Great British Chemicals consortium to turn waste into green chemistry

The centre will replace fossil petrochemicals and recycle industrial waste to create 'cleaner versions' of the chemicals.

Great British Chemicals is led by the Universities of Sheffield, Newcastle and Nottingham in a transdisciplinary collaboration of 10 universities and over 33 industrial stakeholders.

It was referenced in the UK Government’s recent Industrial Strategy and will begin officially on 1 August 2025.

The centre will be funded at a full economic cost of £22.5mln for seven years and includes investment for Moonshot projects in novel catalysis, core funding for development to scale, and flexible funding to provide an agile response to technology as it develops.

There will also be an initial wave of funding for the first three years to allow the team to concentrate on emerging themes that could show quick benefits.

The centre is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Centre.

The UK’s chemical sector is a major contributor to the economy with an annual turnover of £65.5bln.