The National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC) is part of the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Environmental Data Service and is hosted by the British Geological Survey (BGS). We manage nationally important datasets concerned with geology, geoscience and the sub-surface.

Our staff help researchers in ensuring that the data they produce are curated appropriately for the long term, guaranteeing their security, accessibility and re-usability for the user community.

The NGDC is...

The Hydrogen Systems Test Bed is a flexible test facility for developing different hydrogen components relating to generation, storage and use. The facility also includes a 1MWh hydrogen store that enables testing to systems up to 100 kW in scale. The facilities are developing novel materials such as a low cost AB2 metal hydride alloy which have a very high energy density  (1 kWh/L) – cf. Li-ion batteries. Metal hydride storage enables compact storage of hydrogen at low pressures (<10 bar).

The Powertrain Research Hub focuses on the development of next-generation offshore wind powertrains, optimising their operation, reliability and performance. ORE Catapult has partnered with the University of Sheffield to support the development of future technologies for larger turbines. 

The Hub’s key objectives are:

• Reliability improvement and advanced test methodologies
• Advanced health condition monitoring and prognostic technologies
• Development of next-generation powertrain...

The Hydro-Thermal Carbonisation (HTC) rig, located at the CPL Industries production site at Immingham, North Lincs is a technology for converting high-moisture biomass into solid fuels using moderate temperatures and high pressures. The HTC process effectively mimics the long-term natural process of coal formation, with the process taking a matter of hours rather than millennia. The process is able to convert waste streams such as green / organic waste into value-added fuel products that can be...

The Earlham Institute Advanced Training infrastructure provides a programme of events, aimed at life scientists who are engaging in increasingly data-driven research, specifically those related to -omics techniques. The increasing trend for large-scale research projects means, in areas such as genomics with fast-moving technological advancements, that higher education curricula often fails to keep pace. This leads to skills gaps in recent graduates who are often missing the vital combination of...

The High Value Manufacturing Catapult is the go-to place for manufacturing technology innovation in the UK. Our seven centres, listed below, work across 17 locations covering all parts of country to support manufacturers in over 4,000 projects per year, offering open access to the latest industrial scale equipment, leading expertise and an environment of collaboration between industry, academia and government. We cover the full range of manufacturing technology capabilities, from biologics to...

The Integrated Energy Storage, Testing and Verification (IESTV) facility at Leicester University enables the integrated testing of supercapacitors, battery storage and compressed air systems. This facility, with its associated control system, allows different energy vectors to be integrated together into an ‘energy store’. The aim of the facility is to investigate the operation and interaction between various energy storage systems integrated with energy networks through computer simulation and...

The Nuclear AMRC helps UK manufacturers win work across the nuclear sector – in new build, operations and decommissioning – and in other low-carbon industries. Its facilities and services are open to all.

The centre's engineers and sector specialists work with companies to develop innovative techniques and optimised processes for large-scale high-precision manufacturing. Companies can use the Nuclear AMRC's state-of-the-art workshops to develop and test new processes on production-scale...

The MDL contains a multidisciplinary development suite for the advanced characterisation of and accelerated cycle testing of energy technologies. The facilities provide a multidisciplinary pathway to accelerate energy research from the bench to prototype devices and back again. It allows for the support of energy research internally, nationally and internationally through establishing a collaboration-based facility access structure. The MD-lab is housed on the first floor of the RAD building on...

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) is a world-class centre for research into advanced manufacturing technologies used in the aerospace, automotive, medical and other high-value manufacturing sectors.

The AMRC has a global reputation for helping companies overcome manufacturing problems and is a model for collaborative research involving universities, academics and industry worldwide.

Combining state of the art technologies with the AMRC’s expertise in...