Experts from across the globe gather at Welsh university to help build sustainable future

A multinational team of experts has been assembled by a Welsh university to address the challenges of building a sustainable future.

Th University of South Wales has gathered the specialists who come from as far afield as South America, Asia, and Africa, to look at projects which focus on carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and the by-products of industrial processes.

Dr Gareth Owen, Associate Professor in Inorganic Chemistry, is leading the team of researchers with an array of projects that investigate sustainability.

Specialists in chemistry, Dr Ranjit Bag and Dr Uttam Das from India and Dr Issam Abdalghani, from Palestine, are working on CO2 project funded by Sêr Cymru, a multi-million-pound Welsh Government programme.

Two further chemistry experts – Dr Shepherd Siangwata and Dr Leah Matsinha, from Zimbabwe, are also part of the team along with specialist in hydrogen storage, Dr Nildo Costa, from South America.

Emissions

The ground breaking projects have been funded from various sources including FLEXIS and KESS programmes, which are funded by the Welsh Government and the team will work alongside a European contingent.

The projects include looking at innovative ways to convert carbon dioxide into chemicals that can be used by industry, therefore cutting the amount of the greenhouse gas fed into the atmosphere.

The hydrogen projects, funded by HydroQuebec and FLEXIS, are researching methods to store the gas, so it be can be released at the time it is needed and used to power vehicles.

A partnership with Tata Steel is looking at ways to utilise the manufacturer’s waste products – such as coke oven gas, coal tars, and carbon dioxide – to support its focus on decarbonising operations to mitigate CO2 emissions.

Dr Owen: “One of the key aims of the University’s 2030 Strategy is to address the challenges posed by moving towards a more sustainable world.

“These projects are just a few that USW is working on and highlights our commitment to a greener future.

“Being able to attract experts of such calibre from across the globe to USW shows how serious we are taken by those who, like us, are passionate about addressing environmental challenges.

“It also proves that USW is at the forefront of such research and how the University is helping to further develop a variety of experts who choose to advance their knowledge here.”