10092590CarbonCell User Readiness in Electronics (packaging): CUREClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKCarbonCell is a novel, carbon-negative, non-toxic, biodegradable replacement for polystyrene. It's made using biochar --- a material that can sequester up to 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of material. By developing a method for turning biochar into an expanded foam, we created a high performance material (thermally insulating and high compressive strength) that helps brands achieve their net-zero goals and offset their carbon footprint. CarbonCell was invented and qualified in lab testing at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, but translating lab scale samples into a final product for replacing polystyrene in the real-world presents considerable challenges. The transition from petrochemical foams and the associated supply chains/systems will involve engagement with multiple stakeholders, product users, and a concerted approach to behaviour change. CarbonCell Ltd is conducting a 9-month project using user-centred design in a living laboratory context to assess how CarbonCell packaging might best align with user needs in the high-value electronics packaging market, and business systems design/ life cycle analysis to assess how the resulting packaging can be properly implemented to reduce the overall carbon footprint of packaging. As part of this process, CarbonCell will leverage insights from Northumbria University's Living Lab. This living lab uses an approach which focuses on innovating relationships between stakeholders and users in multi-agency, cross-collaboration contexts. The lab will allow us to position, analyse, and evaluate different approaches to creating CarbonCell packaging for high-value electronics, and to incorporate perspectives from a range of actors in the value-chain. This unique approach will result in a shared understanding, language, and vision among the stakeholders in the supply--consumer chain for understanding and mapping CarbonCell into their packaging design process and sustainability targets. During this process, CarbonCell's product is likely to undergo various iterations and refinements as new concepts and projections are un-earthed. This will allow us to adjust our offering and develop several iterations of our MVP that, immediately following the project's conclusion, can be tested by early customers, providing feedback for future product development. The results of our iterative living laboratory sessions will feed into the business system design development, in collaboration with experts from the design council. Using feedback from stakeholders, we will refine this system design to promote market adoption of CarbonCell. By the end of the project, CarbonCell will have a strong product-market fit and plan for commercialisation.