Professor Jonathan Radcliffe BSc PhD

Professor Jonathan Radcliffe

School of Chemical Engineering
Professor in Energy Systems and Policy
Fellow of the Institute for Global Innovation, Resilient Cities theme lead

Contact details

Email
j.radcliffe@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
Address
University 麻豆精选
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Jonathan Radcliffe is a Professor in Energy Systems and Policy, leading an interdisciplinary research team. His research interests are in energy system technology, policy and innovation, in particular the role of energy storage. He also leads the Resilient Cities theme of the Institute for Global Innovation, working with colleagues across the university to investigate the drivers of urban distress and the conditions for securing city resilience, with a focus on cities that are undergoing transitions.

Professor Radcliffe is a member of EPSRC’s Energy Strategic Advisory Committee, and a Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee.

Jonathan has extensive knowledge of the policy-making process, having worked on science and innovation policy in Government and Parliament for 13 years. He has worked directly with policy makers, academics and business leaders at the highest level.

He has published on future energy innovation priorities, the role of energy storage, and flexibility options for the UK’s energy system. He has experience of working internationally, including recent projects with India, Korea, Brazil, Mexico and the EU.

Jonathan became a full-time academic in January 2015. He regularly presents at national and international conferences, and contributes articles to journals and magazines.

Jonathan's research includes cryogenic energy systems. Learn more about that research at Birmingham:

Qualifications

  • PhD in Experimental solid state physics, University of Cambridge, 1997
  • BSc in Physics, Imperial College London, 1993

Biography

Jonathan Radcliffe obtained a first-class Physics BSc at Imperial College London, with a year at Université de Paris Sud-Orsay in France. He went on to the University of Cambridge where he undertook a PhD at the Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Superconductivity, studying the physical properties of high-temperature superconductors.

Jonathan spent three years at the UK’s Meteorological Office, then in Bracknell. He was a scientist working in Numerical Weather Prediction, testing and developing the UK forecast model.

In 2000 he moved into policy, and spent eight years working around Westminster, including in Government covering the use of science in policy making, and with the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee.

Before joining the University 麻豆精选, Jonathan was Head of the Analysis Team for the Energy Research Partnership, a high-level public-private body, providing strategic direction to energy innovation in the UK. He joined the Centre for Low Carbon Futures in 2013 as Energy Storage Programme Director, then as Acting Director until 2014.

Jonathan now has a position as Professor in Energy Systems and Policy at the University 麻豆精选.

Teaching

  • Course Director for the Global Energy Technologies and Systems MSc
  • Lecturer on 'Energy Economics’ third-year undergraduate module for engineering ‘with Energy’ courses.
  • Lecturer on policy component of ‘Energy Systems and Policy’ post-graduate module.

Postgraduate supervision

PhD supervision in energy storage, systems and innovation.

Research

Research themes

Analysis of energy policy making, regulation and market frameworks under future energy system scenarios and for new energy technologies. Focus on how technologies (in particular energy storage) can enable energy systems to operate with increasing flexibility.

Research activity

Leads the Energy Systems and Policy Group, and Resilient Cities theme of the Institute for Global Innovation, at the University 麻豆精选.

PI and Centre Director for Manifest project (from September 2016), co-Director for SUPERGEN Energy Storage hub. Principal/Co-Investigator on several other research projects; with some smaller projects for industry and Government.

Current research projects (at January 2019):

Profile at ‘Gateway to Research’ for UK publicly funded projects:

Principal Investigator

  • Improving Resilience and Reducing Emissions from diesel Generation in India (IRREG-India), April 2019 – July 2020
  • ‘’ (Manifest), EPSRC (EP/N032888/1), September 2016 – August 2020 
  • ‘Energy Storage Prioritisation Assessment for Mexico’, Newton Fund (Mexico) Institutional Links, April 2018 – March 2019, with partners Instituto Nacional de Electricidad y Energías Limpias (INEEL)
  • ‘Assessing the innovation process for energy storage’, SUPERGEN Energy Storage Hub flexible fund

Co-Investigator

  • Energy Revolution Research Consortium - ‘’, EPSRC (EP/S031863/1), December 2018 - March 2022
  • ‘’, EPSRC (EP/P023436/1), June 2017 - Dec 2021
  • ‘’ (JUICE), EPSRC (EP/P003605/1), June 2016 – May 2020
  • ‘’ (CryoHub), EU H2020 (project number 691761), April 2016 – September 2019
  • ‘’ (C-MADEnS) EPSRC (EP/N001745/1), July 2015 – June 2018
  • ‘’ (RESTLESS) EPSRC (EP/N001893/1), September 2015 – August 2019
  • ‘’ (Energy Superstore) EPSRC (EP/L019469/1), July 2014 – June 2019
  • ‘’ (BCCES), EPSRC equipment grant (EP/L017725/1) December 2013 – December 2023
  • ‘’ (CryoHub), EU H2020 (project number 691761), April 2016 – September 2019
  • ‘’ (C-MADEnS) EPSRC (EP/N001745/1), July 2015 – June 2018
  • ‘’ () EPSRC (EP/N001893/1), September 2015 – August 2019
  • ‘’ () EPSRC (EP/L019469/1), July 2014 – June 2019
  • ‘’ (), EPSRC equipment grant (EP/L017725/1) December 2013 – December 2023

Previous research projects

PI for ‘Across scales in energy decision-making’ (ASCEND) June 2017 - Jan 2018

‘Feasibility Study for requalification of marginal sites into LAES plant’, industry funded project, Mar 2016 – Mar 2017

Co-I on ‘Sub 1MW Cryogenic Low Emission Generators’ Feasibility Study, Innovate UK (131496), January 2014 – December 2014

PI for ‘Creating Business and Research Opportunities from the Development of Energy Storage Technologies’, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Prosperity Fund, May 2013 – March 2015

Other activities

  • Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee for the inquiry on Technologies for meeting Clean Growth emissions reduction targets’ (from January 2019)
  • Member of EPSRC Energy Strategic Advisory Committee (from January 2019)
  • University 麻豆精选 representative on Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) Research Committee
  • External Examiner for MSc Environmental Technology Energy Policy, Imperial College
  • Member of EPSRC Peer Review College
  • Member of European Commission BRIDGE Working Group for smart grid and energy storage projects

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Luiu, C, Wandera, A, Bukachi, V, Kipkemboi, P, Ouko, A, Mulligan, J, Pope, F & Radcliffe, J 2025, '', Journal of Transport and Health, vol. 41, no. 3, 101997.

Hehar, R, Burges, W, Fender, T, Radcliffe, J & Mehta, N 2025, '', Energies, vol. 18, no. 3, 738.

Rendell-Bhatti, F, Appel, M, Inglis, CS, Dilshad, M, Mehta, N, Radcliffe, J, Moya, X, MacLaren, DA & Boldrin, D 2025, '', ACS Applied Energy Materials, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 4793-4802.

Wills, M, Radcliffe, J & Mehta, N 2025, '', Next Research, vol. 2, no. 4, 100922.

Singh, A, Joshi, A, Pope, FD, Singh, B, Khare, M, Kota, SH & Radcliffe, J 2024, '', Cleaner Energy Systems, vol. 9, 100133.

Commissioned report

Ling-Chin, J, Roskilly, AP, Badiee, A, Dawood, H, Dawood, N, Patchigolla, K, Sheikh, AA, Elvins, J, Hardalupas, Y, Heeley, A, Marsh, R, Medina, AV, Marr, I, Mehta, N, Radcliffe, J, Zhang, T, Nie, B, Bao, H, Ngwaka, U, Roy, S & Williams, R 2025, . Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC). <>

Mehta, N, Ling-Chin, J, Ngwaka, U, Roskilly, A, Garc铆a, S, Marr, I, Van der Spek, M, Moustafa, N, Radcliffe, J, Michailos, S, Hobbs, M, Dawood, H, Dawood, N & Hanak, D 2025, . Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC). <>

Conference contribution

Mehta, N, Burges, W, Hehar, R, Fender, T & Radcliffe, J 2025, . in EGU General Assembly 2025., EGU25-20257, pp. 1-2, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27/04/25.

Hutchinson, AJ, Gladwin, DT, Harrison, CM, Radcliffe, J, Bryden, TS, Rogers, DJ, Alahyari, A, Rawat, T, Patsios, C, Forsyth, A & Yan, H 2025, . in 2024 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies - Asia (ISGT Asia). IEEE Innovative Smart Grid Technologies - Asia (ISGT Asia), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2024 IEEE Innovative Smart Grid Technologies - Asia, Bengaluru, India, 10/11/24.

Rawat, T, Alahyari, A, Patsios, C, Harrison, CM, Radcliffe, J, Hutchinson, AJ, Gladwin, DT, Bryden, TS, Rogers, DJ, Yan, H & Forsyth, A 2024, . in 2024 International Conference on Renewable Energies and Smart Technologies (REST). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2024 International Conference on Renewable Energies and Smart Technologies, REST 2024, Prishtina, Barbados, 27/06/24.

Hutchinson, AJ, Gladwin, DT, Harrison, CM, Radcliffe, J, Bryden, TS, Rogers, DJ, Alahyari, A, Rawat, T, Patsios, C, Forsyth, A & Yan, H 2024, . in 2024 International Conference on Renewable Energies and Smart Technologies (REST). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2024 International Conference on Renewable Energies and Smart Technologies, REST 2024, Prishtina, Barbados, 27/06/24.

Hehar, R, Burges, W, Fender, T, Radcliffe, J & Mehta, N 2024, . in Proceedings of the 18th UK Heat Transfer Conference., 133, 18th UK Heat Transfer Conference, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 9/09/24. <>

Bryden, TS, Rogers, DJ, Hutchinson, AJ, Gladwin, DT, Harrison, CM, Radcliffe, J, Alahyari, A, Rawat, T, Patsios, C, Hu, Y & Forsyth, AJ 2024, . in 2024 IEEE Electrical Energy Storage Application and Technologies Conference (EESAT). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2024 IEEE Electrical Energy Storage Application and Technologies Conference, EESAT 2024, San Diego, United States, 29/01/24.

Paper

Sahu, P, Kalyanakumar, S, Singh, R, Nimishakavi, M, Parthasarathy, K, Radcliffe, J, Vasudevan, K & Mehta, N 2025, '', Paper presented at Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress 2025, Chicago, United States, 16/06/25 - 19/06/25.

Review article

Singh, A, Pope, FD, Radcliffe, J, Luiu, C, Bakare, H, Bartington, SE, Bonsu, NO, Bryson, JR, Cheeseman, N, Flowe, H, Krause, S, Newbigging, K, Nunan, F, Reardon, L, Rogers, CDF, Rowlingson, K & Thomson, I 2024, '', npj Climate Action, vol. 3, 110.

Expertise

Dr Jonathan Radcliffe is a Reader in Energy Systems and Policy, leading an interdisciplinary research team. His research interests are in energy system technology, policy and innovation, in particular the role of energy storage. He also leads the Resilient Cities theme of the Institute for Global Innovation, working with colleagues across the university to investigate the drivers of urban distress and the conditions for securing city resilience, with a focus on global cities that are undergoing transitions.

Policy experience

Through his role in the Energy Storage Supergen Hub and several other research projects, Dr Radcliffe has gained experience of working with policy makers and regulators at local, national and EU levels. Some published outputs include:
  • Co-author of a report for the H2FC SUPERGEN: The role of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in delivering Energy Security for the UK (2017) ().
  • Member of the Birmingham Policy Commission on Cold (2015) (/research/activity/energy/policy/cold/doing-cold-smarter.aspx).
  • Author of report on Thermal Energy Storage for Scotland (2015), commissioned by ClimateXChange to review the state of technological and market development in the context of Scotland’s energy policy ambitions ().

Previous to joining the University 麻豆精选, Dr Radcliffe worked on science and innovation policy in Government, including as Deputy Secretary to the Council for Science and Technology (2007 – 2008), and as Committee Specialist for the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee (2003 – 2006).