Imperial deepens cleantech collaboration with US partners

Imperial is aiming to deepen its collaborations with partners in the US to solve challenges around climate and pollution.

President Hugh Brady, along with Imperial’s Vice Provost (Research and Enterprise), Professor Mary Ryan, met with science, technology and industry leaders at a meeting hosted by Emma Wade-Smith OBE, HM Trade Commissioner for North America and British Consul General in New York. 

The group discussed the importance of new and deeper networks, connections and partnerships to help achieve a zero pollution future globally. 

Organisations represented include: Brookhaven National Lab, Cornell University, Colombia University, SE4All UN Energy,  NYU, CUNY Energy Institute, Advanced Energy Center (AERTC), Rockefeller Foundation, Stony Brook University, Northeastern University, NYSERDA, and Milken Institute.

The UK and US agreed in 2021 to strengthen ties in science and technology as part of a new Atlantic Charter.

The Prime Minister of the UK and President of the USA, pledged to combine their expertise to tackle global challenges, including climate change. 

The meeting forms part of a broader visit by Imperial leaders, who are meeting key partners and Imperial alumni in New York and Boston. 

Zero pollution future

Imperial is a world-leader in climate change research, and is committed to delivering the scientific, technological and policy advances needed to help realise a zero pollution future. 

Imperial’s President, Professor Hugh Brady, said: “The need to limit global warming and tackle the combined threats of global pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change are some of the biggest challenges we face together. Added to this we have an energy security crisis and the need to develop long-term sustainable solutions to guarantee security of supply and affordable energy for our households and businesses

“Our conversations around this are critically important, and we need to build from them a series of platforms for research collaboration, interdisciplinary and systems thinking, and bold new ideas and technologies.

“We will lean on our world-class academic communities to define key areas where together we can genuinely accelerate technology and science.” 

Imperial has strong ties with US institutions when it comes to tackling key sustainability challenges. The MIT-Imperial Seed Fund awarded several grants to research projects focusing on the strategic themes of Climate, Pollution & Sustainability.   

International partners

Imperial has recently formed major partnerships and engaged with several international partners to accelerate research into sustainability, energy, climate and pollution.

Imperial and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany have launched a partnership to develop new technologies to tackle global pollution. The Imperial – TUM Zero Pollution Network will bring together scientists, industry, governments and other partners to develop and translate solutions to some of the greatest sustainability challenges and combined threats of global pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change.  

In Japan, Imperial hosted a Net Zero and Healthy Future symposium with the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the Tokyo Medical and Dental University to bring together research leaders to discuss global challenges. 

Imperial academics and the British High Commission Singapore recently organised a green energy transition roundtable to discuss decarbonisation in shipping. 

Cleantech coalition

Imperial recently hosted Bill Gates and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for the launch of a new initiative to supercharge UK cleantech innovation.

Cleantech for UK, which brings together a coalition of investors and venture-builders with combined funds of over £4 billion, will accelerate the translation of the UK’s scientific research into world-leading cleantech scale-ups. 

Imperial's cleantech initiative, Undaunted, is a founding member of Cleantech for UK, which will connect the UK’s policy-making community with those creating, incubating, investing in and scaling cleantech companies. 

Transition to Zero Pollution

Imperial’s flagship Transition to Zero Pollution initiative goes beyond thinking about zero carbon to consider human-made pollution in all its forms – from oil spills and ocean plastic to toxic air and heavy metals accumulating in our environment. 

A recent Transition to Zero Pollution briefing paper helped highlight the potentially harmful impact of toxic tyre particles on health and the environment. 

This article was first published on 20 April by Imperial College London.