Aston and allies open doctoral centre for next generation greenhouse gas leaders
18 Mar 2024
Aston University is to host a doctoral training centre to train a new generation of scientists to head the implementation of the UK’s net zero targets.
It heads a consortium that is to receive almost £11 million and will tap into expertise and facilities from academic institutions including the University of Nottingham, Queens University Belfast and the University of Warwick, plus more than 25 industrial partners.
The investment includes £8million of government money with the rest through matching funding and partner support.
Titled NET2Zero, the centre is just one part of what the government has described it as part of the UK’s biggest-ever investment in engineering and physical science doctoral skills, that is expected to total more than £1 billion.
The Aston site will explore the use of biomass to replace fossil fuels and removal or capture of CO2, examining the potential for new sources of fuels and chemicals including the conversion of feedstock into alternative energy, improving conversion processes and measuring how the new technologies will impact the economy.
NET2Zero will be led by director of Aston’s Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI) professor Patricia Thornley.
She said: “I am delighted that this centre for doctoral training has been funded. The climate emergency is so stark that we can no longer rely on demand reduction and renewables to meet our decarbonisation targets.
“If we are to have greenhouse gas removal options ready in time to be usefully deployed, we need to start now to expand our knowledge and explore the reality of how these can be deployed. This partnership of four leading UK universities with key industrial and policy partners will significantly augment the UK’s ability to deliver on its climate ambitions.”
Aston will house one of 65 new Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) which will support leading research in areas of national importance including the critical technologies AI, quantum technologies, semiconductors, telecoms and engineering biology.
The funding is from a combination of £500 million from UK Research and Innovation and the Ministry of Defence, plus a further £590 million from universities and business partners EPSRC and BBSRC.
In total, 51 CDTs will support five cohorts, each beginning in a new academic year and comprising an average of 13 students, while 14 centres will have four cohorts.
