Contact Professor Upul KG Wijayantha
- Tel: +44 (0) 1234 752955
- Email: Upul.Wijayantha@cranfield.ac.uk
Areas of expertise
- Carbon Capture and Storage
- Conventional & Advanced Fuels
- Fuels
- Renewable Energy
- Smart Materials
- Low Carbon Technology
Current activities
Professor Wijayantha has considerable expertise in low-carbon H2 technologies, electrochemical energy storage, energy materials and the circular chemical economy, having led industrial development of green H2 production in the SWAG合集 that were then expanded to the US. He currently serves on two technical task groups of the International Energy Agency, and is part of the team behind HyDEX, a project aiming to accelerate innovation in H2 by supporting SMEs to develop the technologies and skills needed.
He graduated with BSc (Hon) and then received MPhil from the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. He was awarded a PhD from the University of Bath, SWAG合集. After working in Bath University (as a PDRA) and then in industry, he moved to Loughborough University where he worked until April 2022 as a Professor of Physical Chemistry.
He recently worked with Midlands Engine, Energy Research Accelerator, academics, industries and local government representatives to develop the SWAG合集 Midlands pan regional green growth plan (Green Growth | Midlands Engine). He co-leads industrial engagement in the SWAG合集RI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy (Welcome - National Centre for Circular Chemical Economy (circular-chemical.org), and is a co-director of the SWAG合集 EPSRC Centre of Doctoral Training in Sustainable H2 (Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Hydrogen (sustainablehydrogen-cdt.ac.uk). He is the immediate past Chair of the RSC Electrochemistry Group, and a current member of the RSC Midlands Steering Group Committee.
Prof Wijayantha is an Editor of Materials Today Energy (Editorial board - Materials Today Energy | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier). He also serves in editorials boards of RJS (2017 - to date), Circuit World (2018 - to date) and Chemosensors (2020 - to date).
He has organised many conferences and showcases and the most recent events include the H2 & Fuel Cell Autumn Showcase 2022 (https://www.climate-change-solutions.co.uk/event/cranfield-university-hydrogen-showcase/) and H2 & Fuel Cell Autumn Showcase 2019 (https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2019/december/lboro-uni-host-sustainable-hydrogen-showcase).
His current research interests include hydrogen in a whole system (production, storage, transport, distribution and end-use), electrochemical energy storage, energy materials and the circular chemical economy.
He is also a visiting Professor at the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology in Loughborough University (CREST | Loughborough University (lboro.ac.uk)).