Cranfield University is leading a research consortium examining how the foundation industries can grow and develop while helping achieve the ‘net zero’ 2050 environmental targets.

TransFIRe (Transforming Foundation Industries Research and Innovation hub) was developed in response to the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) call to transform the foundation industries, namely chemicals, cement, ceramics, glass, metals and paper.

These industries produce 75% of all materials in the UK economy and are vital for the UK’s manufacturing and construction industries.

Together, foundation industries are worth £52 billion to the UK economy and produce 28 million tonnes of materials per year. However, they account for about 10% of the UK total CO₂ emissions.

The UK Government wants to make these industries more internationally competitive, to secure jobs in these industries and help them grow. UKRI (the Government department UK Research and Innovation) — through the ISCF — has allocated £4.7 million for three years to work with universities, research organisations and industry, led by Cranfield University, to assist with technology development and transfer, new business developments and new opportunities in materials and technologies to help to achieve the ‘net zero’ 2050 target.

Expertise across the foundation industries
TransFIRe is a consortium of 20 researchers from 12 institutions, 49 companies and 14 non-governmental organisations related to the sectors, with expertise across the foundation industries as well as energy mapping, life cycle and sustainability, industrial symbiosis, computer science, AI and digital manufacturing, management and business, social sciences and technology transfer.

The project is led by Professor Mark Jolly, director of manufacturing at Cranfield University. He said: “The foundation industries play a vital role in the UK economy but there is so much more we can do to help them grow and develop into cleaner and more sustainable businesses.

“With progress in AI and digital manufacturing there is a real opportunity to transform these industries through the implementation of new technologies.

“For too long, these industries have been dismissed as too difficult to clean, too difficult to modernise and too difficult to diversify. TransFIRe shows that the commitment is there from academia, industry and Government to take on those challenges and transform the foundation industries that have for generations played such a vital role in the UK economy.”

Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “We are determined to tackle climate change and make it win-win for both our planet and our economy. Today’s major cash boost — targeted at our most polluting industries — will encourage the rapid development of the technologies we need to reign in our emissions and transition to a green economy, one that reduces costs for business, boosts investment and create jobs.”