SUSTAIN Future Steel Manufacturing Research Hub Launches Second Call

The SUSTAIN Future Steel Manufacturing Research Hub is a seven-year, £35 million Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Research Hub. SUSTAIN’s vision is to transform the steel supply chain from a reliance on CO2 intensive commodity products to a flexible and responsive sector where energy and resource are used and reused far more effectively.

SUSTAIN has now launched the second round of its feasibility studies call. The call is the primary mechanism for new academic collaborators to engage with the SUSTAIN Hub and, if successful, provide a springboard to larger follow-on funding.

Funding is available for at least three feasibility studies to conduct novel research projects in sustainable steel manufacture, smart production and recycling of end products. Proposals are also welcomed that address the utilisation of steel with the potential to generate new business models and/or supply chain solutions for the steel industry or that identify policy impediments/requirements for the industry’s transformation.

Research proposals should address challenges at TRL 1-3 and be aligned with at least one of the priority areas outlined within SUSTAIN’s Grand Challenges of: Carbon Neutral Iron and Steelmaking and Smart Steel Processing.

Proposals should be aligned to the following areas, but SUSTAIN will also accept any high quality, novel proposal related to steel production and use in the UK centred around decarbonisation:

• Waste Material Flows: Novel application of plant wastes including CO2 and legacy materials (previous by-products) that exist on steel making sites.
• Industrial Symbiosis: Partnerships between steel production and other industries/sectors that result in resource efficiency.
• Energy: Energy reduction in processes and the wider UK supply situation through all vectors including water.
• Financial/Business Modelling for Green Steel: Development of understanding that assists decision making of the impact to industry and its supply chain when moving to green steel production.
• Value Intensive Steel Design: Today’s products are tomorrow’s scrap. Projects that consider design of steel intensive products that deliver sustainability benefits through their lifetime and are ready for the circular economy are welcome.
• Any novel Decarbonisation and Recycling projects that may produce a step change on the path to Net Zero.

Proposals should demonstrate the potential to significantly improve the UK Steel Industry’s Carbon Footprint through direct changes and augmentation of systems and processes, the introduction of novel technology and provision of digital methods for tracking, improved supply chain management and closed loop recycling of products.

The call is open to all UK academics whose institutions are not currently involved with the SUSTAIN project and are eligible to receive EPSRC funding. Due to the industrial focus of the project, academics are strongly encouraged to include industrial project partners to facilitate future trials, provide knowledge and experience and demonstrate a pathway to manufacturing and exploitation.

A total of £300,000 is available. The funding available for each Feasibility Study is £62,500 at 80% full Economic Cost (fEC). The maximum grant per project is therefore £50,000. Exceptional proposals may qualify for a higher level of funding which will also depend upon the quality of the proposal and collaborations, the number of research outputs and the overall contribution to the fundamental grand challenges.

Projects can last for a maximum of six months. Funding is intended to cover the costs of the PI and supporting researchers in undertaking their research feasibility project. Funding will therefore primarily cover staff time (including associated Indirect and Estate costs), with the remainder supporting consumables and travel. Other funding may be accessible for specialist measurement or limited pilot and upscale trials with the Hub’s partners at Specific, AIM, Catapult Centres, Henry Royce Institute and MPI, but this must be discussed and agreed in advance with the nominated centre and SUSTAIN team.

Applications should be submitted by the 29 July 2022 deadline.

In addition to the feasibility studies call, SUSTAIN has also recently launched the Technology Translation Fund (TTF) to support applications that broadly support the Hub’s two Grand Challenges.

Proposals should be novel and aim to support step-change improvements in one of the two SUSTAIN Grand Challenge areas through the development of a demonstrator, or translation of an existing technology from another application or industry, to steel. Ideas outside of the Grand Challenge scope will also be considered if they are deemed to have significant potential impact upon the UK Steel Industry and the SUSTAIN Grand Challenges.

Proposals should operate through technology readiness levels (TRL) 3.5-5. The main scope should be focused on significantly improving the UK steel industry’s carbon footprint through direct changes and augmentation of systems and processes, the introduction of novel technology and provision of digital methods for tracking, improved supply chain management and closed loop recycling of products.

Funding is available for those within SUSTAIN, academics within the wider Hub network and from non-associated academics. Applications from non-core partners should involve close integration with core partners.

A total of £20,000 is available per application. If greater funding is required, the Management Team will discuss initially, followed by the requirement of approval from the Operational Committee. It is expected that this funding will be leveraged by existing secured funding or collaborations with SUSTAIN’s academic partners.

Applications should be submitted via email. Applications are accepted anytime throughout the lifetime of SUSTAIN.