Deadline: 10-May-23
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is accepting proposals for funding to establish a large-scale, multidisciplinary research hub in support of manufacturing, environmental sustainability and net zero.
Priorities
As such, you must clearly demonstrate in your application how your proposed hub will contribute to at least one of the following EPSRC priorities:
- Engineering net zero.
- Artificial intelligence, digitalisation and data: driving value and security.
- Transforming health and healthcare.
- Quantum technologies.
- Physical and mathematical sciences powerhouse.
- Frontiers in engineering and technology.
- Digital futures.
Objectives
The objectives are to:
- Deliver a programme of high quality, multidisciplinary research related to the challenges in commercialising early-stage research and manufacturing.
- Create strategic advantage and drive forward the national manufacturing research agenda in a particular area, as leaders within the landscape.
- Centre and embed environmental sustainability throughout hub aims, objectives, operations and research outcomes, considering the context of each hub’s specific research area.
- Engage with diverse and relevant partners to ensure that research is co-created and co-delivered with users.
- Embed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within hub operations and activities by developing and delivering an EDI action plan, led by the hub EDI lead, which takes into account the specific EDI context and challenges within the hub’s research area and community.
Funding Information
The total EPSRC funding available for this opportunity will be up to £55 million, to fund up to five manufacturing research hubs for a sustainable future. Funding for each hub will be from £10 million to £11 million, awarded over seven years.
Research Challenges
This opportunity is to support innovative research programmes in engineering and the physical sciences, related to the challenges in commercialising early-stage research within manufacturing.
The hub research programmes should:
- Draw on advances in underlying science and technology.
- Focus on the design and development of new and existing manufacturing processes, systems and networks.
- Explicitly consider the pathway to manufacture, including production scale up and integration within the wider industrial system.
EPSRC welcomes applications focusing on diverse research areas and diverse sectors and EPSRC expects all hubs to integrate environmental sustainability at all stages of the research and innovation process. By this, EPSRC does not mean that hub research must focus on sustainable manufacturing as a research area. Instead, EPSRC expects hubs to:
- Embed environmental sustainability in all aspects of the hub, ensuring that environmental impact and mitigation is explicitly considered at all stages of the research lifecycle and throughout the lifetime of the hub.
- Identify the major challenges relating to environmental sustainability in the chosen research area and integrate these as part of the hub research programme. You should consider ambitious challenges, which may be at a lower technology readiness level but will support a step change in future sustainability, as well as how to improve and embed sustainability in technology that is closer to commercialization.
- Demonstrate leadership in environmental sustainability by carrying out hub operations in an environmentally sustainable way, with consideration of how to minimise the negative environmental impact of running the hub. You should seek opportunities to influence others and leave a legacy of environmental sustainability within the broader operations of your academic and industry partners.
While hubs may wish to consider some aspects of social and economic sustainability as part of their programme, this is not the focus of this funding opportunity. Environmental sustainability may include consideration of such broad areas as:
- Reducing carbon emissions.
- Protecting and enhancing the natural environment and biodiversity.
- Waste or pollution elimination.
- Resource efficiency and circular economy.
Activities
Manufacturing is an essential part of the UK economy. The UK manufacturing sector is diverse, with activities in:
- Aerospace.
- Pharmaceuticals.
- Chemicals.
- Automotive.
- Electronics.
- Biotechnology.
- Food and Drink.
Eligibility Criteria
- Standard EPSRC eligibility rules apply. Research grants are open to:
- UK higher education institutions.
- research council institutes.
- UK Research and Innovation-approved independent research organisations.
- Eligible public sector research establishments.
- Eligible research and technology organisations.
- NHS bodies with research capacity.
- You can apply if you are a resident in the UK and meet at least one of the conditions:
- Are employed at the submitting research organisation at a level equivalent to lecturer or above.
- Hold a fixed-term contract that extends beyond the duration of the proposed project, and the host research organisation is prepared to give you all the support normal for a permanent employee.
- Hold an EPSRC, Royal Society or Royal Academy of Engineering fellowship aimed at later career stages.
- Hold fellowships under other schemes.
- Holders of postdoctoral level fellowships are not eligible to apply for an EPSRC grant.
For more information, visit EPSRC.