Friday 18 November 2022

Imperial College London secures £6.1m to develop sustainable materials from biowaste

Imperial College London has secured a grant worth £6.1 million to lead a collaboration between industry and academics to develop sustainable materials.

The five-year 'VALUE' project aims to develop functional materials from local, bio-based waste resources, providing opportunities to move away from unsustainable traditional materials and reduce carbon emissions and waste.

Researchers will also create a new supply chain for sustainable materials and applications, which they hope will support high-performance, locally available technologies and create new industries.

They will work with stakeholders in key industrial sectors to explore applications, accelerate manufacturing pathways and boost performance.

The project, which includes the University of Cambridge and University of Bristol and industry partners bp, Shell, Toyota and L'Oreal among other, is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (ESPRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Principal Investigator Professor Magda Titirici from the Department of Chemical Engineering, said: “The creation of the next generation of sustainable materials is such an important topic and I am delighted to see it funded by EPSRC. Reducing our reliance on unsustainable materials and manufacturing processes, and finding ways to reuse waste bio-products, are essential if we are to reduce our impact on the planet.

“Securing this grant was a huge team effort and I am grateful to everyone involved. I am excited to begin working with our talented researchers and industrial partners and I am confident we will significantly contribute towards shaping the sustainable industries of the future needed to live in harmony with the environment.”