London, August 31, 2023 – The Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC) has unveiled its upcoming phase of research aimed at propelling the decarbonization efforts of major industrial clusters in the UK. In conjunction with UKRI’s Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge, IDRIC has granted funding to 13 pioneering research projects, totaling £1.2 million, as part of its ongoing “Flexible Funding Programme.”
Aligned with the UK’s objective to slash industrial emissions by at least two-thirds by 2035, the newly funded research initiatives are dedicated to advancing this ambition. The projects span a diverse array of challenges, encompassing strategies for carbon capture and storage across industries, exploration of green hydrogen production potential, and transformation of waste carbon dioxide into valuable chemical resources.
The first two phases of the flexible funding initiative unveiled today will support projects initiated by prominent universities including Durham, Cardiff, South Wales, Sussex, Oxford, Strathclyde, Lincoln, Liverpool, Sheffield, Heriot-Watt, and Imperial College London.
Since its inception two years ago, IDRIC has channelled £16.8 million towards over 60 diverse research endeavors across the UK. This current iteration of the flexible funding program is designed to swiftly respond to emergent industry needs, enabling IDRIC to support activities capable of yielding prompt and impactful outcomes. This strategy ensures an advantageous outcome with minimal risk and expenditure.
Today’s funding announcement extends the momentum of IDRIC’s ongoing program, which strategically accelerates research and innovation through a holistic systems approach. IDRIC’s funding initiatives are specifically curated to cultivate critical decarbonization technologies tailored for industry application. Consequently, the research and innovation endeavors fostered by IDRIC are driving efficiency enhancements, cost reductions, and novel green business prospects.
IDRIC’s footprint of impact extends to the establishment of an industrial decarbonization “Knowledge Hub” to facilitate research projects and cluster activities. The center also actively engages with policymakers at both national and devolved levels and conducts pivotal research related to academia, industry, and government training and skill development.
Since its inception in 2021, IDRIC has cultivated partnerships with over 200 stakeholders and collaborators, encompassing industry, community representatives, and policymakers, to address the pressing needs of innovation.
Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer, Director of IDRIC, remarked, “IDRIC’s program has demonstrated that we have the tools to be responsive to industry needs and become an engine of green growth. This new round of flex funding will help develop practices that significantly aid the decarbonisation of industry. […] This is an important step towards achieving Net Zero for the UK industry in an integrated and innovative manner.”
Bryony Livesey, Director of the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge at UKRI, emphasized the alignment of IDRIC’s funding round with the UK Government’s commitment to driving Net Zero goals. Livesey commended the caliber of the projects, highlighting IDRIC’s prowess in forging collaborations with top-tier researchers to engineer meaningful solutions for decarbonizing UK industries.