CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY USE IN FOOD CHAINS

英国的食物链包括农业生产、制造、分销、零售和消费，涉及30多万家企业，就业人数达360万人。食品和饮料行业是最大的制造业部门，雇佣了50万人，为经济贡献了800亿英镑。据估计，食物链产生了1.6亿吨二氧化碳当量排放和1500亿吨食物浪费，对环境造成了重大影响。能源是食物链各个阶段的重要投入，占英国最终能源需求的18%。近年来，在减少食物链的能源消耗和排放方面取得了进展，主要是通过应用经过验证的技术，这些技术可以迅速带来投资回报。然而，为了取得进一步的进展，必须在食物链的各个阶段对方法和技术进行重大创新，全面看待食物链以及链内和外部环境的相互作用。EPSRC食品链可持续能源利用中心将在这一领域做出重大贡献。它将汇集来自布鲁内尔大学、曼彻斯特大学和伯明翰大学的具有丰富互补经验和国际领先研究记录的多学科研究小组，以及大量关键利益相关者，调查和开发创新方法和技术，以实现大幅降低终端使用能源需求。该中心将从事对未来产生重大影响的方法和技术的前沿研究，以实现到2050年将二氧化碳排放量减少80%的目标，同时也将从事在中心最初五年生命周期内产生明显影响的研究。采用整个系统方法，研究主题将涉及：i)模拟食品链中的能源和资源流动，从农场大门到餐盘，以便调查供应链各阶段和外部环境之间的能源和资源流动，并考虑到政策决定的影响，促进整体能源和资源使用的优化，未来食品和能源价格和食品消费趋势。ii)通过降低单个过程的能源强度和优化资源使用，研究在供应链所有阶段减少能源使用的方法和技术。预期在中心的生命周期内将发展一些新的创新和更有效的减少能源的技术和办法，以处理家庭和服务部门的加工、分配、零售和最后消费问题。iii)确定食物链和英国能源供应系统之间的最佳互动方式，通过分布式发电和对电网的需求响应服务，帮助管理不断变化的需求和供应。（四）研究消费者行为和关键影响因素的影响，如人口结构的变化、对可持续生活的需要和要求认识的提高、经济因素和消费趋势对食物链的性质和结构以及能源使用的影响。尽管重点将放在食物链上，但开发的许多方法和技术也将适用于其他经济部门，如工业、商业和工业建筑以及货物运输。该中心将涉及与用户群体、技术制造商、政府部门、食品协会和其他有关研究团体和网络的广泛合作。粮食能源和资源网络将是传播和产生影响的一个关键工具，该网络将组织定期会议和年度国际会议，以传播科学成果并使国家和国际研究和用户社区参与进来

The UK food chain, comprising agricultural production, manufacturing, distribution, retail and consumption, involves more than 300,000 enterprises and employs 3.6 million people. The food and drink industry is the largest manufacturing sector, employing 500,000 people and contributing £80 billion to the economy. It is also estimated that the food chain is responsible for 160 MtCO2e emissions and 15 Mt of food waste, causing significant environmental impacts. Energy is an important input in all stages of the food chain and is responsible for 18% of the UK's final energy demand. In recent years, progress has been made in the reduction of energy consumption and emissions from the food chain primarily through the application of well proven technologies that could lead to quick return on investment. To make further progress, however, significant innovations will have to be made in approaches and technologies at all stages of the food chain, taking a holistic view of the chain and the interactions both within the chain and the external environment. The EPSRC Centre for Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains will make significant contributions in this field. It will bring together multidisciplinary research groups of substantial complementary experience and internationally leading research track record from the Universities of Brunel, Manchester and Birmingham and a large number of key stakeholders to investigate and develop innovative approaches and technologies to effect substantial end use energy demand reductions.The Centre will engage both in cutting edge research into approaches and technologies that will have significant impacts in the future, leading towards the target of 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050, but also into research that will have demonstrable impacts within the initial five year lifetime of the Centre. Taking a whole systems approach, the research themes will involve: i) Simulation of energy and resource flows in the food chain, from farm-gate to plate to enable investigations of energy and resource flows between the stages of the chain and the external environment, and facilitate overall energy and resource use optimisation taking into consideration the impact of policy decisions, future food and energy prices and food consumption trends. ii) Investigation of approaches and technologies for the reduction of energy use at all stages of the chain through reduction of the energy intensity of individual processes and optimisation of resource use. It is expected that a number of new innovative and more efficient technologies and approaches for energy reduction will be developed in the lifetime of the Centre to address processing, distribution, retail and final consumption in the home and the service sector.iii) Identification of optimal ways of interaction between the food chain and the UK energy supply system to help manage varying demand and supply through distributed power generation and demand-response services to the grid. iv) Study of consumer behaviour and the impact of key influencing factors such as changing demographics, increased awareness of the needs and requirements of sustainable living, economic factors and consumption trends on the nature and structure of the food chain and energy use. Even though the focus will be on the food chain, many of the approaches and technologies developed will also be applicable to other sectors of the economy such as industry, commercial and industrial buildings and transportation of goods.The Centre will involve extensive collaboration with the user community, manufacturers of technology, Government Departments, Food Associations and other relevant research groups and networks. A key vehicle for dissemination and impact will be a Food Energy and Resource Network which will organise regular meetings and annual international conferences to disseminate the scientific outputs and engage the national and international research and user communities