Staff profile

Professor Dawei Wu is the MOL Professor of Maritime Energy Systems at Durham University, leading the Low Carbon Power and Propulsion theme within the UK Clean Maritime Research Hub (UK MaRes), a national initiative driving transformative research in maritime decarbonisation. His work focuses on the thermofluid and combustion science of zero-carbon fuels, including hydrogen, ammonia, and synthetic e-fuels, and on the development of low-carbon propulsion and energy systems for maritime, transport, and energy applications.

Bridging academia and industry, Professor Wu’s research drives practical innovation. He was an EPSRC Industry Innovation Fellow (2019–2021) and has secured funding from programmes such as the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) and Smart Shipping. He collaborates widely with industry to pilot and scale technologies, including hybrid and alternative-fuel propulsion, digital twins for optimisation, and fuel-supply infrastructure to support clean energy transitions.

He currently leads the marine powertrain and propulsion optimisation workstream in the Horizon Europe SEASTARS project (Sustainable Emission Abatement Strategies & Technologies for Advanced Revolution Ships), developing modular retrofit and new-build vessel solutions that target a 30% reduction in well-to-wake GHG emissions and a 20% improvement in energy efficiency through advances in hydrodynamics, alternative fuels, and propulsion technologies. These collaborations ensure his research remains both innovative and commercially relevant.

Professor Wu also leads hydrogen technology roadmaps at the UK National Hydrogen Research Hub (HI-ACT), develops ammonia catalytic combustors at the UK Hub for Research Challenges in Hydrogen and Alternative Liquid Fuels (HyRes), and serves as research work package lead for Propulsion System Scalability Analysis in the Green Ammonia Thermal Propulsion project (MariNH3). He has authored over 80 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters across combustion, propulsion, hydrogen/ammonia fuels, and marine energy systems. He serves as an associate editor for Combustion and Emission Control, Frontiers in Energy Research, and Energies, and is Guest Editor for Applied Energy’s 2025 special issue on System Integration of Hydrogen.

Previously, he was Senior Lecturer in Marine Engineering at Newcastle University and Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Birmingham.

 

 

Journal Article

• Development, dynamic analysis, and experimental evaluation of a hybrid wave-tidal energy converter featuring nonlinear dual inputs
  
  Chen, P., Wu, D., Yang, Y., Zhang, Y., Tsolakis, A., & Dearn, K. (2025). Development, dynamic analysis, and experimental evaluation of a hybrid wave-tidal energy converter featuring nonlinear dual inputs. Energy, 338, Article 138880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.138880
• Experimental study of liquid ammonia injection timing in rapeseed methyl ester dual injection engine
  
  Nadimi, E., Przybyla, G., Wu, D., & Adamczyk, W. (2025). Experimental study of liquid ammonia injection timing in rapeseed methyl ester dual injection engine. Energy, 335, Article 137919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.137919
• Performance, emissions, and lubricant oil analysis of a marine diesel engine powered by raw Schizochytrium sp. and its blends
  
  Debnath, V., Attar, H. M., Nadimi, E., & Wu, D. (2025). Performance, emissions, and lubricant oil analysis of a marine diesel engine powered by raw Schizochytrium sp. and its blends. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.70058
• Catalytic Ammonia Combustion: Legacy Catalytic Burner Designs and Catalyst Requirements for In Situ Hydrogen Production
  
  Al Sadi, K., Nadimi, E., & Wu, D. (2025). Catalytic Ammonia Combustion: Legacy Catalytic Burner Designs and Catalyst Requirements for In Situ Hydrogen Production. Energies, 18(13), Article 3505. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18133505
• Genetic algorithm-assisted multi-objective optimization for developing a Multi-Wiebe Combustion model in ammonia-diesel dual fuel engines
  
  Zhang, Y., Wu, D., Nadimi, E., Tsolakis, A., Przybyla, G., & Adamczyk, W. (2025). Genetic algorithm-assisted multi-objective optimization for developing a Multi-Wiebe Combustion model in ammonia-diesel dual fuel engines. Energy, 325, Article 136181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.136181
• Review of performance improvement strategies and technical challenges for ocean thermal energy conversion
  
  Gao, W., Wang, F., Zhang, Y., Tian, Z., Wu, D., & Farrukh, S. (2025). Review of performance improvement strategies and technical challenges for ocean thermal energy conversion. Applied Thermal Engineering, 266, 125506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.125506
• Parameter sensitivity analysis for diesel spray penetration prediction based on GA-BP neural network
  
  Zhang, Y., Zhang, G., Wu, D., Wang, Q., Nadimi, E., Shi, P., & Xu, H. (2024). Parameter sensitivity analysis for diesel spray penetration prediction based on GA-BP neural network. Energy and AI, 18, Article 100443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyai.2024.100443
• Cryogenic energy assisted power generation utilizing low flammability refrigerants
  
  Farrukh, S., Wu, D., Taskin, A., & Dearn, K. (2024). Cryogenic energy assisted power generation utilizing low flammability refrigerants. Energy, 307, Article 132770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2024.132770
• Pathways to Decarbonization of Deep-Sea Shipping: An Aframax Case Study
  
  Farrukh, S., Li, M., Kouris, G. D., Wu, D., Dearn, K., Yerasimou, Z., Diamantis, P., & Andrianos, K. (2023). Pathways to Decarbonization of Deep-Sea Shipping: An Aframax Case Study. Energies, 16(22), Article 7640. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16227640
• A review of integrated cryogenic energy assisted power generation systems and desalination technologies
  
  Farrukh, S., Wu, D., Al-Dadah, R., Gao, W., & Wang, Z. (2023). A review of integrated cryogenic energy assisted power generation systems and desalination technologies. Applied Thermal Engineering, 221, Article 119836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2022.119836