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Durham Energy Institute

Durham Energy Institute connects researchers, communities, industry and policymakers to accelerate clean, fair and inclusive energy transitions.
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Welcome to Durham Energy Institute

Decarbonising energy is one of the biggest global challenges of our time.

Durham Energy Institute works across the energy sector to connect expertise and broker research partnerships. We provide an independent hub for evidence-led energy transitions that are technically and economically viable, socially acceptable, and environmentally sustainable. Through research, training, and outreach, we collaborate to address key energy challenges. We build the capacity, trust, and networks needed for decisions that integrate diverse perspectives and expertise.
Find out more about us
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Discover

  • Rethinking the North Sea as a national hydrogen reserve

    Depleted North Sea oil and gas fields could store enough green hydrogen to meet electricity needs for years. Our modelling shows how renewables, hydrogen production, and geological storage can work together to create long-term reserves.

     

     

    Hydrogen Research Paper

  • Powering the Future: Ammonia as a Clean Fuel

    Green ammonia could help decarbonise shipping by replacing fossil fuels. Produced using renewable energy, it offers a low‑carbon option but requires investment in supply, infrastructure, and safety measures to enable widespread, safe adoption.

     

    Ammonia Policy Brief Cover

Rethinking the North Sea as a national hydrogen reserve

Depleted North Sea oil and gas fields could store enough green hydrogen to meet electricity needs for years. Our modelling shows how renewables, hydrogen production, and geological storage can work together to create long-term reserves.

 

 

Hydrogen Research Paper

Powering the Future: Ammonia as a Clean Fuel

Green ammonia could help decarbonise shipping by replacing fossil fuels. Produced using renewable energy, it offers a low‑carbon option but requires investment in supply, infrastructure, and safety measures to enable widespread, safe adoption.

 

Ammonia Policy Brief Cover
Energy Day poster

DEI Energy Day Conference 2026: Safe and Sound: Energy Security, Innovation and Communities

DEI’s Energy Day, held at Redhills on 5 November, explores energy security amid geopolitical shocks, rising demand and climate impacts. Bringing together academia, industry, policy and communities, it showcases resilient, fair energy solutions to cut emissions and support all communities.

Read more here Register here

Energy Institute News

  • Rebuilding the Coalfield Common Wealth: DEI at the Redhills Assembly 2026

    Durham Energy Institute was represented at the Redhills Assembly 2026, a two-day gathering exploring how communities across the Durham coalfield can build a fairer, more sustainable and locally controlled economy.
    Durham news
    Speakers on stage at Redhills at the Redhills Assembly Durham Energy Manifesto Session

  • Granting a new gasfield licence does not guarantee energy security

    The UK government is considering approving a licence for the Jackdaw gasfield, but would it answer Britain’s energy security problem? Or are there other ways to use the North Sea to reduce bills, increase energy security and create jobs in clean energy storage? Durham Energy Institute experts Professor Stuart Jones and Professor Jon Gluyas, Emeritus Chair in Geoenergy, Carbon Capture & Storage, both Department of Earth Sciences, and Dr Andrew Crossland, Department of Engineering, take a look.
    Global research
    An offshore oil and gas rig stands in the sea against a cloudy and dark skyline.

  • Empty North Sea oil fields could store enough green hydrogen to power the country for seven years

    The UK could store enough green hydrogen in depleted North Sea oil and gas fields to meet the country’s future electricity demands for seven years. The researchers behind this discovery, Professor Stuart Jones, Professor Chris Groves, and Associate Professor in Practice Dr Andrew Crossland, tell us how using the depleted fields for hydrogen storage could take conventional gas power stations off the grid altogether by 2040.
    Global research
    A photograph of an oil and gas rig in the North Sea, against a blue and yellow sky at dusk.

Rebuilding the Coalfield Common Wealth: DEI at the Redhills Assembly 2026

Durham Energy Institute was represented at the Redhills Assembly 2026, a two-day gathering exploring how communities across the Durham coalfield can build a fairer, more sustainable and locally controlled economy.

Durham news
Speakers on stage at Redhills at the Redhills Assembly Durham Energy Manifesto Session

Granting a new gasfield licence does not guarantee energy security

The UK government is considering approving a licence for the Jackdaw gasfield, but would it answer Britain’s energy security problem? Or are there other ways to use the North Sea to reduce bills, increase energy security and create jobs in clean energy storage? Durham Energy Institute experts Professor Stuart Jones and Professor Jon Gluyas, Emeritus Chair in Geoenergy, Carbon Capture & Storage, both Department of Earth Sciences, and Dr Andrew Crossland, Department of Engineering, take a look.
Global research
An offshore oil and gas rig stands in the sea against a cloudy and dark skyline.

Empty North Sea oil fields could store enough green hydrogen to power the country for seven years

The UK could store enough green hydrogen in depleted North Sea oil and gas fields to meet the country’s future electricity demands for seven years. The researchers behind this discovery, Professor Stuart Jones, Professor Chris Groves, and Associate Professor in Practice Dr Andrew Crossland, tell us how using the depleted fields for hydrogen storage could take conventional gas power stations off the grid altogether by 2040.
Global research
A photograph of an oil and gas rig in the North Sea, against a blue and yellow sky at dusk.
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Durham Energy Institute

Level 5

Mountjoy Centre

Durham University

Stockton Road

Durham

DH1 3UP