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The UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre (UKCCSRC) are pleased to announce the 13 proposals that have been awarded funding in their recent Flexible Funding 2022 call.
A total of £368,792 was awarded to the projects, which all support the UK Government's net-zero objectives and will last between 3-9 months. For the first time, early career researchers (ECRs) were eligible to apply, with £100,000 ring-fenced for ECR applicants. Five of the successful proposals are led by ECRs.
Dr Amir Jahanbakhsh from Heriot-Watt University is involved in one of the projects that has been selected for funding and said: “Rockit is a multidisciplinary project developing a technique to eliminate CO2 from the atmosphere safely and permanently. Mineralization of carbon through the reaction of CO2 with rocks rich in calcium or magnesium converts CO2 into solid rock. I am collaborating with colleagues from the University of Edinburgh to successfully investigate different aspects of this technique and potentially contribute to taking it to a higher stage of technology readiness.”
The UKCCSRC supports, strengthens and integrates the UK carbon capture and storage community. Created in 2012, it is funded by the EPSRC and based at the University of Sheffield. The Centre funds research through academics at numerous UK universities.
Ruqaiyah Patel, Joint Head of Energy and Decarbonisation at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) said: “Further research into carbon capture and storage will enable us to capture, store and utilise greenhouse emissions from essential processes that cannot be decarbonised and potentially save the UK tens of billions of pounds over the next two decades.
“Building on the significant impact and success delivered by UKCCSRC across technology and policy development, this call was essential in supporting a broad range of CCS research projects that can support and help the UK achieve its net zero target by 2050.”