Featured Post from Aston University

Aston University to train the UK’s next generation of decarbonisation experts

Mar 12, 2024

6 min

Patricia Thornley
  • Consortium led by the University is to receive almost £11 million to open doctoral training centre
  • Will focus on use of biomass to replace fossil fuels and removal of CO2
  • “…part of the UK’s biggest-ever investment in engineering and physical sciences doctoral skills”.



Aston University is to train the next generation of scientists tasked to remove greenhouse gases from the environment.

A consortium led by the University is to receive almost £11 million to open a doctoral training centre which will focus on leading the UK towards net zero.


The centre, based at Aston University, will bring together world-leading research expertise and facilities from the University of Nottingham, Queens University Belfast and the University of Warwick and more than 25 industrial partners.


The funding has been announced by the UK science, innovation and technology secretary Michelle Donelan. The centre is to receive almost £8 million of government money while the remainder will be made up through match funding and support from industry and the four universities. The government has described it as part of the UK’s biggest-ever investment in engineering and physical sciences doctoral skills, totalling more than £1 billion.


The Aston University centre will focus on the use of biomass to replace fossil fuels and removal (or capture) of CO2 from the atmosphere, with the potential to create new sources of fuels and chemicals. Integration of these two areas will lead to significant cost and energy savings.


Called NET2Zero, the centre will train PhD students across the full range of engineered greenhouse gas removal techniques including direct air capture, CO2 utilisation (including chemical and material synthesis), biomass to energy with carbon capture and storage, and biochar.


The students will work in the centre’s laboratories exploring the conversion of feedstock into alternative energy, improving conversion processes and measuring how the new technologies will impact the economy.


Supported by a range of relevant industrial, academic and policy partners the centre will equip students to develop the broad range of skills essential for future leaders in decarbonisation.


NET2Zero will be led by Professor Patricia Thornley, director of Aston University’s Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI).


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.”


“We are absolutely delighted to be working with our partners to deliver this unique and exciting programme to train the technology leaders of the future. Our students will deliver research outcomes that are urgently needed and only made possible by combining the expertise and resources of all the centre’s academic and industry partners.”


Science and technology secretary, Michelle Donelan, said: “As innovators across the world break new ground faster than ever, it is vital that government, business and academia invests in ambitious UK talent, giving them the tools to pioneer new discoveries that benefit all our lives while creating new jobs and growing the economy.


“By targeting critical technologies including artificial intelligence and future telecoms, we are supporting world class universities across the UK to build the skills base we need to unleash the potential of future tech and maintain our country’s reputation as a hub of cutting-edge research and development.”


Centres for doctoral training have a significant reputation in training future UK academics, industrialists and innovators who have gone on to develop the latest technologies.


The University of Nottingham’s Dr Eleanor Binner said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with our partners to deliver this unique and exciting programme to train the technology leaders of the future. Our students will deliver research outcomes that are urgently needed and only made possible by combining the expertise and resources of all the Centre’s academic and industry partners.”


Her colleague Professor Hao Liu added: “We look forward to providing our best support to the NET2Zero CDT, including using our past and existing successful experience in leading other centres, to make this an exemplar.”


Overall, there will be 65 new Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) centres for doctoral training 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.


Notes to Editors


EPSRC and BBSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Negative Emission Technologies for Net Zero (NET2ZERO) Led by: Professor Patricia Thornley, Aston University


The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the main funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK. Our portfolio covers a vast range of fields from digital technologies to clean energy, manufacturing to mathematics, advanced materials to chemistry.


EPSRC invests in world-leading research and skills, advancing knowledge and delivering a sustainable, resilient and prosperous UK. We support new ideas and transformative technologies which are the foundations of innovation, improving our economy, environment and society. Working in partnership and co-investing with industry, we deliver against national and global priorities.


The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.


Funded by government, BBSRC invested £451 million in world-class bioscience in 2019-20. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.



About Centres for Doctoral Training

A CDT trains doctoral students with each centre focused on a specific theme or topic. Most CDTs will support five cohorts (a new cohort starting each academic year) with a cohort supporting an average of thirteen students. Fourteen of the centres will have four cohorts rather than five.


EPSRC supports doctoral students through three training routes (Doctoral Training Partnerships, ICASE awards and CDTs), and in the last 30 years has supported over 50,000 doctoral students.


About Aston University

For over a century, Aston University’s enduring purpose has been to make our world a better place through education, research and innovation, by enabling our students to succeed in work and life, and by supporting our communities to thrive economically, socially and culturally.

Aston University’s history has been intertwined with the history of Birmingham, a remarkable city that once was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

Born out of the First Industrial Revolution, Aston University has a proud and distinct heritage dating back to our formation as the School of Metallurgy in 1875, the first UK College of Technology in 1951, gaining university status by Royal Charter in 1966, and becoming The Guardian University of the Year in 2020.

Building on our outstanding past, we are now defining our place and role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world.

For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Nicola Jones, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44) 7825 342091 or email: n.jones6@aston.ac.uk

Connect with:
Patricia Thornley

Patricia Thornley

Director of EBRI, Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute

Patricia Thornley works in assessing the environmental, economic and social impacts of renewable energy technologies.

ChemistrySupergen ProjectClimate ChangeBioenergyEnvironmental Sciences

You might also like...

Check out some other posts from Aston University

3 min

Aston University optometrist develops app with the best easy blinking exercises to improve dry eye symptoms

Dry eye disease is a common condition affecting one-third of the adult population and one-in-five children Professor James Wolffsohn researched the most effective blinking exercises to reduce discomfort, involving a close-squeeze-blink cycle He developed the MyDryEye app in collaboration with Alec Kingsnorth and Mark Nattriss to help sufferers An Aston University optometrist, Professor James Wolffsohn, has determined an optimum blinking exercise routine for people suffering with dry eye disease, and has developed a new app, MyDryEye, to help them complete the routine to ease their symptoms. Dry eye disease is a common condition which affects one-third of the adult population and one-in-five children, in which the eyes either do not make enough tears, or produce only poor-quality tears. It causes the eyes to become uncomfortable, with gritty- or itchy-feeling eyes, watery eyes and short-term blurred vision. It is more common in older adults and can be exacerbated by factors including dry air caused by air conditioning, dust, windy conditions, screen use and incomplete blinks, where the eye does not fully close. Professor Wolffsohn is head of Aston University’s School of Optometry and a specialist in dry eye disease. While it has long been known that blinking exercises can ease the symptoms of dry eye disease, the optimum technique, number of repetitions and necessary repeats per day are unclear. Professor Wolffsohn set out to determine the best exercises. His team found that the best technique for a dry eye blinking exercise is a close-squeeze-blink cycle, repeated 15 times, three times per day. Participants found that while they were doing their exercises symptom severity and frequency decreased, and the number of incomplete blinks decreased. Within two weeks of stopping the exercises, their symptoms returned to normal levels, showing the efficacy of the exercises. To carry out the work, Professor Wolffsohn’s team ran two studies. For the first, they recruited 98 participants, who were assessed for dry eye symptoms before and after the two weeks of blinking exercises. Participants were randomly allocated different blinking exercises to determine the most effective. A second study with 28 people measured the efficacy of the blinking exercise. Once the optimum blinking routine had been developed, Professor Wolffsohn worked withAlec Kingsnorth, an engineer and former Aston undergraduate and PhD student, and Mark Nattriss, business manager of his spin-out company, Wolffsohn Research Ltd, to develop the app, MyDryEye, which is freely available on Android and iOS operating systems. The app allows users to monitor their dry eye symptoms, assess their risk factors, add treatment reminders and monitor their compliance, complete the science-based blink exercises and find a specialist near them. Professor Wolffsohn says that the blinking exercises should be carried out as part of a treatment programme which could also include the use of lipid-based artificial tears, omega-3 supplements and warm compresses. Professor Wolffsohn said: “This research confirmed that blink exercises can be a way of overcoming the bad habit of only partially closing our eyes during a blink, that we develop when using digital devices. The research demonstrated that the most effective way to do the exercises is three times a day, 15 repeats of close, squeeze shut and reopen – just three minutes in total out of your busy lifestyle. To make it easier, we have made our MyDryEye app freely available on iOS and Android so you can choose when you want to be reminded to do the exercises and for this to map your progress and how it affects your symptoms.” Read the full paper, ‘Optimisation of Blinking Exercises for Dry Eye Disease’, in Contact Lens and Anterior Eye at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clae.2025.102453.

2 min

Aston University researchers to take the first steps to find out if AI can help policymakers make urban mobility more sustainable

Researchers to explore how AI can help urban mobility planners They are to investigate AI-driven policy tools’ potential to create greener cities Project to benefit from expertise of five European universities. A European group of researchers led by Aston University is taking the first steps to explore how AI can help urban mobility planners. As city populations grow causing strain on resources, the experts are to investigate AI-driven policy tools’ potential to create greener cities. The team have received £10,000 in funding from the British Academy which they hope will set them on the road to further research. Taking part in the project will be experts from University College London, Ruralis University in Norway, the University of Turin, Italy and Lisbon University Institute, Portugal. Dr Dalila Ribaudo from the Centre for Business Prosperity at Aston Business School and Dr Alina Patelli from the Aston Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Application will co-lead a UK-EU consortium consolidation project. The interdisciplinary project will benefit from expertise in applied business and specialist insight into global economics, policymaking and urban transport planning. Dr Patelli said “Policymakers and society could all benefit from our research into innovative ways of managing the strain on urban infrastructures and resources. "The AI-powered policy tools we are developing are meant to support decision managers at all levels of urban governance with reducing emissions, optimising transportation as well as predicting and preventing environmental hazards. Such changes would improve the quality of life for the millions of people living in towns and cities across the UK, Europe and, in the long term, the entire world.” Following the successful bid for the British Academy pump priming grant the team will apply for Horizon Europe funding to continue developing impactful AI-driven policy tools for greener cities.

3 min

New Aston University spin-out company will develop novel ways to treat non-healing wounds

EVolution Therapeutics (EVo) has been founded on the work of Professor Andrew Devitt into the causes of inflammatory disease A failure to control inflammation in the body, usually a natural defence mechanism, can cause chronic inflammation, such as non-healing wounds Non-healing wounds cost the NHS £5.6bn annually, so there is a vital need for new treatments. Aston University’s Professor Andrew Devitt, Dr Ivana Milic and Dr James Gavin have launched a new spin-out company to develop revolutionary treatments to treat chronic inflammation in patients. One of the most common inflammatory conditions is non-healing wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, which cost the NHS £5.6bn annually, the same cost as managing obesity. Such wounds are generally just dressed, but clinicians say there is a vital need for active wound treatments, rather than passive management. The spin-out, Evolution Therapeutics (EVo), will aim to create these vital active treatments. Inflammation in the human body helps to fight infection and repair damage following injury and occurs when the immune system floods the area with immune cells. Normally, this inflammation subsides as the damage heals, with the immune system signalling to the immune cells to leave. However, in some cases, the usual healing mechanism is not triggered and the inflammatory response is not turned off, leading to chronic inflammation and so-called inflammatory diseases. EVo is based on Professor Devitt’s work on dying cells in the body, known as apoptotic cells, and how they contribute to health. Dying cells release small, membrane-enclosed fragments called extracellular vesicles (EVs), which alert the immune system to the death of cells, and then trigger the body’s natural repair mechanism and remove the dead cells. It is estimated that 1m cells die every second. Professor Devitt and his team have identified the molecules within the EVs which control the healing process and are engineering new EVs loaded with novel healing enzymes, to drive the body’s repair responses to actively heal wounds. Much of the research has been funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) with additional support from the Dunhill Medical Trust. Professor Devitt, Dr Milic and Dr Gavin received Innovation-to-Commercialisation of University Research (ICURe) follow-on funding of £284,000 to develop the vesicle-based therapy with EVo. Most recently, in December 2023, Professor Devitt and Dr Milic were awarded £585,000 from the BBSRC Super Follow-on-Fund to develop engineered cells as a source of membrane vesicles carrying inflammation controlling cargo. The team, together with Professor Paul Topham, also received funding from the National Engineering Biology Programme (£237,000) to support polymer delivery systems for vesicles. EVo is one of the 12 projects being supported by SPARK The Midlands, a network which aims to bridge the gap between medical research discoveries of novel therapeutics, medical devices and diagnostics, and real-world clinical use. SPARK The Midlands is hosted at Aston University, supported by the West Midlands Health Tech Innovation Accelerator (WMHTIA), and was launched at an event on 31 January 2024. Professor Devitt, EVo chief technical officer, said: “Inflammation is the major driver of almost all disease with a huge contribution to those unwelcome consequences of ageing. We are now at a most exciting time in our science where we can harness all the learning from our research to develop targeted and active therapies for these chronic inflammatory conditions.” Dr Gavin, EVo CEO, said: “The chronic inflammation that results in non-healing wounds are a huge health burden to individuals affecting quality of life as we age but also to the economy. Our approach at EVo is to target the burden of non-healing wounds directly to provide completely novel approaches to wound care treatment. By developing a therapy which actively accelerates wound healing, we hope to drastically improve quality of life for patients, whilst reducing the high cost attached to long term treatment for healthcare systems worldwide.”

View all posts
Powered by