| Research NewsSMART Expertise Funding to promote cutting-edge Cardiff research on repurposing The project, supported by the Welsh European Funding Office and the Welsh Government, will investigate the value of repurposing material, its implications for connected business collaboration, and its contribution to the circular economic agenda. This project aims to facilitate collaboration in order to reduce material and carbon footprints while creating new value streams across supply chains. Professor Aris Syntetos, Dr Thanos Goltsos, Dr Daniel Eyers, and Dr Tim Ramjaun are leading the project, which is supervised by Cardiff University’s Dr Andy Treharne-Davies and co-led by DSV’s Professor Mike Wilson and Dr Andy Lahy. The project aims to assess and reduce the carbon footprint of end-of-life products and materials via repurposing, by turning one supply chain’s waste into another’s valuable input. This bid brings together the PARC Institute of Manufacturing, Logistics, and Inventory at Cardiff University, as well as at least five industrial partners. They consist of : DSV, a long-standing Cardiff University partner and one of the major logistics companies in the world.Interface, a global manufacturer of sustainable flooring products.Greenstream Flooring, a Welsh flooring recovery company that deals with repurposed and reused floor tiles.3dGBIre, a 3D printing company that uses repurposed filament in their 3D printing. Rj-Alpha Advising Services Ltd. , a tech start-up and scale-up advisory firm specialising in deep tech, industry 4.0 and circular supply chain.  New Swansea Research Project Takes Steps Towards a Circular Economy The Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) has awarded a £1.2 million research grant to a project aimed at bringing a truly circular economy one step closer. TReFCo (Thermal Recovery of Functional Coatings) is a three-year project that will look into thermal recycling methods for functional coatings and produce wavelength-sensitive adhesives that will ‘unglue’ when exposed to specific types of radiation. TReFCo wants to find a low-cost way to remove these coatings so that they can be reused in new devices. Dr Jenny Baker, the project leader, explained why the research is needed: “When devices such as computers, smartphones and batteries are sent for recycling, not all the materials are captured for use in new devices. “Specialist coatings are often made with rare and expensive materials to enable our modern electronics to work. However, these coatings can cause problems when it comes to recycling and the materials are not always recovered but incinerated to produce ‘heat from waste’. This means that the expensive, highly engineered coating has been lost and its value not realised.” Swansea University collaborated with the University of Birmingham, Keeling and Walker, Precision Varionic, Deregallera, Tata Steel, adphos Group, Elemental Inks & Chemicals, WRAP, and Plug Life Consulting on the project. This will have a number of advantages, including keeping important raw materials within the supply chain, which will help the UK economy. It also means that the materials on which they were coated are cleaner before being recycled, resulting in a purer recycled product at a reduced cost. Researchers will conduct a lifecycle study to ensure that they completely comprehend the environmental costs of creating and reusing products. This will reveal any places that are harmful to the environment, allowing them to be avoided by material design or different processing methods.  CircularMetal to make the UK the first country to fully recycle steel and aluminiumThe UKRI funded Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Metals aims to accelerate the transition from the current linear economy to full metal circulation via high-quality research and innovation using a systems approach. Brunel University London will lead the new research centre aimed at assisting the UK in becoming the first country to fully recycle and reuse its metals, (at least for high-volume metals like steel and aluminium) by 2050, with partners University of Warwick and University College London. CircularMetal will provide the capability and pathways to eliminate the need for metal extraction, resulting in an estimated £100bn addition to the UK economy over the next 10 years. The research has four interconnected dimensions: economical, environmental, technological, and societal. To deliver full metal circulation, together with the industrial partners, the research will: Perform a macroeconomic study of metal flow to identify circularity gaps and suggest paths, strategies, and regulations to close them.Create circular product design concepts and circular business structures to make the transition to CE easier, Develop circular alloys and circular processing processes to make the transition to CE easier, Collaborate closely with other academic and industrial communities, policymakers, and the general public to maximise CE’s effect.  ‘Throwaway global economy’ is fuelling climate changeAccording to a recent report by Circle Economy, the “throwaway global economy” is fuelling climate change, with more than half a trillion tonnes of virgin materials consumed since the 2015 Paris Agreement. According to the latest Circle Economy report, world leaders are “losing the potential” to achieve significant emissions reductions by implementing circular economy methods that minimise resource consumption. It identifies a roadmap that could assist them in meeting the 1.5°C global warming goal. The report states circular economy solutions can have a significant impact on climate change because 70% of greenhouse gas emissions are tied to product production and usage -from the buildings to transportation, food, and clothes. However, national climate promises are said to focus on decreasing emissions via reducing fossil fuel use, with no mention of resource extraction and consumption rates. Only a third of the articles reference the circular economy. The world is linear, according to five years of Circularity Gap Reports—we only cycle 8.6% of what we use, leaving a large Circularity Gap of over 90%. In just two years, global circularity has dwindled from 9.1% in 2018 to 8.6% in 2020. A circular economy can help close the Emissions Gap. Based on five years of analysis and learning, the Circularity Gap Report 2022 shows how the circular economy can reduce resource use and emissions while also promoting equitable societies. With their roadmap of 21 circular solutions, businesses, cities, and nations can reduce resource extraction and use by 28%, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 39% and putting the world on a 1.5-degree path. Welsh Policy Update At the previous CERIG meeting (11 March 2022), Andy Rees OBE presented an overview of future Welsh policies, namely the Net Zero Wales Carbon Budget 2 (2021-2025).The new pathway for Wales to meet Net-Zero according to the Net Zero Wales Carbon Budget 2 (2021-2025) has set a 63% average reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and a 100% emission reduction by 2050. The Ambition statement within the Industry & Business Sector Chapter of the budget includes resource and energy efficiency-product replacement, material substitution, waste reduction, energy efficiency- equipment, heat recovery, clustering. This is also aligning with the Dasgupta Review- The Economics of Biodiversity (February 2021). The circular economy pathway in Wales to 2050 has been set in ‘Beyond Recycling’ (2021). The strategic objectives set are as below: A net-zero carbon Wales by 2050.Use only our fair share of the earth’s resources by 2050 (one planet resource use).Zero waste (100% recycling) by 2050.A transition to a more CE where resources are kept in use and waste is avoided. The 8 Headline Actions are as follows:Support businesses in Wales to reduce their carbon footprint and become more resource-efficient.Provide tools to enable community action.Phase-out unnecessary single-use items, especially plastics.Eradicate avoidable food waste.Procure on a basis prioritising goods/products made from remanufactured, refurbished, and recycled materials or come from low carbon and sustainable materials.Strive to achieve the highest recycling rates in the world.Reduce environmental impacts of the waste collection from our homes and businesses.Take full responsibility for our waste.Swansea University Internationally Recognised For Promoting Circular Economy   The Ellen Macarthur Foundation has named it as an exemplar university for the range of activities it carries out, not only through research and teaching but also in the way it runs its campuses.Dr Jennifer Rudd, Senior Lecturer and climate change educator said: “The profiling of the university by the Foundation underlines our commitment to responding to the climate emergency. “Here at Swansea, we are demonstrating an important contribution to understanding and utilising the circular economy, currently an under-researched and underutilised tool in climate change mitigation. ” Notable research and leadership projects include: The Circular Economy Research and Innovation Group Wales (CERIG), which works to connect complementary expertise and experiences to facilitate circular economy innovation and research in Wales. Circular Revolution is a partnership project between Riversimple, Swansea and the University of Exeter to assist SMEs (Small & Medium-sized Enterprises) in West Wales and the Valleys in transitioning to circular business models. The project is funded by European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government. Circular Economy Innovations Communities (CEIC) project, jointly delivered by Swansea and Cardiff Metropolitan Universities and funded by the Welsh Government and European Social Fund. The CEIC programme will help public service and third sector organisations collaborate on the creation of new products/services and the implementation of circular economy solutions in public services. SUSTAIN Future Manufacturing Research Hub is a joint research project led by Swansea University, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), the University of Sheffield and the UK steel-producing industry. SUSTAIN leads grand challenge research initiatives in carbon neutral steel and iron manufacturing, as well as smart steel processing, funded by EPSRC, Universities, Trade Bodies, RTOs and Businesses. Life Cycle Analysis for Circular Economy (LCA4CE) Research Lab project builds on existing expertise to develop Swansea University’s life cycle analysis capacity and capability. Acceleration of Circular Economy for Printable Photovoltaics Through Eco-Design (ACCEPTED) project aims to create truly sustainable PV technologies by developing tools, material sets and enabling processes to optimise product lifecycles and integrate photovoltaics with the wider circular economy.Imperial College London is collaborating on the project’s delivery. IPCC AR6 2022: A Rapidly Closing Window Working Group II’s contribution, published on February 28, 2022, expands on the first edition of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report , with 34,000 papers and 270 authors from 67 countries. It is one of the most comprehensive assessments of climate change’s growing effects and future concerns, particularly for resource-poor countries and vulnerable populations.  Climate change is only going to get worse. Scientists have updated their overall assessment in this latest IPCC report, concluding that risks will increase at lower levels of global warming than previously expected. Warming effects on ecosystems have occurred earlier, are more widespread, and have far-reaching consequences than previously anticipated. Limiting warming to 1.5°C (the Paris Climate Agreement warming limit) would reduce projected losses and damages significantly but would not eliminate them. Every 0.1 degree of warming worsens the situation, pushing more people and species to the brink of extinction. Those losses and damages are unequally distributed, and current financial, governance, and institutional plans, particularly in vulnerable developing countries, do not address them comprehensively. For example, mortality from floods, droughts, and storms was 15 times higher in high-vulnerability countries than in low-vulnerability countries. While worldwide efforts to adapt to deteriorating climate dangers have risen, most of it is too little, too late, and does not reach the most vulnerable. Protecting global health is critical for our health and climate-resilient development. Diverse, self-sustaining ecosystems with healthy biodiversity make numerous important contributions to combating climate change. Importantly, scientists emphasise that maintaining the natural world’s resilience requires protecting 30 – 50% of the Earth’s land, freshwater, and ocean areas. From gradual to transformative, all-encompassing change, we must make the shift. Numerous hazards occur simultaneously and interact with multiple risks generated by unsustainable growth methods and social inequality, making climate change impacts and risks more complicated to manage. Comprehensive and inclusive transformations in energy, food, industrial, urban, and societal systems are needed right away to ensure climate-resilient, equitable development. Later, the Working Group III – Mitigation of Climate Change report, published on 04 April 2022 is largely concerned with mitigation, or lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Thus, “a rapidly closing window” will need rapid transformations across various sectors to keep the 1.5°C limit within reach, prioritising the following actions, many of which are free/cost less than $20 per tonne of CO2e: Scale-up clean energy. By 2050, all electrical generation must be carbon-free, and total generation must increase to allow electrification of end-uses such as HVAC, transportation, and industrial machines. Decarbonize industry by doubling down on innovation. Steel, cement, plastic, pulp and paper, and chemicals must improve energy efficiency, reduce material demand through circular economysolutions, deploy CCS in hard-to-abate sectors like cement, and migrate to new low- and zero-emission industrial processes. Green buildings should be incentivised. Since the publication of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report in 2014, a growing number of zero-carbon buildings have been built in practically every climate zone. Electric heating, more energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and the circular use of materials are all important in this area. Redesign cities and shift to zero- and low-carbon transport. CO2 emissions from the transport sector are set to increase by up to 50% by 2050. The world needs a suite of actions to avert this trend. The IPCC found that cities can reduce their transport-related fuel consumption by about a quarter through combinations of more compact land use and the provision of car-free infrastructure, like pedestrian lanes and bike pathways. Improve food systems while conserving ecosystems. Protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing carbon-rich ecosystems like forests and peatlands, as well as reducing the GHG intensity of food production, curbing food waste, and shifting to more sustainable diets, according to the IPCC, can mitigate 8-14 GtCO2e per year from now until 2050 at relatively low costs.Upcoming Funding Calls CE-Hub (UKRI NICER) Flexible Fund 2022 The total funding available for this call is £250,000 , a maximum of £50,000 at full Economic Cost (fEC). Funding will be awarded at 80% fEC (total project value cannot exceed £50,000). Deadline for submissions is on 5 May 2022 at 4 pm. APC 21: developing automotive technologies and capability for net zeroUK-based companies can apply for a share of £25 million in funding for late-stage research and development initiatives that help the UK move closer to a net-zero automotive future. Applications close on 18 May 2022 11:00 UK time. Expression of interest: Farming Futures R&D Fund: climate smart farming Innovate UK is offering UK registered organisations a share of up to £12.5 million from the Farming Futures R&D Fund, a part of the Farming Innovation Programme. Applications close on 18 May 2022 11:00 UK time. Pre-announcement: Manufacturing research hubs for a sustainable futureUK based research institutions can apply for funding to apply to establish large-scale, mutlidisciplinary hub in support of manufacturing, environmental sustainability and net zero. Two projects will be funded over 7 years. EPSRC will fund 80% of the full economic cost of each project up to £12 million. Applications close on 7 June 2022 16:00 UK time. Upcoming Events and Academic Conferences EPSRC engineering Net Zero Week, 20-24 June The event, held online all week on 20-24 June 2022 and In Person on 21-23 June 2022 at the Advanced Research Centre, University of Glasgow will showcase EPSRC-funded research that address the challenges linked to meeting 2050 net zero strategic targets. The exhibition is free and suitable for all. 2nd Circul-a-bility Conference – Rethinking Packaging for Circular and Sustainable Food Supply Chains of the Future Funded by the EU, under COST (European Cooperation in Science & Technology). The conference will be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia and Hybrid, September 12-14, 2022. Abstract submission deadline is on 1 June 2022.UKRI National Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy Summer School 2022The Summer School which will feature a series of talks, a panel discussion, with audience Q&A and a poster showcas, will take place at Newcastle University on 6 – 8 September 2022. Registration and poster abstract submissions will open in April. 9th International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM 2022)The hybrid event taking place on 14-16 September in Split, Croatia will be organised by KES International. Keynote addresses, oral presentations, invited sessions, and workshops will be featured.Abstract submission deadline is on 9 May 2022. |
Can Wales fast-track its net zero ambitions?
A new set of reports by Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group share detailed pathways for Wales to accelerate its’ approach and reach Net-Zero in...
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