The UK is training a new generation of engineers and scientists to build machines that suck carbon dioxide out of the air. Most climate models agree that removing CO₂ already in the atmosphere will be essential to avoid the worst effects of climate change, yet the UK currently has no dedicated training programme for the people who will design and operate these technologies. Existing research centres focus on biological methods—such as planting forests or adding crushed rock to farmland—but neglect engineered solutions like direct air capture, where fans and chemical filters pull CO₂ directly from the ambient air, and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), where power plants burn biomass and bury the emissions. This Centre for Doctoral Training will fill that gap by providing a wide pool of supervisors, facilities, and disciplinary perspectives that no single university can offer alone. If successful, it will create a skilled workforce capable of scaling up these technologies from laboratory demonstrators to industrial plants that could eventually remove millions of tonnes of CO₂ per year—a critical piece of the infrastructure needed to meet net-zero targets.
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The centre will focus on negative emission technologies. Most climate policy specialists in the UK and around the world consider these will be essential to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. At present the Supergen Bioenergy hub has 2 research projects on BECCS (focused on gasification), the Oxford based greenhouse removal hub works with 4 demonstrators (on biochar, peatlands, enhanced weathering and afforestation), all focused on academic research in UK institutes. This project will work with both Supergen and the GGR Hub (as well as the dmonstrators which have Nottingham and Aston leadership and participation) to expand the research to the currently neglected areas of engineered GGR solutions. The scale and level of activity often makes it difficult for individual universiteis to engage fully in the needs of the sector and so the CDT will address that by providing a wide pool of supervisors, facilities and disciplinary perspectives. No other centre currently does this for PhD students. No other centre has or is planned to address the future skills need with the huge anticipated expansion of this centre. The main technological themes are: Direct air capture and CO2 storage Direct air capture and CO2 utilization Biochar synthesis and utilisation Biomass to materials and chemicals CO2 Utilization Biomass to energy with carbon capture and storage
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