Keynote Speakers

Advancing towards net zero

Consider almost any major global challenge and materials will be at the centre of it. To build a new, clean-energy future, we need materials for more efficient energy harvesting, storage, use and devices. Similarly, health improvements for an aging population or anti-viral coatings cannot be achieved without major strides in our ability to tailor surfaces and add functionality to materials systems. In view of the UK’s ambitious 2050 commitments, a recent pandemic and current unrest in Europe, timing has never been more critical – we must deliver these next generation materials in a sustainable manner with less reliance on the availability of critical resources and in much shorter timescales than achieved previously. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Advanced surface engineering and coatings underpin much of the functionality needed of these new materials, be it higher operating temperatures for energy generation and propulsion, materials with longer lifetimes, or materials that are more circular and sustainable.


Advanced glass manufacturing to meet the net zero challenge 

Thin film coatings are applied to glass on a large scale to provide engineered surfaces that can be used to reduce emissions in the built environment e.g. Architectural, Automotive, Photovoltaics. This presentation will discuss some of the coating technologies used by the glass industry and the innovative products in which they are used across a variety of Industries. As glass manufacturing is an energy intensive process, NSG’s strategy for more sustainable production and some alternative melting technologies that do not use fossil fuels will also be discussed.

 


Speakers


 


Poster Presenters