On 27 February, 2024 the project hosted a one-day conference – Sustainable Carbon for a Net Zero Chemical Industry in the Materials Innovation Factory at the University of Liverpool. Over 100 delegates joined to hear speakers from academic, industry and NGOs discuss the future of the chemical industry and the progress and ideas that will enable us to realise a net zero future. The audience were given an outline and aims of the Cleaner Futures Prosperity Partnership to set the stage for the event. The day finished with a panel discussion focused on reflections from the day and a networking event. Key themes to emerge were the economic opportunity in this area given the need for transition, the need for a portfolio of technology approaches to reduce risk given the diverse applications involved, and the urgency of developing a stable policy framework. The connection between fuels and chemicals was highlighted, together with the importance of security of supply.
Talks:
Catalysis for sustainability, circular economy and decarbonization – Avelino Canos Corma from Polytechnic University of Valencia
Citizen-Consumers: The missing ingredient in the Net Zero Chemical Industry equation – Leo Rayman from Eden Lab
High-Throughput Approaches for the Discovery of Organic Materials – Becky Greenaway from Imperial College London
Catalysis for sustainability, circular economy and decarbonization – Chris Finnegan from Unilever
Xylose and other natural sugars as building blocks towards more sustainable polymers and functional materials – Antoine Buchard from the University of Bath
Why we need non-fossil carbon for the chemical industry: The hidden footprint of consumer goods – Ian Howell from Unilever
From car seats to cleaning products: key learnings from commercialisation of a CO2 utilisation technology – Anthea Blackburn from Econic Technologies
Policy interventions for alternative chemical feedstocks – Liam Hardy from Green Alliance
Panel discussion with Phil Dyer from Durham University, Robin Harrison from Synthomer, Peter Clark from Innovate UK KTN and chaired by Charlotte Williams from the University of Oxford.
Delegates in attendance were from the following organisations:
Advanced Bacterial Sciences
Aqdot
BGEN
Cofactory
CPI
Croda
Durham University
Econic Technologies
EdenLab
EPSRC
Eurofins
Green Alliance
Hartree Centre
Imperial Collage London
Innovate UK
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Lyva Labs
Marks & Clerk
Nouryon
Royal Society
Scott Bader
Synthomer
Unilever
University of Bath
University of Cardiff
University of Liverpool
University of Newcastle
University of Oxford
University of Strathclyde
ViridiCO2
Wareing Consulting
