Iain Staffell is a multi-disciplinary scientist and Lecturer in Sustainable Energy at the Centre for Environmental Policy. He holds degrees in Physics (BSc), the Physics and Technology of Nuclear Reactors (MSc), and Chemical Engineering (PhD). He started his career at the University of Birmingham, overseeing the UK’s first field trials of hydrogen home heating systems and fuel cell vehicle fleets. He then moved into economics, and the Department of Management at Imperial College Business School, modelling the impact that intermittent renewable power will have on electricity systems, and the solutions that technology and market mechanisms can offer.
Iain’s research focusses on the technical and economic aspects of low carbon energy. His current research areas include the potential of an interconnected super-grid and smart energy storage systems to reduce the cost and carbon emissions of generating electricity across Europe; the impacts that climate change will have on the business case for renewables; the role of flexible fossil power in balancing decarbonised energy systems; and residential-scale microgeneration for decarbonising the heat sector.
Iain co-convenes the Energy Policy option of the Environmental Technology MSc course, lecturing on energy economics and policy. He also teaches for Imperial College Business School on the MSc in Economics & Strategy for Business.