The EPSRC Manufacturing Research Hub in Sustainable Engineering Plastics (SEP) is led by the University of Warwick in collaboration with the University of Manchester and University College London.
Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the seven-year programme will focus on plastics commonly used in cars, buildings and electronics, with a mission to create more circular, low-carbon approaches to their production and end-of-life management.
It will be headed by Professor Ton Peijs of Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG).
40 research projects
The hub will aim to tackle five interconnected challenges across the plastics value chain:
- Overcoming barriers to adopting sustainable materials
- Harnessing emerging digital technologies
- Enabling reuse and remanufacturing to extend product lifetimes
- Developing advanced recycling and upcycling methods
- Creating robust sustainability assessment frameworks
Over its lifetime, the SEP Hub is expected to deliver more than 40 research projects, starting with four co-designed Core Projects on intersectoral recycling, reuse and durability, AI-driven recycling systems and disassembly methods for complex multi-material components.
Peijs commented: “Sustainability can’t be achieved by innovation in isolation. It requires working across disciplines and industries.
“By bringing together leading researchers with a broad range of industrial partners, the Hub will connect fundamental research in sustainable and circular plastics with practical application to deliver real-world impact.”
Four sustainability hubs
The hub is part of EPSRC’s £44 million Manufacturing Research Hubs for a Sustainable Future programme.
Together, the four hubs will bring together over 180 industry and civic partners to turn research into real-world solutions.
The other hubs will focus on boosting domestic steel production, using AI to enhance sustainability and engineering microbes capable to converting industrial waste into chemicals and materials.
The official launch event of the SEP Hub at the University of Warwick welcomed more than 60 delegates representing over 40 companies and three academic institutions.
The gathering brought together a diverse network of researchers, engineers and innovators from across academia and industry, including representatives from Jaguar Land Rover, Polestar, Mitsubishi, NETZSCH, Suez Recycling and Recovery UK, and Barratt Redrow.
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