Image credit: © Research Complex at Harwell. Photographer: David Fisher.
The UK Catalysis Hub is set to launch its third phase, with £12.5m investment over seven years from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and £7m from other partners, to prioritise and accelerate research into net zero and sustainable chemistry.
Prof. Charlotte Deane, Executive Chair at EPSRC said:
“The UK Catalysis Hub provides an important national capability that supports innovation and sustainability in the chemical and manufacturing industries. This further investment will enable researchers, working across disciplines, to continue developing new, sustainable chemicals and manufacturing processes. The Hub will tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time, from the climate crisis to plastic pollution, demonstrating the role of discovery science for a more sustainable future.”
Hub III research challenges include the discovery of catalysts and processes to transform wastes like plastics or carbon dioxide into useful raw materials for the manufacturing sector.
Prof. Charlotte Williams FRS, Director of the UK Catalysis Hub III said:
“Catalysts are essential for the future circular economy and sustainability. We all need to ask ourselves: where does all our stuff come from? Who makes it, and at what environmental price? What do we think happens to it after use?”
“Our Hub III vision is to deliver future chemicals and materials that are effectively designed for efficiency, resource circularity and pollution reduction. Our work focusses on reducing reliance on petrol and gas, making clever use of wastes like carbon dioxide and plastics, increasing material recycling and driving down emissions throughout the product life cycle.
“Delivering a sustainable future needs creative, innovative and highly skilled scientists – education and training are at the heart of our work in the UK Catalysis Hub III and in helping to build the future research community. We hope to inspire our scientists and engineers to challenge conventional thinking and make those fundamental new discoveries without which innovation is impossible. Our Hub research teams tackle those complex questions that can only be solved by working together. Our partnerships help harness national communities and expertise to accelerate real-world implementation and impact.”
Building on a long-standing partnership with STFC facilities, Hub III laboratories at the Research Complex at Harwell provide a gateway for catalysis researchers across the country to make best use of the expertise and instruments at the Diamond Light Source, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Scientific Computing, and the Central Laser Facility (CLF).
This is exciting news for the CLF, as green energy research such as catalysis is one of our major focuses.
Collaborations between the Catalysis Hub and the CLF has gone back as far as 2015 when Dr. Igor Sazanovich and Prof. Mike Towrie built the Kerr Gated Raman System in Ultra, making the CLF one of the only places in the world to offer user access to the technique.
Prof. Paul Donaldson, a UKRI Research Fellow and CLF group leader in catalysis applications development, said:
“Due to the way Kerr Gating gets around fluorescence emission – a huge obstacle when applying spectroscopy to industrial catalysts – the Catalysis Hub has had user access programmes on the Kerr Gated System since it first operated as part of our ‘Ultra A’ labs. Now that we also have other advanced spectroscopic techniques available, Hub III is a great opportunity to reach catalysis scientists that we could never on our own.
“Looking forward, the CLF is working on HiLUX, a major upgrade to Ultra and Artemis facilities which will play a key role in enabling more catalysis scientists to access these facilities. With more advanced and varied methods to study catalysts on the horizon, and with Hub III, we anticipate our collaborative relationship to continue well into the future.”
