Transforming the Foundation Industries: a Network+ Towards Value by Innovation

英国基础工业（玻璃、金属、水泥、陶瓷、大宗化学品和造纸）对英国经济的价值为520亿英镑，每年生产2800万吨材料，占英国二氧化碳总排放量的10%。这些行业的特点是高度集约使用资源和能源，因此要实现英国政府2050年的法律承诺，即相对于1990年减少100%的净温室气体排放，面临着重大挑战。虽然所有行业都在采取措施增加材料的回收和再利用，但它们在制定零碳路线图方面处于不同阶段。这些路线图取决于国家电网转向基于绿色电力和可持续氢和生物燃料的低碳能源供应，以及碳捕获和储存解决方案。实现净零碳排放还需要在产品和工艺设计方面进行创新，并通过新的商业模式采用循环经济和工业共生方法，必要时还需要通过国家和全球政策的变化来实现。此外，政府的47亿英镑国家生产力投资基金认识到需要提高英国所有工业部门的生产力，以达到最佳国际标准。高水平的生产力与低碳战略相结合，将有助于基础产业格局的转型，鼓励英国工业的战略性保留，抵御新冠肺炎等全球供应链冲击，并提供高质量的就业机会和清洁的环境。这些产业对英国生产力和环境目标的战略重要性已经得到工业战略挑战基金提供的6600万英镑的认可，以支持转型基金会产业集群。认识到各个行业将面临许多共同的问题和机遇，TFI集群将鼓励和促进跨部门方法来应对面临的主要挑战。作为这笔资金的一部分，将建立一个学术网络+，以确保建立一个充满活力的学术界和工业界社区，可以组织和合作，为重大挑战建立学科和跨学科的解决方案。网络+将作为一个基础，以确保正在进行的6600万英镑的TFI计划的推出，以英国最好的跨学科科学组合为基础，并通过跨部门的行业参与提供信息。我们的网络最初由8所英国大学和30多个工业组织组成，将通过与学术界、工业界、政策制定者和非政府组织合作，识别和应对挑战和机遇，共同开发和采用变革性技术、商业模式和工作实践，为英国的基金会行业提供支持。我们的专业知识涵盖所有六大基础行业，包括材料、工程、散装化工、制造、物理科学、信息学、经济学、循环经济和人文艺术。通过我们的小型项目、研讨会、知识转移、推广和传播计划，该网络将测试概念并指导创新成果的发展，以帮助英国基金会行业转型。该网络将涵盖各个学科，包括艺术和人文学科知识交流的最佳实践，并包括整个英国学术界和工业界，使所有人都能获得活动计划和项目资金机会。

The UK Foundation Industries (Glass, Metals, Cement, Ceramics, Bulk Chemicals and Paper), are worth £52B to the UK economy, produce 28 million tonnes of materials per year and account for 10% of the UK total CO2 emissions. These industries face major challenges in meeting the UK Government's legal commitment for 2050 to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 100% relative to 1990, as they are characterised by highly intensive use of both resources and energy. While all sectors are implementing steps to increase recycling and reuse of materials, they are at varying stages of creating road maps to zero carbon. These roadmaps depend on the switching of the national grid to low carbon energy supply based on green electricity and sustainable sources of hydrogen and biofuels along with carbon capture and storage solutions. Achievement of net zero carbon will also require innovations in product and process design and the adoption of circular economy and industrial symbiosis approaches via new business models, enabled as necessary by changes in national and global policies. Additionally, the Governments £4.7B National Productivity Investment Fund recognises the need for raising UK productivity across all industrial sectors to match best international standards. High levels of productivity coupled with low carbon strategies will contribute to creating a transformation of the foundation industry landscape, encouraging strategic retention of the industries in the UK, resilience against global supply chain shocks such as Covid-19 and providing quality jobs and a clean environment.The strategic importance of these industries to UK productivity and environmental targets has been acknowledged by the provision of £66M from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to support a Transforming Foundation Industries cluster. Recognising that the individual sectors will face many common problems and opportunities, the TFI cluster will serve to encourage and facilitate a cross sectoral approach to the major challenges faced. As part of this funding an Academic Network Plus will be formed, to ensure the establishment of a vibrant community of academics and industry that can organise and collaborate to build disciplinary and interdisciplinary solutions to the major challenges. The Network Plus will serve as a basis to ensure that the ongoing £66M TFI programme is rolled out, underpinned by a portfolio of the best available UK interdisciplinary science, and informed by cross sectoral industry participation.Our network, initially drawn from eight UK universities, and over 30 industrial organisations will support the UK foundation industries by engaging with academia, industry, policy makers and non-governmental organisations to identify and address challenges and opportunities to co-develop and adopt transformative technologies, business models and working practices. Our expertise covers all six foundation industries, with relevant knowledge of materials, engineering, bulk chemicals, manufacturing, physical sciences, informatics, economics, circular economy and the arts & humanities. Through our programme of mini-projects, workshops, knowledge transfer, outreach and dissemination, the Network will test concepts and guide the development of innovative outcomes to help transform UK foundation industries. The Network will be inclusive across disciplines, embracing best practice in Knowledge Exchange from the Arts and Humanities, and inclusive of the whole UK academic and industrial communities, enabling access for all to the activity programme and project fund opportunities.