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Catalysing decentralised renewable energy investment in Nigeria: investor-focused risk evaluation and de-risking strategies
Get PDFScaling up private investment in Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) is crucial for achieving universal electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa. Tailored de-risking actions based on investors' risk perceptions can facilitate investment. However, current literature provides a fragmented perspective of investor-specific DRE investment risks. Through a multi-step participatory approach involving an online survey, focus groups, and interviews, 40 multidimensional risk factors across six categories were evaluated using the analytical hierarchy process, to establish their significance among four investor groups: development finance institutions, domestic finance institutions, developers, impact investors. Overall, economic and financing risk categories emerged as most critical, while social and environmental risks were least prioritised. However, risk factor priorities varied among different investor groups, highlighting key mutual high-priority risk factors amounting to 37–58 % of risk weighting including currency volatility, low access to low-cost capital, revenue risk, and insecurity. Limited awareness of existing risk mitigation practices, cultural and behavioural barriers to energy use, and path dependence were identified as influential risk drivers. Evidence-based risk mitigation strategies such as priority sector lending mandates, portfolio aggregation, stronger policy implementation, social interventions, collaboration, and capacity development are recommended to facilitate DRE investment. This study serves as a reference for decision-makers to prioritise actions for catalysing DRE investment.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)The first author thanks the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF) Nigeria for supporting this research through its scholarship programme. Partial research time for Balta-Ozkan is funded by UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council award EP/V006592/1.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transitio
Atoxigenic isolates of Aspergillus flavus effectively reduce cyclopiazonic acid in a sorghum-based matrix under simulated abiotic stress conditions
Get PDFMaize, groundnut, and sorghum are important staple crops in several countries, but are prone to mycotoxin contamination. In the tropics and subtropics, Aspergillus flavus frequently contaminates those crops with aflatoxins and, sometimes, with cyclopiazonic acid (CPA). However, some genotypes cannot produce one or both toxins. In various countries, atoxigenic isolates of A. flavus are formulated into biocontrol products for field use to outcompete aflatoxin producers. The products effectively limit aflatoxin but their utility to reduce CPA remains unexplored. The abilities of four atoxigenic isolates (AF-) from Burkina Faso to control CPA by an isolate with high capacity to produce aflatoxins (AF+) and CPA was tested in co-inoculations at varying ratios (100+, 75+/25-, 50+/50-, 25+/75-, 100-), under simulated abiotic stress conditions. Experiments were conducted on 2% sorghum-based media at 0.95 and 0.90 water activity (aw), at 30°C and 37°C, for 12 days. CPA was quantified using LC-MS/MS. CPA concentrations gradually decreased as the proportion of atoxigenic isolates increased, with effectiveness varying depending on the environmental conditions.We are grateful to donors that provided funds to conduct the research: Royal Government of Norway through the Climate Smart Agricultural Technologies (CSAT; MLI-17/0008 and NER-260 17/0005) for Mali and Niger; and CGIAR Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) Research Program and One CGIAR’s Plant Health and Rapid Response to Protect Food Security and Livelihoods Initiative (Plant Health Initiative) through contributions of various donors to the CGIAR Trust Fund: www.cgiar.org/funders/.Letters in Applied Microbiolog
Detection of flying nano-drone signatures with a K-band FMCW radar
Get PDFNano-drones are insect-like drones with a threat capability of intrusion to provide intelligence and potentially violate secure establishments and public privacy rights. They are an existing technology which is becoming increasingly more available, portable, affordable and easy to operate. As such, they represent a plausible defence and security threat. In this paper, an FMCW radar prototype operating in K-band is presented which was used to detect signatures of a flying nano drone characterised by Radar Cross Section (RCS) values below -25 dB. Results show the radar prototype was capable of successfully detecting the nano drone in flight and collecting its micro-Doppler signatures in various flying trajectories.2024 IEEE International workshop on Technologies for Defense and Securit
The Female FTSE Board Report 2022: What works?
No full textThere has been a continued increase in the number of women on corporate boards. The percentage of women on FTSE 100 boards is 40% and the parallel percentage for FTSE 250 boards is 39%, meaning that FTSE 100 boards have already met the target set by the Women Leaders Review for 2025 and FTSE 250 are on the cusp of meeting it.
Overall, women hold 413 directorships across FTSE 100 boards - the increase in women coming primarily as usual from female Non -Executive Directorships (NEDs). The number of women in Executive Directorships (EDs) has increased marginally from 31 to 36. A similar pro昀椀le emerges for FTSE 250 companies where women hold 752 directorships, of which 705 are NED and only 47 are EDs. There has been no change in the number of women EDs for the past three years. As in previous years there continues to be a wide variance between the top and bottom companies, indicating the downside of voluntary targets over mandatory quotas
Female FTSE Board Report 2024: 25 years on - milestones and misses
Get PDFThis year we see continuing progress in the appointment of women to Non-Executive Directorships on FTSE 350 boards. The percentage of women in total on FTSE 100 boards now sits at 43.4% and on FTSE 250 boards is 42.4%, thus on average both sets of companies have met the target set by the Women Leaders Review.
In total, women hold 450 directorships across FTSE 100 boards. The percentage of female Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) stands at 49%, in comparison with the percentage of female Executive Directors (EDs) which is 20.3%. The latter is at an all time high and is explained by the increase of female Chief Finance Officers (CFOs) in an active market for new CFOs. Women hold 793 directorships across the FTSE 250 boards. The percentage of female NEDs is very similar to the FTSE 100 at 49.3%, thus there is now parity of men and women in NED roles across FTSE 350 companies. Following the target set by the Women Leaders Review of appointing at least one woman to one of the top four roles (CEO, CFO, Chair and SID), there has been a push to appoint women into the ‘softest’ of those roles, the SID role, where we now see gender parity across both FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 boards. The percentage of women in ED roles across FTSE 250 boards has slipped further since our last report to 11.8%. The gap between the percentage of women in ED roles and NED roles across FTSE 250 boards has grown over the past three years (30%, 33% and 37%). Companies seem to have taken their focus off the big prize of getting more women into the top executive leadership rolesEY UK Financial Service
The Female FTSE Board Report 2019: moving beyond the numbers
Get PDFThis year we see a more encouraging picture emerging in terms of the number of women on FTSE boards. Over the past 12 months the percentage of women on FTSE 100 boards has increased from 29% to 32%, so the 33% target set for 2020 is well in sight.
In total 292 women hold 339 directorships on FTSE 100 boards. The percentage of female non-executive directors (NEDs) is at the all-time high of 38.9%, whilst the percentage of female executives remains worryingly low at 10.9%. There is also progress on the FTSE 250 boards with the percentage of women directors rising from 23.7% to 27.3% this year and the number of all male boards dropping to three, but still, three is too many. The percentage of female NEDs is now 32.8% but the percentage of female executivedirectors (EDs) remains low at 8.4%
3E evaluation of a cascade PCM-based solar cooling system for meeting different cooling loads
Get PDFThis research presents a Techno-Economic-Environmental (3E) evaluation of a cascade phase change material (PCM)-based thermal energy storage (TES) integrated into a solar-driven cooling system designed to meet different cooling loads, including freezing, refrigeration, and air-conditioning. The system employs paraffin and salt hydrate PCMs with modified melting points to enable multi-temperature operation through thermal stratification. The configuration combines ammonia-based charging and R134a/water discharging loops, supported by TRNSYS–MATLAB co-simulation, to analyse the dynamic thermal response, phase transition behaviour, and overall system efficiency. Results show that the cascade PCM arrangement provides stable cooling performance across diverse load ranges, with PCM2 (4°C) and PCM3 (15°C) contributing over 90 % of total stored energy. However, the high capital investment (£2.2 million) leads to an extended payback period of approximately 115 years, despite significant electricity savings and a reduction in CO2 emissions compared to conventional systems. The findings underscore the technical feasibility and environmental merit of cascade PCM-based TES while identifying cost as the main barrier to large-scale adoption. The study contributes a general 3E framework combining thermal, economic, and environmental metrics to evaluate cascade PCM–TES integration for multi-load solar cooling. The results provide design guidance and highlight future research opportunities in cost optimisation, composite PCMs, and modular TES architectures to enhance both affordability and scalability.Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energ
Winning over the sceptics: how end-consumers view the motives and authenticity of customer-entrepreneurs over time
Get PDFCustomer-entrepreneurs are an emerging sales force in online retailing, combining the traditional roles of customers and entrepreneurs by using digital platforms to advertise and sell products. A handful of researchers have begun exploring the phenomenon from different perspectives. We build on this emergent literature stream by investigating the perspective of end-consumers. Integrating attribution theory and the elaboration likelihood model, we develop a conceptual model and hypotheses to explore the pathways between end-consumers’ perceptions of the motives and authenticity of customer-entrepreneurs, the mediating role of consumer scepticism in this relationship and the outcomes for three customer mindset metrics (customer satisfaction, loyalty intention and perceived service quality) and resilience to negative information. Finally, we measure the moderating effect of consumers’ previous experience with a customer-entrepreneur on the relationship between perceived motives and scepticism. Our time-lapse study uses structural equation modelling and longitudinal analysis of data gathered from 539 consumers in the first wave of data collection and 476 consumers in the second wave. The findings indicate that perceived intrinsic motives support perceived authenticity, perceived extrinsic motives fuel scepticism, and scepticism partially mediates the link between perceived motives and perceived authenticity. Moreover, we find that perceived authenticity significantly impacts all four studied outcomes, and that previous experience moderates the relationship between perceived intrinsic motives and scepticism. Our findings guide customer-entrepreneurs, managers, and policymakers in harnessing this new phenomenon effectively.This research and the associated data collection were funded by Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.Journal of Business Researc
Modelling and analysis of induction preheating of moving filler wire for directed energy deposition
Get PDFInduction preheating of filler wire is an emerging auxiliary process that allows precise control of wire temperature before melting by a main energy source in directed energy deposition (DED). This can enhance deposition rate and reduce defects. The induction heating mechanism for DED applications needs to be understood for establishing a robust process window that integrates coil design and key process parameters. This study investigates the evolution of electromagnetic and thermal fields during induction heating of a stainless-steel filler wire moving through a helical coil. A coupled electromagnetic-thermal model of a moving wire was developed to determine the magnetic flux, eddy current, temperature, and energy transfer efficiency. The wire temperatures predicted by the multiphysics model are consistent with experimental measurements under diverse conditions, with an error of less than 7 % after the heating reaches a steady state. The typical energy transfer efficiency for a wire diameter of 1.6 mm ranges in 3 %-9 %, which can be significantly enhanced through increasing the wire diameter and reducing the radial distance to the coil. The model enables a deeper understanding of the electromagnetic-thermal mechanisms governing both the transient and steady-state temperature distributions in the wire. In the steady state, the peak temperature is located immediately outside the exit end of the coil, and the temperature gradient across the wire diameter is marginal. A sensitivity analysis to identify dominant parameters was also carried out, showing that the wire feed speed (up to 150 mm/s), coil current (up to 700 A) and frequency (up to 500 kHz) are most influential. This study demonstrates an effective modelling approach to induction heating of moving wire, and it also provides critical insights for designing and optimising the induction coil and process for preheating filler wires in additive manufacturing and other similar processes (e.g. welding and cladding).The authors also thank Landing Gear Industrial Breakthroughs (I-Break) (Project Ref. 10003486 funded by Aerospace Technology Institute, Innovate UK) for the financial support.International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfe
Crack path effects on vibration characteristics in structural beams and plates
Get PDFAccurately assessing and forecasting damage development is essential for maintaining safety, enhancing maintenance efficiency, and prolonging the service life of components in sectors like aerospace, automotive and civil infrastructure. This study examines the impact of crack characteristics — including path, length, and orientation — on the vibration characteristics of metallic and polymeric structures using both numerical and experimental methods. Using aluminium (AL) cantilever beams, numerical simulations were employed to determine the natural frequencies and associated amplitude using 13 different crack propagation paths. Results show that changes in crack orientation in the beam's depth significantly affected frequency and amplitude trends. Complementing this, experimental modal analysis (EMA) and the half-power bandwidth method were conducted on 10 crack paths on AL and 3D-printed ABS plates to examine how surface crack length and orientation influence damping ratios. Findings indicated that longer cracks increased damping due to reduced stiffness and microslip, resulting in more energy dissipation, while orientation, especially along the primary deformation axis, had a more substantial effect. ABS plates exhibited higher damping than aluminium due to their viscoelastic properties. Overall, the study highlights the critical role of crack paths in dynamic behaviour, which enhances damage identification and advanced structural health monitoring.Proceedings of the Annual British Conference on Non-Destructive Testin