Grants awarded to two researchers for work reducing our reliance on fossil fuels

Two researchers have been awarded grants by national councils to help advance sustainability and combat reliance on fossil resources.

Two Imperial researchers have been awarded grants by national research councils to help advance sustainability and combat reliance on fossil resources. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have between them awarded £11.8 million to five research projects across the country, two of which are based at Imperial’s Department of Chemistry.

Both research teams are aiming to produce plastics without succumbing to the traditional dependence on petroleum products. Dwindling supplies and growing demand for fossil fuel-based resources have made this a pressing research area.

Professor Tom Welton, recipient of a £2.5m grant, said: “ In order to be able to produce polymers in the amounts required at the prices demanded by consumers, only the most efficient processes will do. Many people are already aware of the threat to energy supply that the loss of a cheap oil supply poses. However, the threat to our chemicals supply chain is much greater. We can imagine a world in which we drive around in battery powered cars, but you can’t make a carrier bag out of batteries. You need carbon. Our project is to make polymers from lignocellulose biomass - the woody part of plants. It is nothing less than a reinvention of the Chemicals Industry.”

A second grant of £2.4m was awarded to Professor David Chadwick. His research focuses on converting natural ingredients including sugar waste into chemicals for polymer manufacture. The research is in collaboration with Cardiff University, University of Liverpool and a consortium of UK and international companies.

The grants were announced at the Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum (IBLF) showcase event held at Church House Conference Centre, Westminster, London. Welcoming the news, Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said: “Scientific research is crucial to the developing alternatives to fossil based resources. The need to develop new chemicals, that are both sustainable and viable in our manufacturing processes, is pressing. It also presents us with opportunities to use our world class research base to accelerate the pace of change and deliver scientific and economic impact.”