Energy and the environment explored at Science and the Assembly

The potential of rust or waves for generating power, and the tracing of wildlife using real time DNA sequencing were just some of the potential applications of fascinating chemistry being done in Wales and presented at the eleventh annual Science and the Assembly event. The Senedd and Pierhead buildings in Cardiff Bay hosted the packed event as researchers working in universities and in industry explained their activities under the topics of energy and the environment.

Opening the event, our immediate past president Lesley Yellowlees reflected on Wales's proud history in fuel cell development and looked ahead to how Wales would continue to innovate, while also protecting the environment. Council member Peter Knowles chaired the afternoon panels and presentations, revealing the high-quality research being done in Wales and sharing it with members of the National Assembly for Wales.

Professor James Durrant, Sêr Cymru Solar Professor at the University of Swansea, and also of Imperial College London, described a range of future power sources that could be more flexible and easier to use than current solar panel technology. Even rust could one day be a source of solar power, he said. Dr Iwan Davies of IQE in Cardiff also presented a range of future possibilities for high concentration photovoltaics.

Wave and tidal energy could satisfy 50% of peak demand in the UK and Dr Matt Lewis, a Sêr Cymru research fellow at the School of Ocean Sciences, showed the potential of wave and tidal energy as a renewable resource. He cautioned that more research is needed to study the interaction between the sea, devices used to capture wave and tidal energy, and the surrounding environment.

Dr David Clubb of RenewableUK Cymru warned that Wales was changing from its historical position as an exporter of electricity to the rest of the UK, to potentially being an importer.

The speakers on a range of environment topics were Professor David Thomas, Director of the Sêr Cymru National Research Network for Low carbon, Energy and the Environment, who is also Professor of Marine Biology at Bangor University; Professor Peter Kille of Cardiff University; Professor Paul Bates, Head of the School of Geographical Sciences at the University of Bristol; and Professor Alan Guwy, Director of the Sustainable Environment Research Centre.

Professor Kille showed a pocket-sized DNA sequencer to illustrate the relative speed at which genes in different organisms can now be recognised. He explained that this could have a lot of uses in protecting the environment as DNA from different animals could be picked up from different locations demonstrating where native species are under threat from invasive species. It can also help illustrate changes in animal activity in response to climate change.

Climate change was also an important topic in Professor Bates’ presentation, as he reviewed the threat of extreme weather events to Wales. “It’s not the climate that will get you, it’s the weather,” he said, as he outlined the different types of extreme events that can affect Wales and southwest England.

Ceri Davies, Director of Knowledge, Strategy, and Planning for Natural Resources Wales summed up the topics of energy and the environment by discussing some of the challenges Wales faces including climate change, energy security and affordability, and loss of biodiversity. She explained that if the Environment Bill becomes law, it will provide new tools, such as the State of Natural Resources Report.

“This will give an evidence base for action, and using that evidence we’ll be looking at what needs to change, what we need to do, and others need to do, to ensure the natural resources of Wales remain available,” she said.

The event was sponsored by David Rees AM, Eluned Parrott AM, Nick Ramsay AM, and Simon Thomas AM.

The Royal Society of Chemistry organises Science and the Assembly on behalf of, and in cooperation with, the scientific and engineering community in Wales. The event was held in association with The Royal Society, Institute of Physics, Society of Biology, Campaign for Science and Engineering, The Royal Astronomical Society, Society for General Microbiology, The Learned Society of Wales, and the Geological Society.