Water-Energy-Carbon Research Group

The Water-Energy-Carbon Group group conducts research and teaching regarding water, energy and greenhouse gas flows influenced by water in cities.

The group contributes to the design of more efficient cities and systems through metabolic analysis and benchmarking to inform policy. They measure and model how settlements and systems consume water and energy. By understanding and simulating the cause-and-effect impacts of changes to water systems on energy, and vice-versa, the group identifies how future pressures such as population growth and climate change will influence resources consumption together with strategies for combined efficiency - for example in the development of water security strategies. By studying water and energy together we can guide integrated water and energy planning, strategy, and policy to avoid unintended burden-shifting. The tools the group uses and builds include material flow analysis (MFA), water balance analysis, urban metabolism, environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), environmentally-extended input-output (IO) analysis, and spatially-linked data analysis (GIS).

The group is highly engaged with industry. This includes research with the Victorian Water Sector, Water Research Foundation (USA), and United States Utilities and government agencies, Asian Development Bank, CRC Water Sensitive Cities and their partners, and others.

Research Group Leader
Steven Kenway
School of Chemical Engineering
Phone: +61 7 3365 4170
Email: s.kenway@uq.edu.au

Read more about the Water-Energy-Carbon Research Group