Sustainable Materials and Resources
SRI - Sustainable Materials and Resources
We are extracting more finite resources to produce goods and services than our planet can replenish. Our research is focused on optimal utilisation of materials and energy resources. Materials science and engineering is a vital research area for industrial sectors - with the demand for new materials in the manufacture of innovative products and devices continuing to increase. Our work seeks to improve the performance of existing materials and investigates how materials can be developed for new applications by understanding their intrinsic properties and atomic level behaviours. Ensuring that components and materials retain their highest utility and value is central to the SRI's projects in this area. We have a particular focus on ensuring waste resources with perceived low values can be viably brought back into productive use for manufacture and construction. The SRI also works with innovators developing novel approaches to conserving energy within the built environment and supports businesses to adopt and mainstream sustainable behaviours and energy-efficient practices.
Key areas of focus
Sustainable Materials
Low-Carbon Materials, Natural Fiber Insulation, Bio-composites, Timber, Supplementary cementitious materials, Low-carbon cements, Bio-concrete, Materials for Heritage Restoration, Clay minerals, Waste clay, Energy-from-Waste residues, Beneficial Reuse of Waste
Circular Economy
Resource efficiency, Industrial ecology, Lifecycle assessment, Carbon footprinting, Carbon inventories
Energy efficiency
Net-Zero, Decarbonisation, Carbon accounting, Sustainability and Environmental management strategies and policies