This project focuses on a radical change to chemical manufacturing with a view to effective step changes in environmental sustainability and in circularity of materials. We shall focus on the emerging electrochemical sector which is expected to grow strongly and within which there are many opportunities for the deployment of digital technologies to underpin system design and operation. In response to this call, we have united a cross-disciplinary team of leading researchers from three UK universities (Imperial College, Loughborough, and Heriot-Watt) to create a digital circular electrochemical economy. The chemical sector is a "hard to decarbonise" sector. Its high embedded carbon comes from two aspects: (1) the intensive energy use; and (2) the use of fossil feedstock. Therefore, the decarbonisation requires the substitution of both two with renewable energy (electrifying the chemical processes) and feedstock (e.g., H2O, CO2). We foresee a closer integration of the electrical energy system with the industrial chemistry system, with the former providing reducing energy formerly available in fossil fuels and which enables the processing of highly oxidised but abundant feedstocks. The intermittency of renewable electricity supply and the economic benefits of flexible processing and closer integration between these two sectors will give rise to opportunities for new digital technologies. These will enable improved design and operation of emerging electrochemical processing technologies and provide new pathways to chemical building blocks (e.g. olefins) and fuels. The integration of the sectors also provides opportunities for cost savings in the electrical system through improved flexibility and demand management. We propose three work packages (WP) to look at the challenges at different levels, and finally integrate as a whole solution: - WP1 Digital twins of key electrochemical operation units and processes. - WP2 Digitalisation of the value chain encompassing the integration between the chemical and electrical systems - WP3 Policy, Society and Finance, including business models to capture value generation opportunities from industrial integration

Our vision, as a consortium of nine Universities and six Industrial Partners, is to shape an actively inclusive culture in the Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) community that supports, drives and sustains greater equality for all, including traditionally under-represented groups (e.g., women, disabled people, LGBT+, and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) researchers). Having identified seven critical challenges to this vision (lack of role models; a leaky pipeline; inequity in opportunities; lack of synergy in initiatives; lack of understanding of barriers by some senior leaders; poor data; and poor analysis of progress), we outline six activities designed to address them: shared-characteristic mentoring; reverse mentoring; an on-line networking platform; leadership and networking development; collaboration with industry; better data capture; and better analysis. The critical feature of this bid is that we will pool opportunities and experience across our consortium to better meet the needs of groups underrepresented in EPS. As a result of this inclusive culture, a wider pool of talented individuals will be able to successfully progress within the EPS community and these resulting diverse perspectives will ultimately produce better science to address complex and important global challenges. HEI partners: Durham University, Lancaster University, Leeds Beckett University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University, Teesside University, University of Huddersfield, University of Hull, and Leeds University. Industrial Partners: Atom Bank, Stanley Black and Decker, IBM, GTN Ltd., Northumbrian Water Ltd. and SAGE. Our consortium of nine HEIs, from a wide base but all based in the North of England, and six industrial partners, from a range of EPS-facing domains, are all committed to continuous improvement with regard to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in EPS. Our aim is to take a collaborative approach, drawing together resources, opportunities, experience and best practice to build a consolidated arena within which to influence change. By pooling our resources we will be able to meet the needs of groups under-represented in EPS more effectively. By the end of the project we will have: - a better understanding and awareness of the barriers and challenges facing under-represented groups within the EPS community. - an assessment of interventions which aim to improve the representation of groups, currently under-represented within EPS. Critically this will also include a robust evaluation to understand the conditions under which things work well and don't work well for different communities. - Our proposal is that these interventions will result in groups under-represented in EPS having: a greater willingness to act as mentors; a greater motivation to apply for promotion and grants; a desire to take on leadership roles; a great awareness of role models; a stronger sense of belonging within the North of England's EPS community, and the EPS community in general; and better links with industry. - established and shared best practice with regard to developing inclusive EPS communities from HEIs and industry (and beyond) with HEIs, research councils, industry and policy makers through seminars, publications and an online platform. - This will result in HEIs and industries sharing, changing and introducing policies to adopt this best practice. Longer term legacy impact will be seen in: changes to practices (such as training) and policies within the consortium and beyond; establishment of best practice which will be disseminated so that other key stakeholders adopt it; a more inclusive environment within the EPS community, demonstrated by a more diverse staff and student base including within senior roles; and adoption of this best practice beyond the EPS community.

The ACORN network's mission is to bridge the gap that currently exists between the research in universities and the need of the financial services industry, its consumers and the regulator. ACORN wants to grow to well over 100 primary partners and 1000 associated partners, offering an inclusive, diverse and responsible research culture. Based on regional presence in Wales, Scotland, North-East England and London, it will harmonize technological know-how across regions and connect regional partners to nation-wide efforts. Real-life challenges in financial services are complex, combining responding to technology innovation with business ethics, green/environmental considerations and scarcity in the talent pipeline. This presents FS with wicked problems, which the industry cannot ignore, and which require people and researchers from across disciplines to come together. ACORN aims to address wicked problems in FS that are associated with innovation in technology, mathematics and sciences. ACORN provides a number of mechanisms to succeed in this mission. Central to ACORN's working is its 'commissioning framework', which provides the funding mechanisms for five types of collaborative projects between academia and partners. ACORN offers seed project funding, which aims to explore technological, mathematical and scientific solutions for real-life challenges in FS, prioritised through co-design sandpits. It then offers funding for larger multi-disciplinary feasibility projects, which may build on the seed projects, and expand to consider 'wicked' multi-disciplinary research problems. In parallel, ACORN offers funding for agile projects, which can be of any type, e.g., horizon scanning, population survey, a software prototype or a machine learning application. These have predetermined IP arrangements, so that they can be organised in agile manner and can start at any time for the duration of ACORN. Additionally, impact projects are offered to take any of the research projects further (e.g., to influence policy makers, or initiate commercialisation), and education/engagement projects allow to grow the FS talent pool and address the talent pipeline. To support researchers and partners in these project, ACORN establishes a number of services the community can use. The co-design service and the corporate digital responsibility service help researchers to consider these aspects in their proposals. The secure data vault, the shared code base, the experimentation sandbox and template IP arrangements are available to improve research, its impact and to lower collaboration barriers. We name the network ACORN, to signify that collaborations as majestic as an oak tree can grow from humble beginnings.