Voice of the Community (this article first appeared in the EPSRC February 2026 newsletter)
This edition we are joined by Neil Beattie, Professor of Energy Innovation and the Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Renewable Energy Northeast Universities (ReNU).
Tell us a bit about yourself
I am a Professor of Energy Innovation at Northumbria University, Newcastle. I have 20 years experience of working in clean tech R&D (both in industry and academia) and focus on the intersection of research, innovation and skills for a more sustainable future. At Northumbria, I co-lead a research group working across photovoltaics (PV) from materials and devices, to components and systems. Recently, my own research has focused on sustainably scaling to multi-terawatt electricity generation from PV – this involves quantifying environmental impact using life-cycle assessment with the aim of informing the design of future PV devices, modules and systems.
Could you tell us a bit about your involvement with with ReNU and now ReNU+?
I’m strongly motivated by the development of people across STEM disciplines and have worked with many different stakeholders from regional school children through Northumbria’s NUSTEM outreach programme, to senior executives at some of the world’s best-known companies. In 2019, and together with colleagues at Newcastle and Durham universities, we created the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Renewable Energy Northeast Universities (ReNU). We built on the success of this programme in 2024 with the award of ReNU+ and I am the Director of both of these CDTs. Across both programmes, our team is focused on training 117 “Doctoral Carbon Champions”, and providing them with the opportunity, together with industry, to become the next-generation of leaders in the transition to Net Zero. ReNU+ was one of the few programmes in EPSRC’s Supporting an Innovative Approach to CDT Delivery and we have a particular focus on: (1) building more diverse cohorts; and (2) extending the benefits of the CDT model more widely - we think that both of these features are essential to the energy transition.
What did you enjoy most about creating the EPSRC-ISCF North East Centre for Energy Materials (NECEM)?
The ReNU/ReNU+ CDTs are training programmes that built on the success of the EPSRC-ISCF North East Centre for Energy Materials. Founded in 2017, we created a coherent narrative for research excellence in energy materials in the NE of England. I really enjoyed working with colleagues and businesses across the region and performing the research that led to two subsequent programmes of EPSRC funding in Adventurous Manufacturing: Photovoltaic Paint (EP/T005491/1) and Re-imagining Photovoltaics Manufacturing (EP/W010062/1). Ultimately, the biggest impact we have is the development of highly-skilled people who will drive a cleaner and greener future across society.
