Northumbria University has been named
as part of a multimillion-pound research consortium that will help transform
the UK’s manufacturing and construction sectors.
Professor Justin Perry and Dr Matthew
Unthank will lead research on behalf of the bulk chemicals sector, which forms
part of the Government’s newly launched hub
Transforming Foundation Industries Research and Innovation
(TransFIRe) hub.
TransFIRe was developed in response to
Ministers’ call to transform the foundation industries, namely: chemicals,
cement, ceramics, glass, metals, and paper. These industries produce 75% of all
materials in the UK economy and are vital for the UK’s manufacturing and
construction industries. The Government wants to make these industries
more internationally competitive, while driving forward Britain’s climate
change ambitions.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has
allocated £4.7 million for three years to work with universities, research
organisations and industry to assist with technology development and transfer,
new business developments and new opportunities in materials and technologies
to help to achieve the UK’s ambition of being net zero by 2050.
Both Professor Perry and Dr Unthank
already have vast experience of working closely with the polymer, materials,
and pharmaceutical formulation industries.
Specifically, Professor Perry -
Professor of Chemistry and Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange for the
Department of Applied Sciences at Northumbria - works to closen the links
between universities and industry and make the exchange of needs and ideas more
rapid.
“The aim of this three-year project
is for UK academics to work with the foundation industries, to make them more
competitive, while increasing their sustainability,” he said. “It’s also about
bringing these six foundation industries together around the table to share
their knowhow in ways which only working together will reveal.
“There may be processes surplus to
requirement, which would be considered a waste product in one industry but
could be moved to another industry and make automatic gains for the business.
“We already have close working
relationships with a number of chemical sector companies through industry
funded collaborative PhD projects and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)
and we will be collaborating with many more as part of this project. We will be
looking to develop new processes where nothing goes to waste not even heat.”
Together, foundation industries are
worth £52 billion to the UK economy and produce 28 million tonnes of materials
per year, accounting for about 10% of the UK total CO2 emissions.
TransFIRe is a consortium of 20
researchers from 12 institutions, led by Cranfield University. It includes 49
companies and 14 non-governmental organisations related to the sectors, with
expertise across the foundation industries.
Dr. Matt Unthank (co-lead for
Northumbria University) said: “This is great opportunity to set the foundation
for change in our industrial manufacturing sectors and to find new, better and
greener ways of working together.
“Northumbria University are ideally
situated to represent the bulk chemical sector in this new national consortium,
building upon our strong track-record of industrial collaboration in this
field.”
TransFIRe forms part of a wider
Government-led Green Industrial Revolution, which has recently awarded £166.5m to innovators, businesses, academics,
and heavy industry right across the UK. This incentive will accelerate the
delivery of the critical technologies needed to further drive Britain’s climate
change ambitions, while creating over 60,000 jobs across the UK.
Energy Minister, Anne-Marie
Trevelyan, said: “We are determined to tackle climate change and make it
win-win for both our planet and our economy. This major cash boost – targeted
at our most polluting industries - will encourage the rapid development of the
technologies we need to reign in our emissions and transition to a green
economy, one that reduces costs for business, boosts investment and create
jobs.
“Just six months ago, the Prime
Minister set out a clear ten-point plan for creating and supporting up to
250,000 British jobs as we level up and build back greener from the pandemic.
Today we’re boosting our armoury for the fight against climate change and
backing innovators and businesses to create green jobs right across the United
Kingdom.”
