Researchers from the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering will play leading roles in new projects to accelerate the growth of the UK’s sustainable industries, supported by millions in funding from the UK Government.
Professor Jeff Kettle will lead the £5.5m Responsible Electronics and Circular Technologies Centre (REACT), and Professor Gioia Falcone will be part of the £5.6m Centre for Net-Zero High Density Buildings, led by the University of Edinburgh.
REACT will work to establish Scotland’s central belt as a global leader in sustainable electronics manufacturing and design, while the Centre for Net-Zero High Density Buildings will aim to significantly reduce carbon emissions from densely packed buildings in UK cities and towns.
The centres are among five announced today across the UK which will share in £25m from UKRI’s £25m Accelerating the Green Economy programme. The programme is part of UKRI’s Building a Green Future strategic theme, which aims to accelerate the green economy by supporting research and innovation that unlocks solutions essential to achieving net zero in the UK by 2050. It is one of five UKRI strategic themes aiming to harness the full power of the UK’s research and innovation system to tackle large-scale, complex challenges.
REACT, the UK’s first sustainable electronics centre, will drive the transition to net-zero electronics, addressing both the environmental and economic challenges faced by the industry, while promoting the adoption of green technologies through collaboration between academia, industry, and policymakers.
The University of Glasgow will lead and coordinate the four-year project in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, and The Compound Semiconductor Catapult in Scotland.
The electronics industry is primarily driven by technical and economic considerations, often neglecting sustainability principles. This has led to significant challenges, including large amounts of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), high emissions across the supply chain, and widespread use of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) such as gold, palladium, and indium—materials with limited reserves.
In Scotland, however, the electronics industry is vital to the regional economy, driving economic growth, environmental commitments, and national security. With over 130 companies and 10,300 employees contributing to an annual turnover of more than £2.8bn, this sector plays a crucial role in fostering productivity and growth.
However, as more prominent manufacturers and buyers increasingly demand that suppliers commit to decarbonising their products, alongside growing legislative pressure, it is clear that the industry must adapt.
The University of Glasgow’s Professor Jeff Kettle will lead and coordinate the REACT Hub. He said: “The Centre will unite leading researchers to drive the industry’s transition toward a net-zero economy. Its primary focus will be developing solutions to reduce electronic waste, minimise reliance on critical raw materials, and reduce carbon footprints.”
The REACT team brings extensive expertise across various areas, including electronic materials, design, manufacturing, and assembly, environmental impact, supply chain management, and business modelling.
Professor Bing Xu of Heriot-Watt University said: “REACT will leverage its partnerships to translate research into practical applications, boosting both the region’s and the UK’s global competitiveness in the sector.”
REACT will collaborate with SMEs in the region to develop demonstrators and market-led solutions and provide skills training.
Prof Jason Love of the University of Edinburgh added: “REACT will bring together industrial partners as well as the supply chain of companies and proactively communicate to the wider public, driving change at a governmental level.”
The Compound Semiconductor Catapult in Scotland will also work on the project, providing access to cutting-edge equipment and world-class expertise to support start-ups, SMEs, large organisations, and academia in advancing compound semiconductor technology integration.
REACT’s work will offer key benefits, including reductions in e-waste, improved energy efficiency, and cost savings by adopting greener manufacturing processes. Additionally, REACT will play a crucial role in fostering public-private partnerships to drive these innovations, focusing on co-creation, outreach, and advocacy.
Through conferences, workshops, and applied research projects, the centre aims to reshape the electronics industry in Scotland’s Central Belt, transforming it into a sustainability model for the global market.
The Centre for Net-Zero High Density Buildings is setting out to investigate how densely-populated urban areas can be made more energy-efficient. It has received £4.5m from UKRI, with a further £1.1m in support from industry, education, the public sector and the community.
The centre is led by Professor Sean Smith of the University of Edinburgh and supported by the universities of Glasgow, Strathclyde, West of Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University and BE-ST, Scotland’s construction innovation centre. Together, they will test new prototypes and retrofit buildings with low-carbon materials, heating and cooling systems, and energy storage technologies.
Professor Gioia Falcone, Rankine Chair of Energy Engineering and Director of the Glasgow Centre for Sustainable Energy, will lead the University of Glasgow’s contribution to the new centre.
She said: “We are committed to making a positive impact where technical, economic, social and planning constraints make it particularly challenging to decarbonise through retrofit.
“As part of the research team, we will test and reconcile solutions at different scales, from within buildings to community-scale to the wider energy networks. It is vital that we integrate energy supply, storage and use for high-density buildings in a sustainable and equitable way.”
Based at Edinburgh’s newly opened Futures Institute, the Centre [GF1] will primarily target buildings housing some of the UK’s lowest earners, including public sector and key workers, who often spend a disproportionate amount of their income on energy bills while facing health issues associated with cold and damp housing.
Among the innovative approaches being explored are net-zero heating systems, sustainable construction methods, and natural insulation materials derived from plants like hemp and sisal. These materials can be manufactured in Scotland, potentially reducing reliance on plastic insulations. The project will also test low-carbon heating technologies that are reportedly more energy-efficient than traditional boilers and significantly faster to install than heat pumps.
The initiative will use Edinburgh and Glasgow as testing grounds, given their high proportion of flats and diverse building stock. Researchers estimate that these two city regions may require around £35 billion in investment for low-carbon retrofitting and construction over the next 25 years to achieve net-zero goals. The Centre’s findings and recommendations will be shared with industry and government to inform nationwide strategies for retrofitting buildings to meet carbon reduction targets, while also focusing on training students in low-carbon retrofitting through partnerships with colleges and academies.
Dr Kate Hamer, UKRI Programme Director, Building a Green Future, said: “Transitioning to a sustainable green economy is a win-win for all; it creates new jobs, new partnerships and new industries.
“Through investment in collaboration between researchers and innovators, we harness our collective effort across the public and private sector, driving innovation to secure the future of our environment and deliver sustainable economic growth.”