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 Andrea Russell

    Professor of Physical Electrochemistry

    Research interests

    • Structure/property relationships in electrocatalysts
    • Development and application of syncrotron based spectroscopic techniques for operando characterisation of electrocatalysts, electrode structures, and electrochemical interfaces
    • Development and application of vibrational spectroscopies (IR and Raman) to study electrochemical interfaces and reactions
    Connect with Andrea

    Dr Benjamin Cerfontaine

    Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering

    Research interests

    • Offshore renewable energy - wind, tidal and wave
    • Numerical and Physical Modelling of infrastructure for renewable energy
    • Constitutive modelling of geomaterials for cyclic loading

    Accepting applications from PhD students

    Connect with Benjamin

    Professor Bharath Ganapathisubramani

    Professor of Experimental Fluid Mechani

    Accepting applications from PhD students

    Connect with Bharath

    Dr Crystal El Safadi

    Associate Professor Maritime Archaeology

    Research interests

    • Ancient Mediterranean Seafaring
    • Maritime Cultural Heritage
    • Geospatial Data and Mapping

    Accepting applications from PhD students

    Connect with Crystal

    Professor Damon Teagle

    Director of SMMI

    Research interests

    • • Formation and evolution of the ocean crust
    • • Fluid-rock interactions and Ore mineralisation
    • • Geochemical analysis

    Accepting applications from PhD students

    Connect with Damon

    Professor Fraser Sturt

    Deputy Director SMMI

    Research interests

    • Maritme Archaeology
    • Geomatics
    • Evaluation methods

    Accepting applications from PhD students

    Connect with Fraser

    Dr George Callender

    Lecturer in Electrical & Electronic Eng
    Connect with George

    Dr Giulia Champion PhD

    Research Fellow (Anniversary Fellowship)

    Research interests

    • Blue, Energy and Environmental Humanities
    • Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies
    • Marine and Maritime Cultural Productions
    Connect with Giulia

    Dr Hachem Kassem

    Lecturer

    Research interests

    • Nearshore hydrodynamics and coastal sediment dynamics
    • Coastal and ocean engineering and flow-structure-seabed-biota interactions
    • Adaptive, nature-inclusive solutions to climate-mediated geohazards, including flooding, erosion and habitat degradation

    Accepting applications from PhD students

    Connect with Hachem

    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.