ACceleration of Circular Economy for Printable Photovoltaics Through Eco-Design (ACCEPTED)
Lead Research Organisation:
Swansea University
Department Name: College of Engineering
Abstract
Humankind is on the brink of significant climate change and material resource shortages. We have reached the limits of our traditional 'take-make-dispose' linear economic models in which materials are extracted from the earth to create products which are discarded at the end of their useful lives. To achieve sustainability with our planet we must rethink the way we consume and use resources and seek to decouple economic growth from primary resource consumption and the associated environmental emissions. Circular economy and the widespread deployment of green energy technologies are essential to achieve this.
Even renewable energy technologies have an environmental impact associated with production and disposal at end-of-life, and we must seek to minimise these impacts and maximise product take back for reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling once these technologies have ceased to be of use. To achieve this requires lifecycle optimisation, which takes account of product design and development of end-of-life processes. Printable photovoltaics (PPV) are a promising green energy technology in their infancy, which makes this the perfect time to carry out this research. Now is the time to develop processes and product designs which enable effective end-of-life treatment for efficient recovery of materials and components with which to manufacture new products, to drive down cost and environmental impacts of these emerging technologies, increasing the productivity of finite resources available to us. This project develops the eco-design of PPV informed by advanced characterisation and engagement with industrial partners and stakeholders at all stages of PV product lifecycles. This combined novel multidisciplinary approach to technical development of emerging technologies, which engages key industry partners and stakeholders in the value chain; and the development of methods, tools and knowledge required for lifecycle optimisation, can hasten commercialisation of PPV technology and accelerate transition towards circular economy for the greater benefit of the economy, environment and society.
Even renewable energy technologies have an environmental impact associated with production and disposal at end-of-life, and we must seek to minimise these impacts and maximise product take back for reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling once these technologies have ceased to be of use. To achieve this requires lifecycle optimisation, which takes account of product design and development of end-of-life processes. Printable photovoltaics (PPV) are a promising green energy technology in their infancy, which makes this the perfect time to carry out this research. Now is the time to develop processes and product designs which enable effective end-of-life treatment for efficient recovery of materials and components with which to manufacture new products, to drive down cost and environmental impacts of these emerging technologies, increasing the productivity of finite resources available to us. This project develops the eco-design of PPV informed by advanced characterisation and engagement with industrial partners and stakeholders at all stages of PV product lifecycles. This combined novel multidisciplinary approach to technical development of emerging technologies, which engages key industry partners and stakeholders in the value chain; and the development of methods, tools and knowledge required for lifecycle optimisation, can hasten commercialisation of PPV technology and accelerate transition towards circular economy for the greater benefit of the economy, environment and society.
Planned Impact
The primary purpose of the proposed research impact the commercialisation of emerging PPV technologies. The strategy to manufacture prototype modules at pilot scale for further study will also help accelerate sustainable PPV products through TRLs towards commercialisation.
This project is expected to generate mid- to long term industrial and economic impact for the R+D and energy sectors in the UK. The project will contribute to the understanding and scaling of PPV which will potentially contribute to the future UK energy supply mix. Stable, low cost, high efficiency solar cells could potentially transform the UK economy, accelerating the current uptake of photovoltaics for both domestic and industrial use in building integrated applications.
Positive environmental impact associated with the increased use of photovoltaics in the UK will have significant environmental and societal advantages. It will significantly contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions, helping to circumvent the impending complication of global warming and climate change. Environmental benefits will also result from lower emissions associated with production of PPV through re-manufacturing or with recovered or secondary raw materials in contrast to manufacturing from primary raw materials. In addition, economic and societal benefits will result from the initiation of circular industry. In Wales alone transition to circular economy has been projected to be worth £2bn and result in the creation of 30,000 new jobs.
This project will reinforce collaboration with; academia (SU-UoN, Eco-Design Centre), industry (SU-TATA, AkzoNobel, Edinburgh Instruments, NSG, BIPVco, WRAP) government (SU-Welsh Government) and globally (SU-UKZN). I regularly generate IP and publish well-cited papers in high impact journals. I believe this fellowship will allow me to make significant advances towards the commercialisation of PPV and leverage further funding through Innovate UK and the Industrial Strategy Fund.
This project will aim to:
1) Deliver efficient, low-cost, low embodied energy, PPV technology designed for end-of-life remanufacture and demonstrate this at pilot scale. Products will result in lower levelised costs for energy generation (LCOE).
2) Disseminate results across the scientific and technological communities through:
a) >12 REF 4* papers in high impact international journals, which will be made open access
b) 2-4 patents on innovative eco-designed PPV aspects
c) >6 High profile international and national presentations at international and national conferences on subjects ranging from materials chemistry, solar energy manufacturing and technology
d) informing teaching within the College of Engineering at Swansea University. I lead a module on Circular Economy for Sustainable Development and significant project results will be discussed impacting positively on education and training of the students and increasing the link to, and information on, cutting edge research. Findings will also be disseminated to industry through the SU METAL programmes circular economy module.
e) 3 circular surgery seminar events (1 p.a.) held at Swansea University with invited industrial, academic and NGO guests.
f) Sandpit events at Burlington House, supported by the Royal Society of Chemistry to bring together academia and industry to develop circular economy strategies and highlight best practice and success stories.
I have significant track record on community engagement through both national and international invited public lectures, the running of hands-on and demonstration workshops, and larger scale outreach events globally. The results of this research project will be disseminated via these opportunities as well as through the RSC (elected council member of ESED). Results, images and breakthroughs (after compliance with the proposal IPR strategy) will be showcased through the SPECIFIC-IKC and Swansea University websites and social media platforms.
This project is expected to generate mid- to long term industrial and economic impact for the R+D and energy sectors in the UK. The project will contribute to the understanding and scaling of PPV which will potentially contribute to the future UK energy supply mix. Stable, low cost, high efficiency solar cells could potentially transform the UK economy, accelerating the current uptake of photovoltaics for both domestic and industrial use in building integrated applications.
Positive environmental impact associated with the increased use of photovoltaics in the UK will have significant environmental and societal advantages. It will significantly contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions, helping to circumvent the impending complication of global warming and climate change. Environmental benefits will also result from lower emissions associated with production of PPV through re-manufacturing or with recovered or secondary raw materials in contrast to manufacturing from primary raw materials. In addition, economic and societal benefits will result from the initiation of circular industry. In Wales alone transition to circular economy has been projected to be worth £2bn and result in the creation of 30,000 new jobs.
This project will reinforce collaboration with; academia (SU-UoN, Eco-Design Centre), industry (SU-TATA, AkzoNobel, Edinburgh Instruments, NSG, BIPVco, WRAP) government (SU-Welsh Government) and globally (SU-UKZN). I regularly generate IP and publish well-cited papers in high impact journals. I believe this fellowship will allow me to make significant advances towards the commercialisation of PPV and leverage further funding through Innovate UK and the Industrial Strategy Fund.
This project will aim to:
1) Deliver efficient, low-cost, low embodied energy, PPV technology designed for end-of-life remanufacture and demonstrate this at pilot scale. Products will result in lower levelised costs for energy generation (LCOE).
2) Disseminate results across the scientific and technological communities through:
a) >12 REF 4* papers in high impact international journals, which will be made open access
b) 2-4 patents on innovative eco-designed PPV aspects
c) >6 High profile international and national presentations at international and national conferences on subjects ranging from materials chemistry, solar energy manufacturing and technology
d) informing teaching within the College of Engineering at Swansea University. I lead a module on Circular Economy for Sustainable Development and significant project results will be discussed impacting positively on education and training of the students and increasing the link to, and information on, cutting edge research. Findings will also be disseminated to industry through the SU METAL programmes circular economy module.
e) 3 circular surgery seminar events (1 p.a.) held at Swansea University with invited industrial, academic and NGO guests.
f) Sandpit events at Burlington House, supported by the Royal Society of Chemistry to bring together academia and industry to develop circular economy strategies and highlight best practice and success stories.
I have significant track record on community engagement through both national and international invited public lectures, the running of hands-on and demonstration workshops, and larger scale outreach events globally. The results of this research project will be disseminated via these opportunities as well as through the RSC (elected council member of ESED). Results, images and breakthroughs (after compliance with the proposal IPR strategy) will be showcased through the SPECIFIC-IKC and Swansea University websites and social media platforms.
Organisations
- Swansea University (Fellow, Lead Research Organisation)
- GReen IT Amsterdam (Collaboration)
- University of KwaZulu-Natal (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Power Roll (Collaboration)
- London South Bank University (Collaboration)
- Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) (Collaboration)
- Mekatek (Collaboration)
- Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Collaboration)
- BRUNEL UNIVERSITY LONDON (Collaboration)
- Aliter Networks (Collaboration)
- Operational Intelligence Ltd (Collaboration)
- Topolytics Ltd (Collaboration)
- Giraffe Innovations Limited (Collaboration)
- Royal Society of Chemistry (Collaboration)
- Edinburgh Instruments (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Wrap (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- BIPVco (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Ecodesign Centre Wales (Project Partner)
- Tata Group UK (Project Partner)
- AkzoNobel (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- University of Northampton (Project Partner)
- NSG Group (UK) (Project Partner)
Publications
Davies M
(2020)
Addressing the Stability of Lead Halide Perovskites
in Joule
Doolin A
(2021)
Sustainable solvent selection for the manufacture of methylammonium lead triiodide (MAPbI 3 ) perovskite solar cells
in Green Chemistry
Elgar CE
(2023)
Ruthenium(II) Polypyridyl Complexes as FRET Donors: Structure- and Sequence-Selective DNA-Binding and Anticancer Properties.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Farooq S
(2023)
Visible-light induced photocatalytic degradation of estrone (E1) with hexagonal copper selenide nanoflakes in water
in Process Safety and Environmental Protection
Holliman P
(2019)
Rapid, 5 min, low temperature aqueous platinization for plastic substrates for dye-sensitized solar cells
in Materials Letters: X
Holliman P
(2019)
Low temperature sintering of aqueous TiO2 colloids for flexible, co-sensitized dye-sensitized solar cells
in Materials Letters
Hou B
(2020)
Multiphoton Absorption Stimulated Metal Chalcogenide Quantum Dot Solar Cells under Ambient and Concentrated Irradiance
in Advanced Functional Materials
| Description | We are investigating how to make emerging photovoltaics, mainly perovskite based, sustainable and ready to integrate into a circular economy to help mitigate climate change. We have begun development of a materials priority for substitution matrix to reduce the use of toxic materials and those which are not particular environmentally friendly, and are currently exploring and evaluating methods for the re-manufacture of perovskite devices. We have developed our capabilities in terms of LCA analysis and are using eco-invent data to guide us and have prioritised finding non/less toxic solvents for perovskite deposition. This has resulted in a paper recently accepted in Green Chemistry and we are currently preparing a perspectives article for Energy and Environmental Science. We have identified a number of green solvent alternatives and solvent blends for use in perovskite deposition and are currently engaging with the scale up team at SPECIFIC/Swansea University on developing printing formulations based on these solvents. This work has been promising to date and we are hoping to publish numerous additional publications over the coming year in this area. |
| Exploitation Route | We hope to lessen some of the environmental cost of the manufacture of perovskite devices through our development, we hope to publish some of these developments soon, along with our recently accepted Green Chemistry, which we hope will provide a structure and method for the field to use in developing more sustainable perovskite devices. Our wider work on this has helped guide policy for the Royal Society of Chemistry and we have now ran a number of events with the co-badged on these topics with the RSC. We have fed into Government policy by presenting at the Chemicals Stakeholder Forum and engaging with both DEFRA and the RSC on the emerging chemicals strategy. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy Energy Environment |
| Description | This award has helped develop the reputation of the group carrying out leading research in the field. As a result of the work of Dr Davies and Charles on the Royal Society of Chemistry ESED Council the RSC are pushing "waste" as a key theme for 2019. In September 2018, through an RSC event, we brought together academia, industry and policy makers to discuss issues around the mitigation of waste from emerging technology. As a result of this event this award was recognised nationally and both Dr Davies and Charles have been invited to consortia and working groups to continue to address these issues. The RSC allows us a voice to influence government and policy in this area as demonstrated by Dr Davies recently (Feb 2019) presenting at the Chemical Stakeholder Forum (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-chemicals-stakeholder-forum). Findings from the project are also being used in taught modules about sustainable engineering and circular economy in SU CoE. We have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders regarding circular economy and critical raw materials issues including policy makers such as Dr Andy Rees (Head of Waste Strategy and circular Economy - Welsh Government), and a number of wider stakeholders such as Tech UK (Susanne Baker), the ESA (Jacob Rindegren - recycling policy advisor) and DEFRA (Callum Harris). Engagement with the RSC has continued over the last year and myself and Dr Rhys Charles acted as RSC ambassadors to engage with MPs on issues of circular economy and waste, informed by this award, at the 'Sense about Science event' 2020. We have also helped set the policy areas for the RSC - with the focus now moving to Critical Minerals and the RSC have responded to Foreign Affairs Select Committee inquiry on critical minerals with our input. MLD has been electcted as president of the RSC ESEC Council and is an invited member of the new RSC Engagement Group on the UN science policy panel for chemicals, waste and the prevention of pollution. MLD is now president of the ESEC RSC Council and a member of the Senior Innovation and Leadership Forum of the RSC - he regularly feeds into policy statements/acts as an expect sense check for RSC policy advise e.g. EPR consultation, WEEE consultation. MLD has recently be awarded a UNESCO Chair. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
| Sector | Chemicals,Creative Economy,Energy,Environment |
| Impact Types | Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | Fed into the RSC response to the WEEE consultation - call for evidence |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Future Wastes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit... |
| Description | Input to the ROyal Society of Chemistry response to the Welsh Government Consultation on Circulat Economy Strategy |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Invitation to consultation on RSC position on emerging chemicals strategy |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Invited expert for the RSC delegation at Evidence Week to inform Members of Parliament on the work we are doing at Swansea. |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Invited participant of the RSC Environment, Sustainability and Energy Division (ESED) Expert Roundtable |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.rsc.org/membership-and-community/connect-with-others/through-interests/divisions/environ... |
| Description | Invited to consultation with DEFRA on emerging chemicals strategy |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Presentation at the Chemical Stakeholder Forum |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | RSC response to Foreign Affaris Commity on CRMs |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/78/foreign-affairs-committee/news/175198/foreign-affairs-... |
| Description | RSC response to Foreign Affaris Commity on CRMs |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/78/foreign-affairs-committee/news/175198/foreign-affairs-... |
| Description | Swansea University / Royal Society of Chemistry Future Wastes Policy Summit at Swansea University |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Working group of the RSC engaging with policy makers and industry on issues of waste from emerging technology |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | EPSRC Core Equipment Award 2022 |
| Amount | £870,164 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/X035026/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Description | Funding for a Sub-group of the RSC ESED Council to run a workshop on "Mitigating Issues of Future Wastes: Enhancing Resource Productivity in Emerging Technologies" |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2018 |
| End | 12/2018 |
| Description | Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) - APOLLO |
| Amount | € 7,500,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-09 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 12/2026 |
| Description | Swansea TATA Research and Innovation Prosperity Partnership for Printed Perovskite PV (STRIPS) |
| Amount | £2,593,380 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/X025217/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| End | 03/2028 |
| Description | Swansea University Capital Equipment for ECRs |
| Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/S017925/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2018 |
| End | 05/2020 |
| Description | TEA@SUNRISE |
| Amount | £1,140,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Carbon Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 09/2026 |
| Description | Taith International Exchange Programme - South Africa |
| Amount | £11,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Government of Wales |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2023 |
| End | 12/2023 |
| Description | Thermal Recovery of Functional Coatings (TReFCo) |
| Amount | £1,005,537 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/W019167/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2022 |
| End | 01/2025 |
| Description | UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Energy Technologies |
| Amount | £300,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | France |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 07/2028 |
| Title | Model to predict future materials demand for PErovskite solar cells |
| Description | We have developed a model which can predict materials requirements for future deployment of Perovskite technologies based on specified device architectures and production techniques. This is useful for evaluating 'materials criticality' concerns for the field which may present barriers to future commercialisation and growth of a key emerging industry. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Data generated by the tool was presented by Matthew Davies at the Royal Society of Chemistry event 'Next Generation Materials for Solar Photovoltaics 2020'. |
| URL | https://www.rsc.org/events/detail/41282/next-generation-materials-for-solar-photovoltaics-2020 |
| Description | CEDaCI - Interreg funded Circular Economy for the Data CEntre Industry poroject. |
| Organisation | Aliter Networks |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I am on the working group for this project. This involves participation in WG meetings to develop the direction of the project. I have also contributed a significant amount of data from my own research to inform the occurence of CRMs in the data centre so that appropriate recycling strategies can be put in place for data centres. We will co-author publications on the issue. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The project partners perform the day to day tasks in the project work packages. |
| Impact | All can be found here https://www.cedaci.org/publications More outputs to follow including decision making tools for industry, peer-reviewed journal articles, etc. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | CEDaCI - Interreg funded Circular Economy for the Data CEntre Industry poroject. |
| Organisation | GReen IT Amsterdam |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I am on the working group for this project. This involves participation in WG meetings to develop the direction of the project. I have also contributed a significant amount of data from my own research to inform the occurence of CRMs in the data centre so that appropriate recycling strategies can be put in place for data centres. We will co-author publications on the issue. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The project partners perform the day to day tasks in the project work packages. |
| Impact | All can be found here https://www.cedaci.org/publications More outputs to follow including decision making tools for industry, peer-reviewed journal articles, etc. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | CEDaCI - Interreg funded Circular Economy for the Data CEntre Industry poroject. |
| Organisation | London South Bank University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I am on the working group for this project. This involves participation in WG meetings to develop the direction of the project. I have also contributed a significant amount of data from my own research to inform the occurence of CRMs in the data centre so that appropriate recycling strategies can be put in place for data centres. We will co-author publications on the issue. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The project partners perform the day to day tasks in the project work packages. |
| Impact | All can be found here https://www.cedaci.org/publications More outputs to follow including decision making tools for industry, peer-reviewed journal articles, etc. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | CEDaCI - Interreg funded Circular Economy for the Data CEntre Industry poroject. |
| Organisation | Operational Intelligence Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I am on the working group for this project. This involves participation in WG meetings to develop the direction of the project. I have also contributed a significant amount of data from my own research to inform the occurence of CRMs in the data centre so that appropriate recycling strategies can be put in place for data centres. We will co-author publications on the issue. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The project partners perform the day to day tasks in the project work packages. |
| Impact | All can be found here https://www.cedaci.org/publications More outputs to follow including decision making tools for industry, peer-reviewed journal articles, etc. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Collaboration with Delft |
| Organisation | Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have supplied samples to study via time resolved microwave conductivity at Delft. Delft are also helping us set up our own system at Swansea. We are collaborating on developing the understanding of sustainability interventions for Perovskite Solar Cells. We are also developping a new characterisation methodology to study perovskite materials. |
| Collaborator Contribution | analysed samples and provide help and support with instrument development at Swansea |
| Impact | We have 2 draft papers in preparation |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Collaboration with Giraffe Innovation Ltd |
| Organisation | Giraffe Innovations Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Dr Rhys Charles works with Giraffe on demand driven projects for industry which in general. This support is in the form of expert knowledge with regards to EoL management and recycling of EEE products, and optimisation of product lifecycles for circular economy, as well as LCA of products. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributions to this partnership by Giraffe include access to expert knowledge and their in house methods and models for LCA as well as access to proprietary data. |
| Impact | Numerous reports on the environmental impacts of products and processes offered by industry. These are commercially sensitive and not available in the public domain. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Collaboration with UFRJ |
| Organisation | Federal University of Rio de Janeiro |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Complimentary expertise and characterisation leading to a number of publications. Recently successful for beam time at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of materials and knowledge, helping with joint research proposals and access to beam time at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) |
| Impact | 2 papers published (listed in submission) and a further 2 in preparation. We have recently been successful with a bid for beam time at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Industry partner - Power Roll |
| Organisation | Power Roll |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Investigation of use of greener solvents for perovskite deposition compatible with Power Roll manufacturing |
| Collaborator Contribution | Knowledge and staff time |
| Impact | Unsuccessful grant bid that we will refresh update and submit |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Mekatek Ltd |
| Organisation | Mekatek |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I wrote the research proposal for an MSc funded by Mekatek in the Swansea University Materials and Manufacturing Academy (M2A) DTC. I now supervise this project which has developed through reputation and contacts developed from my own EngD. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Industrial supervision and steer is provided to the project by Gareth Liversage and David Bates-Moss of Mekatek. A financial contribution to the cost of the MSc of approximately £4100 has also been made by Mekatek. Mekatek are also industrial partners on the ACCEPTED fellowship awarded to Matthew Davies on which I am now employed. Mekatek have agreed to provide steer to the project in terms of industrial insight into EoL developments made under ACCEPTED. |
| Impact | From this collaboration, Mekatek support of my ongoing work with Topolytics has been secured in the form of access to company data and staff time. From the MSc itself, an Oral presentation at HERAKLION 2019 7th International Conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management, 26-29 June 2019, Crete Island, Greece, www.heraklion2019.uest.gr was given with and a short conference paper produced. Looking now to publish work form the completed MSc thesis. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | RSC |
| Organisation | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Rhys Charles has supported the Royal Society of Chemistry policy team in formulating responses to government consultations including the call for evidence areound WEEE and the circular economy by UK government, and responding to the public consultation on the recast of the UK WEEE regulations, |
| Collaborator Contribution | RSC provide support in the form of access to expertise from within the membership, and publicity for our work through comms and outputs from the work |
| Impact | Outputs - RSC response to the UK Government consultation on the recast of the UK WEEE regulations Output - document submitted to UK Gov in response to the call for evidence relating to WEEE and the circular economy |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Technology Roadmap and Taxonomy of Critical Raw Material (CRM) Recovery Technologies for WEEE. |
| Organisation | Brunel University London |
| Department | School of Engineering and Design |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is a project funded via the Joint Trade Associations WEEE fund. Funding awarded to create a technology roadmap and taxonomy of critical raw materials (CRMs) Recovery technologies for WEEE, particularly printed circuit boards. I have contributed to writing the successful funding application, beformed a great deal of desk based research to inform the project output report, contributed data and other materials generated through my personal research, provided steer to the project direction. I will co-author the final report, and the review paper which is published off the back of this. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Giraffe/Brunel have succesfully secured the funding for this project, and are engaged in the ongoing research and production of output reports. They will also be co0-authors on the review article published from the research conducted. |
| Impact | None to date, project is underway |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Technology Roadmap and Taxonomy of Critical Raw Material (CRM) Recovery Technologies for WEEE. |
| Organisation | Giraffe Innovations Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | This is a project funded via the Joint Trade Associations WEEE fund. Funding awarded to create a technology roadmap and taxonomy of critical raw materials (CRMs) Recovery technologies for WEEE, particularly printed circuit boards. I have contributed to writing the successful funding application, beformed a great deal of desk based research to inform the project output report, contributed data and other materials generated through my personal research, provided steer to the project direction. I will co-author the final report, and the review paper which is published off the back of this. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Giraffe/Brunel have succesfully secured the funding for this project, and are engaged in the ongoing research and production of output reports. They will also be co0-authors on the review article published from the research conducted. |
| Impact | None to date, project is underway |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Topolytics |
| Organisation | Topolytics Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Topolytics have been awarded funding under the SBRI GovTech call: 'smart waste tracking data collection, storage and reporting services' on which I (on behalf of Swansea University) was a named collaborator on the funding application. The project aims to develo pa system for monitoring and tracking of wastes in the UK from point of generation to final disposal. In order to do this Topolytics will create 3 pilot 'meta-maps' of waste flows using their online platform. One of these will be for Wales, and my role has been to liaise with all stakeholders in Wales including Welsh Gov, NRW, Industrial partners such as Tata Steel, Celsa Steel, Mekatek Ltd., and various local authorities to access their historical waste data from which to build the map, and to investigate challenges with current reporting from the point of view of stakeholders in different sectors, and how the platform may address these through its analytical tools and user interface. My role has also been to provide steer to the project overall, and advise on how the system in development may meet the ambitions of the UK Waste & Resources Strategy. Phase 1 of the SMART Waste Tracking Trial has now come to an end. Topolytics have been succesfully awarded funding for Phase 2 of the trials i.e. to develo pa beta version of the national waste tracking system and engage potential users for testing and feedback. Once again I am supporting this project. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributions of other partners to the project, and Topolytics approach to the challenge are commercially sensitive at this time. Funding awarded to Topolytics included £2k for my time and expenses paid to Swansea University through Swansea Innovations (SU's consulting branch). Once again, commercial sensitivities prevent discolsure of detail for the Phase 2 trials, but once again Runding has been awarded to Topolytics including £5k for my time and contributions to be paid to Swansea University Through Swansea Innovations. |
| Impact | We have developed new working relationships with Local Authorities (Swansea and Newport Councils) and Natural Resources Wales, as well as strengthened existing collaborations with Mekatek Ltd., Celsa Steel, Tata Steel and Welsh Government. More recently we have developed new links with project partners including NRW and MyWasteApp. These partners have agreed to engage and collaborte with other projects with which I am involved aside from this one also. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | University of KwaZulu-Natal-Natal |
| Organisation | University of KwaZulu-Natal |
| Department | School of Chemistry and Physics |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | UKZN are partners on this award but this has been strengthened by the award of a GCRF translation award which makes UKZN formal partners of the EPRSC-GCRF Sunrise project, with provision for one joint technology transfer fellow (has just started in Jan 2021). This has been built on my collaboration history with UKZN. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Joint support for the shared TTF, participating in project planning and meeting, availability of labs for materials development. |
| Impact | https://doi.org/10.1109/PowerAfrica49420.2020.9219981 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.10.053 |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Title | Perovskite Carrier Recombination Simulator (PEARS) |
| Description | PEARS is a web app to easily fit time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) data of perovskite materials. Such data are usually complex to analyse due to complex nature of charge carrier recombination in perovskite materials. PEARS offers a simple graphical user interface to fit such data and to fully analyse them. |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | No significant impact so far, although we are planning to publish a paper regarding it. |
| URL | https://pears-tool.herokuapp.com |
| Title | Time-resolved photoluminescence assistant (Merlin) |
| Description | Merlin allows to automate the measurement of time-resolved photoluminescence of perovskite materials. It works by connecting to the Fluoracle software and automatically carry measurements at different laser power, allowing to study recombination processes in perovskite materials. Functionalities include: - Automatic measurement set at different laser powers - Automatic measurement set at different laser repetition periods - Automatic shutter to prevent detector saturation - Sample emission monitoring |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The software is being used in our lab and helps us save time by automating measurements |
| Title | Universal Data File Plotter (RAFT) |
| Description | RAFT is a simple webtool allowing to quickly plot a wide variety of data files without the need to process the data. It also offers simple data analsysis, including min and max point calculation, as well as FWHM calculation. |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | RAFT is used amongst our laboraty and help researcher display data without needing to do any time-consuming processing. |
| URL | https://raft-tool.streamlit.app |
| Description | "Dr. Jesús Reyes Corona" Scientific Seminar organized by the Institute of Physics, from the Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla (IFUAP) entitled: "Evolution of perovskite solar cells and their characterisation with photoluminescence techniques" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This is a very prestigious seminar from the Institute of Physics, from the Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla (IFUAP), Mexico. In it, invited speakers have the opportunity to talk about some of the most relevant scientific topics related with natural sciences. I gave a presentation entitled "Evolution of perovskite solar cells and their characterisation with photoluminescence techniques", where I explained the use of photoluminescence techniques in materials characterisation and their importance for the development of emerging photovoltaics. In this seminar I had the opportunity to engage with graduate and undergraduate students and to have an in deep discussion of the future of renewable energies and the opportunities that will arise in developing countries. It was also a good opportunity to explain the role of young researchers in the scientific community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0guzZMfvdk |
| Description | Burlington Consensus 2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was an invitation only event hosted by the RSC to eastblish priority issues for assessment by the Science-Policy Panel and how best to involve stakeholders' expertise. The SPP was established following a UN resolution that an IPCC / IPBES like international intergovernmental body should be established to deal with issues of pollution and the prevention of waste. The RSC are named key stakeholders in this and are supporting the UN in the process of establishing the Panel. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.rsc.org/news-events/features/2023/jan/burlington-consensus-2/ |
| Description | CERIG |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | CERIG is the Circular Economy Research and Innovation Group for Wales - a group comissioned by Welsh Government which comprises of members from across Wales HEIs working on different aspect of circular economy. The purpose of the group is to help facilitate transfer of circular economy expertise into indsutry to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.iwa.wales/click/2018/07/arloesedd-economi-gylchol-yng-nghymru-circular-economy-innovation... |
| Description | CRM Recovery final conference panel debate |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Rhys Charles participated on an expert panel for a debate and Q&A session at 'A second LIFE for Critical Raw Materials - Final Conference for the Critical Raw Material Closed Loop Recovery Project - Royal Society, London, 20th Feb 2019. Questions about numerous aspects of the critical raw material issue and sustainability in electronics through circular economy from the audience. Discussions initally focused on the role that consumers. producers, recyclers, trade bodies, government can play to enable improvements in WEEE collection and CRM recovery and how all these parties can work together for best outcomes. Also on the Panel were: Pascal Leroy - Secretary General of the WEEE forum; Susanne Baker - Tech UK; Karen O'Donoghue - British Heart Foundation. Following the debate RC successfully engaged with numerous interested audience member about tackling further relevent issues through collaborative R&I including the director of R&D for Huawei, UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.criticalrawmaterialrecovery.eu/news-events/a-second-life-for-critical-raw-materials-20th-... |
| Description | Circular Economy Podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Swansea University podcast series 'Exploring Global Problems' where our academics talk about how their ground-breaking research helps to tackle a variety of global challenges. Available on youtube, spotify, apple podcasts, google podcasts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/podcasts/circular-economy/ |
| Description | CrEAM Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CrEAM Network Launch event, Birmingham University, 13th Nov 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/metallurgy-materials/news/2018/Critical-Elements-and-Materials-... |
| Description | Critical minerals docuseries by the RSC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed as an expert for inclusion in a 4 part docuseries commisioned by the RSC on the subject of CRMs |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | DEFRA Focus Group to Develo pthe UK Chemicals Strategy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was a special invitation to participate in a DEFRA focus group to help develop the upcoming UK Chemicals Strategy. Discussions inform an upcoming call for evidence. Since invited to peer-review work commisioned by DEFRA to inform development of the Chemical Strategy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | EPSRC sustainable Materials for Energy Applications |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This was a workshop designed to foster collaborations for upcoming funding calls to create materials for renewable energy technologies hwich are compatible with circular economy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Energy Warriors |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | School children from the region were invited to Swansea University for a day learning about Solar energy. As part of this I gave an introductory talk to the children about how solar cells work and ran lab pracs for the children in which they made their own dye-sensitized solar cells. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.specific.eu.com/energy-warriors-outreach/ |
| Description | Future Wastes |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Conference organised on behalf of the Royal Society of Chemistry by Rhys Charles and Matthew Davies. 'Mitigating issues of future wastes: enhancing resource productivity in emerging technologies' - 5 Sep 2018, Burlington House, London. Purpose of the event Progress in resource efficiency in throughout emerging technologies lifecycles will require multi-disciplinary collaborative R&I between academia and industries involved in all stages of product lifecycles; and support from additional key stakeholders including government, professional bodies, NGOs and consultancies. 'Mitigating issues of future wastes: enhancing resource productivity in emerging technologies' will bring together these partners to explore challenges in lifecycle optimisation of emerging products which generate, store and use electricity. The event will provide an opportunity for industry and other crucial stakeholders to engage with the world class UK research base in order to: Identify opportunities to 'reduce raw material demand and waste in our energy systems and lifecycles of emerging technologies, and create well-functioning markets for secondary materials'. Identify current or best practice in lifecycles of products. Examine key challenges for lifecycle optimisation of emerging energy generating, storage and using products which chemistry can help to address. Establish new links between academia & industry which enable collaborative demand driven R&I to tackle these lifecycle challenges. Provide an overview of funding and other support mechanisms for collaborative R&I in these areas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.rsc.org/events/detail/34083/mitigating-issues-of-future-wastes-enhancing-resource-product... |
| Description | Hosting a Future Wastes Policy Summit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Helped organise and chaired a Swansea University / Royal Society of Chemistry Future Wastes Policy Summit at Swansea University in May 2019 that brought together leading academics, government officials, Welsh Government, industry, policy advisors and professional bodies to address and develop strategies to address critical raw materials and waste. A summary of the successes of the event was published by the IChemE (https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/features/what-to-do-about-waste/). This has led to being invited to help shape the UK chemical strategy being developed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The commitment to generate a new chemicals strategy was included in the government's new Resources and Waste Strategy, announced in December last year and falls in line with the UK's 25-year environment plan. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | IMRC 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave an invited talk at the International Materials Research Congress, 2022, Cancun, Mexico. QUANTIFYING THE WASTE PROBLEM PV DEPLOYMENT, AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY OPPORTUNITY FOR EMERGING PV, Rhys Charles and Matthew Davies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.mrs-mexico.org.mx/imrc2022/abstracts-read.php?r=02626&id=6 |
| Description | Invited Talk at the "Metallurgy and Materials Meeting, 2020" at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Autonomous University of Queretaro entitled "Perovskite Solar Cells". |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An Invited talk in the Metallurgy and Materials Meeting (2020) about perovskite solar cells and the research work we do in our group and University. The event took place virtually, where several invited speakers in the field of metallurgy and materials present a relevant topic on these subjects. It's open to the public but mainly focused in undergraduate and postgraduate students. I was one of the speakers invited and gave a presentation on perovskite solar cells, and renewable energies. Some of the outcomes and impacts of this presentation were: To present the research work done in our group to the general public. Engagement with undergraduate students interested in renewable energies. To open a possible collaboration with an academic institution in Mexico. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Invited Tutorial at the "XXIX International Materials Research Congress (IMRC), Cancun, Mexico" entitled: "Stability and Sustainability: Developments in Perovskite Photovoltaics" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This event was an invited tutorial (workshop) at the "XXIX International Materials Research Congress (IMRC), Cancun, Mexico" entitled: "Stability and Sustainability: Developments in Perovskite Photovoltaics". In it, I presented the most relevant work regarding perovskite solar cells, including fundamental principles of the technology, scaling up and encapsulation, along with some of the most important challenges moving forward. Part of the outcomes include engagement with undergraduate, postgraduate students and public in general, covering topics of renewable energies and sustainability. There was a very healthy exchange of questions and discussion over the workshop. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNmyVyqStUU&t=15503s |
| Description | Invited departmental seminar, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ Brazil), March 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Departmental seminar on the research of the ACCEPTED project to an audience of academics, undergraduates and postgraduates |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Invited expert for the RSC delegation At Sense about Science Evidence Week |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Sense about science allows academics and professional bodies to discuss issues directly with MPs, raising awareness of important policy and legislation issue that need to be addressed. Invited expert for the RSC delegation at Evidence Week to inform Members of Parliament on the work we are doing at Swansea on "Scarce materials: saving key elements to a green future" This event is an annual Sense about Science event to inform MPs on pressing issues. Based on our research at Swansea the RSC have focussed efforts to inform the public and MPs of issues of critical raw materials and how important they are for a sustainable future. Our work has informed the RSC position which in turn has had a significant impact on legislation such as the 2020 Environment Bill. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://senseaboutscience.org/evidence-week/ |
| Description | Invited lecture at the South Wales MAterials Association Annual Dinner |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Gave an invited lecture a the to the South Wales Materials Association (local branch of IOM3) Annual Dinner on Circular Economy. Sparked much debate amongst industry practitioners in the audience. I was asked then to run a workshop on circular economy at the Launch of the SUSTAIN Network in London, and delivered a mor directed version of the presentation on site to Tata Steel Employees at the Port Talbot works. I have now been asked to do another talk for SWMA at the end of the month which will be co-badged by the RSC and CIWM also. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited online talk at the XXIX International Materials Research Congress, Cancun, Mexico, |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | invited talk on sustainable solvent selection for perovskite photovoltaics. I was invited by Prof Gerko Oskram whom I know through his collaboration with Swansea and as a new member of the SUNRISE project. I have been invited again in 2022 and have been invited to run a Symposium centred on circular economy and emerging technologies |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.mrs-mexico.org.mx/imrc2021/ |
| Description | Invited participant of the RSC Environment, Sustainability and Energy Division (ESED) Expert Roundtable |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Online organised discussion on circular practices and how to influence policy decisions. Expert Roundtable which involved experts from industry, academia, and policy to discuss the role of materials and circular economy in decarbonisation and reaching net zero. The role of the meeting was to help inform RSC engagement with policymakers, the research community, and the public. From this meeting I helped produce a report which was published in August 2021 titled Decarbonisation: materials and circularity challenges for clean technologies - An ESED Expert Roundtable Report on the role of Critical Raw Materials in reaching net-zero emissions, available at https://www.rsc.org/membership-and-community/connect-with-others/through-interests/divisions/environment-sustainability-and-energy/news/2021/09-september/esed-roundtable-report/. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.rsc.org/membership-and-community/connect-with-others/through-interests/divisions/environ... |
| Description | Invited participation and invited talk at the First IOCD North/South Collaborative Workshop on Energy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | One of the aims of the workshop was to develop a regional network across the Americas, involving scientists with similar interests centred around a common theme (e.g. renewable energy technologies), and possibly several smaller, more focused networks (for example one on energy storage, another on solar fuels, etc.). Keywords / list of topics: Renewable Energy Technologies Solar Technologies: photovoltaics, hydrogen production from water, solar fuels, solar windows Materials for Solid State Lighting Materials for next generation storage technologies: batteries, supercapacitors Energy materials |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | http://www.iocd.org/CancunConf/cancunconf.shtml |
| Description | Invited talk and participation for the conference - 3rd Generation PV for the developing world. Organised by the North East Centre for Energy Materials (NECEM), January 2021, Durham (online delivery). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk and discussion group lead to potential new collaborations |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Invited talk and participation in the UK - Brazil Research & Policy Workshops (March 2020), Brasilia, Brazil. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Funded by the British Academy and CONFAP, to attend and present at workshops on the themes of Climate Action, Inequalities and Sustainable Cities. The aim of the workshop was facilitating cooperation and partnerships between researchers from Brazil and the UK, and engaging policy makers with the research funded through the Newton Fund. I presented our research to Brazilian politicians and discussed policy interventions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Invited talk at CINVESTAV Merida as part of a Royal Society research visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invested departmental seminar at CINVESTAV Merida to discuss developments in perovskite photovoltaics and the circular economy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Invited talk at IMRC 2022 titled Towards Sustainable Development for Perovskite PV |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk with ca 30 people in person attendance and significantly more online |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Invited talk at the "XXIX International Materials Research Congress (IMRC), Cancun, Mexico" entitled: "Time-Resolved Characterisation Techniques to Study Charge Transport and Recombination Process in Perovskite Solar Cells" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a talk at the "XXIX International Materials Research Congress (IMRC), Cancun, Mexico" entitled: "Time-Resolved Characterisation Techniques to Study Charge Transport and Recombination Process in Perovskite Solar Cells". The outcome of this presentation was to be able to share part of our research work with the scientific community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Invited talk at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Chemical Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Organised by the Brazilian society of Chemistry, May 2021 Maceio, Brazil. Invited talk at the largest chemistry meeting in Brazil. I was invited to give this talk by the chemical society - suggested by Prof Luiza Rocco (UFRJ) with whom I collaborate on a project funded by the Royal Society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2021 |
| URL | http://www.sbq.org.br/44ra/ |
| Description | Invited talk at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Bath entitled: "Photoluminescence Techniques to Characterise Perovskite Solar Cells" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This was an invited talk at the Chemistry Department of the University of Bath organised by Prof. Petra Cameron. The idea of this activity was to share the research that we do in the Applied Photochemistry group with Prof. Petra Cameron's group and to look for future collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Invited talk in the "Analytical Chemistry Symposium" for the "XIV Chemistry and Biochemistry Sciences Forum" in the Autonomous University of Yucatan (Mexico) entitled: "Perovskite Solar Cells and their characterisation with photoluminescence techniques" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The event was the "Analytical Chemistry Symposium" for the "XIV Chemistry and Biochemistry Sciences Forum" in the Autonomous University of Yucatan (Mexico). In this symposium, a group of scientists are invited to give a presentation and take part in a discussion table regarding relevant topics in the field of Chemistry. These discussion tables are open for questions for the general audience and it allows the interaction between the invited scientists and undergraduate students. One of the objectives is to show undergraduate students some of the most relevant topics in the scientific community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.picqb.uady.mx/foropicqb/programa.php |
| Description | Invited talk in the summer course "Olavide en Carmona. Nuevas TecnologÃas en EnergÃa Solar: Fundamentos y aplicationes (Olavide in Carmona. New Technologies in Solar Energy: Fundamentals and applications)" organised by the Pablo de Olavide University (Spain) entitled: "Circular economy concepts in perovskite solar cells" (21st and 22nd of July, 2022, Carmona, Spain). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This was Circular Economy on solar cells workshop for undergraduate students. Local politicians were present as well. The workshop aimed to demonstrate the importance of circular economy and eco-design to obtain a really sustainable way to produce renewable energy. It generated overall discussion with students and exchange of knowledge. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Member of the Senior Innovation and Leadership Forum of the Royal Society of Chemistry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As a member of the RSC SILF I get to feed into RSC policy and direction, helping develop RSC to maintain its role as a useful and relevant professional body for the chemical sciences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | Organisation of a symposium at IMRC-Cancun titled Developing circular economy and sustainable design for emerging energy technologies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The symposium attracted over 30 in person attendees and double this online for a day of talks regarding the importance of circular economy approaches for emerging energy technologies. There were 19 talks including 4 invited talks and over 30 poster presentations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.mrs-mexico.org.mx/imrc2022/symposium-B1 |
| Description | Outreach in Durban, South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Participated as part of a team made up of Swansea university and UKZN members, running a day of outreach for school children from local townships. We helped the children make Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) using tea and materials we had prepared and brought with us from the UK. Working with 30 students aged 14-17 was extremely rewarding, seeing their enthusiasm for renewable energy and science, being able to share knowledge and give them experience of practical science that they may otherwise not have had given the economic challenges schools face in the area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Participated in a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Chemicals Strategy Focus group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited, along with other lead academics in the UK, to DEFRA to input and advise on developing policy and focus areas for a Chemicals Strategy for the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Presentation and Panel Debate at Science and the Parliament event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to present o nissues related to critical materials recovery from WEEE and policy recommendation work conducted on behalf of the RSC, and to participate on a panel debate at the 'Science and the Parliament' event, help in Edinburgh on 20th Nov 2019. Much interest from various NGOs and politicians with regard to our policy work, and also with regard to technology solutions to help address ongoing issues of secondary CRM supply from WEEE. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.rsc.org/events/detail/39871/science-and-the-parliament-2019 |
| Description | Presentation at Tata Steel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Delivered a presentation on the importance of circular economy and major challenges for industry at Tata Steel to technical managers. Much discussion about the role each department has to play in achieveing sustainability for the steel industry and how to integrate with the wider circular economy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Presentation/demo stand at the Sofia Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Demo stand at the |Sofia Science festival - engaged with >200 people over 2 days (as a team) on topics of solar energy and science. Also engaged with local academics and policy makers and make excellent links. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.britishcouncil.bg/en/sofia-science-festival/programme/events/table |
| Description | Presented at the Chemicals Stakeholder Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The UK Chemicals Stakeholder Forum (UKCSF) enables discussion between stakeholders, government and regulators in support of effective chemicals and waste management. My invited talk in this forum (housed at Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy London) allowed me to highlight my research at Swansea and that of SPECIFIC and ABC and how Wales is leading on waste management and the development of emerging technologies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | RSC CSCE |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was an invited member of the Advisory group to the RSC Chemistry, Sustainability and Circular Economy (CSCE) program. This program examined issues related to global sustainability and the role of Roy Soc Chem in helping to deliver this. The programme of work focussed on Chemistry, Sustainability and the Circular Economy (CSCE) and the role which chemistry can play in providing a solution for the associated challenges. It examined issues with education around sustainability, resulted in RSC joining the Race to net zero and developing a comprehensive plan for emissions reduction across the organization, and delivered a program of public engagement activities including a global experiment and numerous events around COP26 climate talks. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| Description | RSC Chemicals Strategy Roundtable |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was a Roundtable Organised by the RSC to develop their position for policy guidance submitted to DEFRA to support development of the UK Chemical Strategy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | RSC Sustainability Forum Panel disucssion at AGM |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Participated as an expert panel member for the RSC (Roy. Soc. Chem.) Sustainability Forum discussions ahead of the 2022 AGM. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://members.rsc.org/site/content/Governance/AnnualGeneralMeeting.aspx |
| Description | RSC Waste & Resources Focus Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | First meeting of the RSC Waste & Resource focus group - Rhys Charles and Matthew Davies of RSC ESED Council, and Swansea University participated in meeting of this working group which includes RSC staff and representatives of Tech UK, the ESA and Non-Ferrous Alliance to discuss policy recommendations which will enhace resource efficiency particularly for critical raw materials used in emerging and green technologies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Research Symposium at UKZN, Durban South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Travelled as part of a team from Swansea University to Durban, RSA in September 2023. In Durban I was able to spend time with collaborators at the University of KwaZulu Natal, strengthening existing collaborations with the school of Chemistry and Physics where we were hosted by Professor Bice Martincigh and Professor Vincent Nyamori. This gave us time to plan a paper which has since been submitted to RSC Sustainability. I was also able to deliver an invited talk as part of a symposium for staff and students of the faculty, to showcase our research and emphasize the importance of solar energy and adoption of circular economy for the future. This gave me the opportunity to learn about research ongoing in UKZN with relevance to sustainable development within the sub-Saharan African region, and raise the profile of my own research for collaboration on solutions to growing environmental and socio-economic issues arising in the region. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | SUSTAIN Future Steel Manufacturing Research Hub event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to run a workshop at the SUSTAIN network launch event aimed at facilitating discussion and idea generation for projects which address the major barriers to adoption of circular economy practices by the UK steel industry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sustain-engagement-event-the-royal-society-london-tickets-72226097201... |
| Description | Scientific Seminar at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Autonomous University of Yucatan (Mexico) entitled "Perovskite Solar Cells" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This event was an invited virtual talk in the faculty of Chemistry of the Autonomous University of Yucatan (Mexico), about the topic of renewable energies and perovskite solar cells. In it, I had the opportunity to interact with undergraduate students, present the research done in our group and answer questions regarding renewable energies and emerging photovoltaics. Outcomes or impacts: Engagement with undergraduate students about renewable energies and opportunities for the future, particularly for developing countries such as Mexico. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Scientific Seminar organized by the Quantum and Statistical Analysis Research Group (Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo), Applied Nano-Engineering for Semiconductors Technology Research Group (Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo) and the Renewable Energies and Sustainability Research Group (University of Monterrey) entitled "Perovskite Solar Cells" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This event was a scientific seminar organized by 3 different scientific groups in Mexico: the Quantum and Statistical Analysis Research Group (Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo), Applied Nano-Engineering for Semiconductors Technology Research Group (Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo) and the Renewable Energies and Sustainability Research Group (University of Monterrey). During this seminar, I presented a talk entitled "Perovskite Solar Cells" with the idea of discussing renewable energies and emerging photovoltaics with research institutions across Mexico. Outcomes of this seminar: Engagement with undergraduate and posgraduate students along with research leaders of groups specialised in nanomaterials and energy in Mexico. The possibility to share some of our research work in Swansea University. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Scientific seminar organized by the Institute of Physics, from the Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla (IFUAP) titled: "Circular economy concepts in perovskite solar cells" (August 18th, 2022, Puebla, Mexico) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A Scientific Seminar at the Institute of Physics of the Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla (IFUAP) where I engaged with postgraduate students regarding the current advances on perovskite solar cells, the importance of circular economy and design for end of life of photovoltaics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Scientific talk in the International Materials Research Congress, in Mexico entitled "End-of-life Challenges of the encapsulation of perovskite solar cells" (August 15th, 2022, Cancun Mexico) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on International Congress that discussed the importance of design and encapsulation on third generation photovoltaics for a really sustainable way to provide renewable energy. The presentation helped to discuss the subject on sustainability with experts on renewable energy and photovoltaics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.mrs-mexico.org.mx/imrc2022/ |
| Description | Sustainable futures for off-grid solar and batteries |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Sustainable futures for off-grid solar and batteries Whole systems approaches to recycling and waste Workshop at Durham University, Collier Room, College of St Hild and St Bede, Durham DH1 1SZ Monday 28th January 2019 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.dur.ac.uk/dei/projects/sustainablefutures/ |
| Description | Tata Steel training academy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Attended Tata Steel Training Academy to discuss the ongoing work with SPECIFC, the importance of this work and the role of TATA in it to members of the training academy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | WORKSHOP TALK AT THE XXIX INTERNATIONAL MATERIALS RESEARCH CONGRESS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I gave a 40 min talk about steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence of perovskite materials, as part of the workshop on photoluminescence. This talk happened online and was also a good opportunity to talk about the web-app I developed to analysed time-resolved photoluminescence data. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Waste Policy Roundtable |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was a policy Roundtable organised on behalf of the RSC to gather evidence of leading experts on issues related to future waste arising to inform the RSC evidennce base for policy guidance. Participants from Government, NGOs, Industry and Academia as well as other professional bodies. Summit was organised in partnership with the IChemE Outputs have resulted in a policy guidance pack which has been widely circulated and upon which a submission to the parliamentary call for evidence on sustianable WEEE management. Was also invited to present at Science and the Parliament in Scotland as a result of this and have initiated many new contacts and ongoing professional relationships. This was all conducted under the umbrella of the 'Future Wastes' initiative which I was co-opted to the RSC Environment, sustainability and Energy Division Council to co-ordinate. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/features/what-to-do-about-waste/ |
| Description | invited tutorial workshop (ca. 4.5 hours of delivery) titled "Stability and Sustainability: Developments in Perovskite Photovoltaics" at the XXIX International Materials Research Congress, Cancun, Mexico, |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | >50 UG and PG students attend the workshop delivering lectures and discussion on topics of circular economy, climate change, sustainability and renewable energy. This resulted in significant knowledge exchange and interaction. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |