisciplinary project

Transforming the efficiency of wind turbines

Led by the University of Sheffield, a major collaboration between universities and energy companies aims to reduce the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels by making offshore wind energy production more efficient, more reliable and cheaper to produce.

Taking charge

Protecting one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth

Colombia is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world and is home to 10 per cent of the planet’s species. But Colombia is also a hotspot for extinction and biodiversity loss because of climate and land-use changes.

The PARAMO project

Have we turned plants against us?

Air pollution is a growing threat to our health and climate. But research by Dr Stuart Campbell found that its effects on plants could be worse than we initially thought.

A vicious cycle

Moving beyond food banks

Inflation is at its highest level in four decades and an increasing number of British households are struggling to access basics including food. Dr Megan Blake is redefining food support in the UK by addressing the wider effects that food insecurity has on health, wellbeing, and communities.

Food Ladders

Tackling hunger and food insecurity in the UK

We all have a right to food, yet household food insecurity persists in the UK. How can organisations, politicians and the public work together to find a solution?

Addressing the challenges

How can we feed the world with foam?

An abandoned school isn’t where you’d expect to find researchers trying to solve the problem of feeding a world of 10 billion. Then again, neither is a refugee camp. But this team of University of Sheffield researchers are nothing short of resourceful.

The mattress moment

How to weigh a forest from space

Set to launch in 2023, the European Space Agency BIOMASS mission will attempt to measure the biomass in the Earth's forests (and its changes) from an altitude of 600 km. Its lead scientist is Professor Shaun Quegan of the School of Mathematics and Statistics.

BIOMASS

Energy, a powerful resource

Energy is a critical resource. But our growing population and desire to consume is demanding more. At current rates of economic growth and development we’re going to run out of resources, including energy...

Harnessing big data

A groovy way to boost solar power efficiency

While solar energy is renewable, the manufacturing process for panels is wasteful. Professor David Lidzey and Power Roll Ltd have developed a solar cell design that is more efficient and cuts production costs.

Changing the future of renewable energy

Surviving climate chaos

A combination of population growth, resource scarcity and climate change have left our food supplies vulnerable. How can we produce food in a way that can withstand these challenges?

Becoming resilient

How to cool and heat your house for free

The energy we dedicate to powering our air conditioning units in the UK has reached alarming levels. With energy prices creeping up and summer temperatures soaring, is there a better way of keeping ourselves cool?

Air contradiction

The case of the ‘missing ice’

Rising sea levels are one of the biggest challenges posed by climate change. We've been studying the melting of Antarctica, to help researchers get to the core of predicting future sea level rises.

Solving the mystery

illustration of a lightbuld, solar panels and wind turbines

Powering the future

In sub-saharan Africa there are more people without electricity today than there were in 2000. Thousands of people in the UK can’t afford to heat their homes in the winter. And millions of people around the world don’t have access to energy.

Powerful partnerships

The invisibles: tracking solar energy

Today, solar electricity comes from nearly a million homes, schools, hospitals, supermarkets, factories and fields. But how do you track a million invisible electricity creators?

Training the data

The pesticide paradox

Pesticides are a key part of modern agriculture, but with often unpredictable effects damaging crucial elements of our ecosystem, where does regulation draw the line?

Creating an acceptable killer

Understanding the Arctic

The Arctic covers 14.5 million square kilometers of the earth’s surface but we know relatively little about it. So how do you connect such a vast, scientifically unknown region?

A collaborative approach

Charging towards the next generation of batteries

Batteries are everywhere, but the process for manufacturing them is expensive, energy intensive and relies on depleting resources. Our researchers are at the forefront of developing new, innovative materials to create a brighter future for batteries.

Staying positive

Research