International Conference on Circular Economy in Transport
2023-05-10 - 2023-05-11 | Cranfield University, Vincent Building, College Road, Cranfield, MK43 0AL, United Kingdom
The CENTS network vision is to build a community that focusses on the informed design and utilisation of more environmentally friendly, renewable and/or recyclable materials within transportation systems and delivers novel and effective end-of-life recycling, re-use and recovery options.
ICCET is a 1.5 day conference which aims to:

Accelerate Circular Economy implementation in Transport Systems
Showcase innovative solutions
Co-create a cross-cutting strategy with the sustainable transport community

Smart Factory Expo
2023-06-07 - 2023-06-08 | NEC, Birmingham
Come and find TransFIRe on Stand D92.
Putting manufacturing at the heart of the future

Smart Factory Expo, brought to you by The Manufacturer’ (produced by Hennik Research, part of Nineteen Group) is the industry’s leading manufacturing exhibition showcasing the latest digital innovations in technology, processes and thinking behind Industry 4.0.
Whatever the stage of your digital journey, see all the technologies enabling the industrial revolution under one roof, hear the latest best practices and strategies and connect with like-minded peers!
The goal of Smart Factory is to offer the manufacturing industry cutting-edge solutions which will encompass advancements in hardware and software, whilst allowing visitors to keep their finger on the pulse of the important changes in their sector.
Take advantage of the tech hype around this event, which in 2023 will include everything from an innovation alley where startups may exhibit their prototype solutions to the professional insights offered by leading figures in robotics and additive manufacturing.

Part of Manufacturing and Engineering Week

Intrapreneurship: Disrupting from the inside - a workshop & networking event
2023-06-23 09:30 - 15:30 UTC | Henry Royce Institute, Royce Hub Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
On International Women in Engineering Day, The Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge invites you to ignite your inner innovator. Set in the UK’s National Institute for advanced materials research and Innovation, you will hear from incredible speakers who are raising the profile of women innovators as thought leaders in the Foundation Industries and making impactful changes from within their organisations. Join our workshop led by Stronger Stories where you will also have the chance to develop your own storytelling skills in order to become effective ‘intrapreneurs’ and create change from within, fairer and faster. There will also be a facilitated networking session to encourage interaction between a wide range of cross-sector stakeholders and partners with expertise or interest in the foundation industries/materials sectors.
Confirmed speakers:

Tata Steel
Rolls Royce
Materials Processing Institute
Viridor

Who should attend
Businesses in the foundation industries or related materials sectors who champion proactivity, resourcefulness and innovation.
Why should you attend
Intrapreneurship can help foster innovation, identify new business opportunities, increase employee engagement, develop leadership skills, and improve problem-solving abilities.
This event is in-person only and spaces are limited to 25 attendees which will be allocated through an Expression of Interest form.

Challenges in Sustainability Reporting Webinar
2023-06-27 15:00 - 16:30 | Virtual – Microsoft Teams
Following in depth research with local businesses TransFIRe in partnership with North Lincolnshire Council invite you to attend a series of curated events focusing on sustainability.
In response to the increasing pressure to report on your sustainability credentials, how can sustainability metrics help evidence the positive benefits of your activities?
TransFIRe is seeking to help high energy using companies to understand and use the emerging reporting requirements to benefit both their competitiveness as well as their sustainability reporting and performance.
We particularly welcome SMEs to these events in addition to larger companies.
This first event brings you a webinar to brief you on the emerging reporting requirements, provide examples of how metrics have been used in other businesses to best effect and interactively share local good practice.
You will also get insight to the latest thinking of how working with wider stakeholders boosts long term performance.
Following this event we will be holding an in-person workshop to get into the detail of sustainability metrics and how they can aid your journey to net zero. (19th July, details to follow)
Autumn 2023 will bring in-company support for scoping and defining your metrics to support the sustainability and competitiveness objectives of your business.
Each event is optional, there is no obligation to commit to all events. There is no charge for any stage as this support is funded by the government’s UKRI research and innovation body.
Please visit this link for full information and to register: Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams
By booking on to this webinar you agree to North Lincolnshire Council sharing your contact details with the TransFIRe Project:

Event Details
15:00
Dr. Peter Ball
Introduction, the TransFIRe project and how it is contributing to more sustainable businesses in energy intensive sectors.
Peter Ball is Professor of Operations Management in the School of Business and Society at the University of York. His research focuses on how operations practices underpin performance. Current research projects have system level improvements at their heart. Application areas span operations, manufacturing and supply chain management. Through a management lens, he seeks to understand how processes in business behave and how they can be improved. His work includes sustainability, circular economy, eco-efficient manufacturing and more generally addressing productivity. Beyond the TFI TransFIRe project, his recent work includes FixOurFood food systems transformation with emphasis on new business models and industry peer-to-peer learning for sustainability. He has served as a judge on the IET’s and Make UK’s innovation awards, particularly their innovation, education and sustainability categories.

15:20
Juan Ramon Candia, MSc, PGDip, PhD (s)
The jungle of sustainability standards and emerging reporting requirements
Juan Ramón Candia (JR) has 25+ years of experience as innovation and sustainability expert, manager of high-performance teams, applied researcher, environmental consultant, entrepreneur, mentor of start-ups, board member, government official, UN consultant. He has worked on various strategic sustainability challenges for a dozen of sectors/industries (e.g. mining, tourism, banking, retail, chemical, fishing, water utilities, NGOs, government, among others) on issues of climate change, water management, biodiversity conservation, remediation on contaminated sites, cleaner production, performance indicators, among others. JR is currently doing his PhD research on Digital Climate Solutions and innovative sustainable business models at the School for Business & Society from the University of York, UK.

15:40
Dr Gavin Milligan (PhD, C.Chem, MRSC, FIFST, FRSA), Director, Green Knight Sustainability Consulting Ltd
Drivers and good practice in communicating sustainability performance – case studies from industry
Dr Gavin Milligan has over 30 years’ industrial experience in positions up to Board level, in businesses of various sizes, from SMEs to large multinationals and has worked in diverse roles including operations, supply chain, procurement and sales. He now owns and runs Green Knight Sustainability Consulting Ltd, developing and delivering sustainability strategies for a wide range of organisations. Current and former clients include businesses in aerospace, chemicals, construction, engineering, food, packaging and medical devices, together with trade bodies, public and third-sector organisations and academic research bodies. A qualified scientist, Gavin is also active within academia lecturing on supply chains and Lifecycle Assessments and co-authoring research papers.

16:00 – Circular Economy Indicators
16:15 – Q&A
16:30 – Closure

Challenges on Sustainability Reporting Workshop
2023-07-19 12:30 - 16:00 | Normanby Gateway, Lysaghts Way, Scunthorpe, DN15 9YG, United Kingdom
To support the progress towards the 2040 Net Zero commitments, TransFIRe in collaboration with North Lincolnshire Council is seeking to work with companies, particularly high energy use industries, on considering how to align with broad economic, environmental and social metrics arising from emerging national and international standards. In doing so, companies can evidence their progress to stakeholders as well as drive activities beyond the factory gate that give potential for greater net zero reductions for themselves and their community.

Half-day Workshop: Exploring needs and interests
Purpose: This will be a workshop for manufacturing companies to hear from experts within policy and sustainability to explore current and near future needs for sustainability metrics in detail and how manufacturers can aid in decision making and progress toward Net Zero and other sustainability targets.
Outcomes: We expect you to leave the workshop with:

Better understanding of enablers and good practice for sustainability metrics setting.
Better understanding of broader metrics can uncover opportunities for bigger savings.
Insight to how working with other stakeholders locally can generate win-win opportunities.
A plan for engaging in metrics development in Q3 2023.

Agenda:
12.30-13.15
Arrival, buffet lunch, opportunity to network
13.15-13.30
Welcome and objectives
13.30-14.30
Enablers and barriers for implementing system wide sustainability metrics. Manufacturer experiences and practice data from TransFIRe.
14.30-14.45
Break
14.45-15.45
How collaboration for net zero can be driven and reported by metrics.
15.45-16.00
Action planning and close

Team: North Lincolnshire Council, University of York TransFIRe team and Green Knight Consulting.
Registration: Free to attend, manufacturers please register here.
Who to contact?
For how TransFIRe could help your business, please in contact peter.ball@york.ac.uk or jr.candia@york.ac.uk

20th International Conference in Manufacturing Research ICMR 2023
2023-09-06 - 2023-09-08 | Aberystwyth Business School, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Wales, SY23 3FL, United Kingdom
The International Conference on Manufacturing Research (ICMR2023) will take place from 6th until 8th of September 2023 at Aberystwyth Business School, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK. It will include keynote presentations by internationally renowned researchers and industrialists, as well as papers from academia and industry, exploring all core areas of advanced and digital manufacturing engineering. Initiated by the Consortium of UK University Manufacturing and Engineering (COMEH), ICMR has been the UK’s main manufacturing research conference for 36 years and an international conference since 2003 – bringing researchers, academics and industrialists together to share their vision, knowledge and experience, and discuss emerging trends and new challenges. With the accelerating globalisation of manufacturing in the 21st century, the urgent need to keep pace has produced rapid advancements in technology, research, and innovation. ICMR solicits papers on both cutting-edge and emerging theoretical research and its recent industrial applications with the goal of bringing together practical and theoretical knowledge from academic, governmental, and industrial organisations across the world.

UK Metals Expo
2023-09-13 - 2023-09-14 | NEC, Birmingham
UK Metals Expo is the ONLY event that brings the entire metals supply chain together with engineering and manufacturing.
From primary metal manufacture to supply chain management, processing metals, metal fabrication, machinery, engineering, surface coatings and recycling.
Forging a Sustainable Future Together and Accelerating the Green Industrial Revolution

10th International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing
2023-09-18 - 2023-09-20 | Polytechnic University of Bari, Via Edoardo Orabona, 4, 70126 Bari, Bari, Italy
We are pleased to invite contributions for SDM23 taking place in Bari, Italy as a conference organised by KES International.
SDM-2023 will consist of keynote talks, oral presentations, invited sessions and workshops. It will cover the theory and applications of sustainable design and manufacturing, and related areas, whilst providing an excellent platform for the presentation and discussion of new data and concepts, leading to knowledge exchange and the generation of new ideas.
The conference proceedings will be published by Springer as book chapters in a volume of the KES Smart Innovation Systems and Technologies series, submitted for indexing in Scopus and Thomson-Reuters Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI) and the Web of Science.
The deadline for invited contributions is the 21 May 2023.
For full information please visit:
http://sdm-23.kesinternational.org
http://sdm-23.kesinternational.org/cms/userfiles/is01.pdf
Please pass this onto any colleagues or contacts that may be interested.

Foundation Industry Forum
2023-10-16 - 2023-10-17 | Herringbone Suite, Cloth Hall Court, Quebec Street, Leeds, LS1 2HA, United Kingdom
An interactive programme of events to share insights and learning across foundation industries to support progression towards transformation. The forum includes a series of workshops with the opportunity for you to meet industry experts and leading academics.
Social Media: #FIForum

Agenda

Registration

Hotels

About the event

Monday 16 October
12.00 Registration Lunch and Networking
13.00 Welcome and Introduction
13.30 The Challenge Landscape: The Foundation Industries (FI) and Beyond

An informative session about the current and future FI landscape

Bruce Adderley, Challenge Director - Transforming Foundation Industries at Innovate UK
Graham Hillier, FISC and EconoMISER Project Chair
Neelam Mughal, Knowledge Transfer Manager, Innovate UK KTN
Professor Ian Reaney, Director, TFI Network+

This sessions will cover:

What is the FI landscape looking like?
Main areas of activities
What can we learn from this?

14.30 Break
15.00 Panel Discussion: How can the foundation industries attract funding for innovation?
Transforming our foundation industries (cement, ceramics, chemicals, glass, metals and paper) with new, technology-focused and circular business models require access to finance. Foundation industries (FIs) are capital extensive making it difficult to compete with new plants from the developing world. Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) find it even harder to access the funding they need to thrive and succeed.
Banks and investor partners are keen to support innovations that meet the growing demand for more sustainable products in the sector. In this panel discussion, we bring together business, banks, investment funds and others to explore the theme ‘Access to funding and finance for the FIs’.

What are the existing investment/funding opportunities for foundation industries?
How can we make foundation industries more attractive to investors?
How can we mobilise financial resources for foundation industries to accelerate transformative change?

Come and find out how your business can benefit from these opportunities.
On the panel, we have:

Lee Bloodworth, Relationship Director, Lloyds Bank
Emma Fadlon, Investment Projects Lead, Innovate UK KTN
Sunny Pahal, COO of Vintage Cash Cow and Business Development Specialist
Stephen Price, Investment Director, Clean Growth Fund
Wendy Whewell, Head ESG & Climate Change, Corporate & Commercial, Santander

16.00 Comfort break
16.10 Identifying Industrial Symbiosis
The aim of this session is to identify opportunities for industrial symbiosis and new business opportunities for participants’ waste resources.
Facilitated by International Synergies.
17.10 Networking and drinks reception
18.10 Close

Tuesday 17 October
09.00 Registration and coffee
09.30 Welcome and introduction
09.40 Right People for Future Technologies
Reflections and development on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) within the Foundation Industries and the progress being made by Transfire in 2022. This is an opportunity to share transformation in practice.

Where/why we started EDI Working Group
What happened in 2022 forum - the discussions and outputs
Overview what we have done - summary of activities and insights

How do we get the right people for the future? Discussion
Sharing Insights and Identifying Future ED&I Priorities
10.30 Industrial Transformation: technologies and change
This session will explore examples of the different technologies that are being adopted, adapted or considered by the Foundation Industries.
- We will hear from people sharing their examples of successful transformational change
- There will be a group activity and discussion around current and future technologies being explored or implemented in your business (or that you have insights into)
- There will be an exploration of what helps or hinders the adoption of new technologies in your organisation
11.30 Break
12.00 What are our opportunities for innovation?
This session will tackle the innovations and changes that will need to happen for technological transformation in the context of the challenges of reaching Net Zero, creating sustainable/resilient supply chains and making sure foundation industries in the UK are viable. We will discuss and share some of the challenges that need to be addressed and identify those that need to be prioritised for action.
These discussions will help you and the TransFIRe team to better understand the future challenge agenda. All the challenges suggested will be written up by our team in the summary and you will choose which of the challenges you want to focus on in the afternoon session.
13.00 Lunch and networking
14.00 Challenge forum: Creating future transformations
A series of conversations to collaboratively develop potential pathways that might help us to move forward in core areas such as recruitment, retention, management of our people and innovation processes.
What might some of the steps to get us from here to the future goal?
14.50 Break
15.20 Opportunities and solutions for monetisation in the wider-eco system
Foundation Industries are based in communities and have resources that could be of benefit to others in the area. We want in this session to inspire you to explore possibilities and options for monetisation of your site's eco-system. We are going to share some examples with you to show what we mean about ecosystems and monetisation options, and then give you the opportunity to be consultants and advise our imaginary scenario companies about what options they might want to explore.
16.20 Wrap up summary
16.30 Close

Registration for this event is now closed.
Please contact Joanna Johnson if you have any queries.

Local hotels
Please see below for some suggestions of hotel accommodation in the local area - we bear no responsibility for bookings or quality of accommodation.
Novotel Leeds Centre - http://bit.ly/3Z3ZTFa
(5 mins walk to Cloth Hall Court)
Premier Inn Leeds City Centre (Whitehall Road) - http://bit.ly/40tBSbD
(6 mins walk to Cloth Hall Court)
Radisson Blu Hotel – Leeds City Centre - https://www.booking.com/Share-922697
(6 mins walk to Cloth Hall Court )
Leeds Marriot Hotel - http://bit.ly/3z5wmAc
(6 mins walk to Cloth Hall Court )
Ibis Styles Leeds City Centre Arena - http://bit.ly/3Y2Lt8s
(12 mins walk to Cloth Hall Court)
Roomzzz Leeds City West - https://www.booking.com/Share-E930TV
(Apartment – 17 mins walk to Cloth Hall Court)
Holiday Inn Express Leeds City Centre (Cavendish Road) - https://www.booking.com/Share-5G5RB5
(16 mins walk to Cloth Hall Court)

An interactive programme of events to share insights and learning across foundation industries to support progression towards transformation. The forum includes a series of workshops with the opportunity for you to meet industry experts and leading academics.
This event will be aimed at:

Companies in foundation industries and their supply chains.
Professional membership bodies.
Trade associations.
Regional and national government bodies.
Civic organisations and workers initiatives.
Innovation support organisations such as the KTN and Catapults.
Consultancies supporting transforming foundation industries.
Media.
Researchers in foundation industries.

The purpose of this event will be to:

Hear from foundation industries’ stakeholders about major challenges for transformative change and how we might be able to help overcome these.
Share results from TransFIRe research in collaboration with our project partners.
Knowledge exchange with other projects from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund for Transforming Foundation Industries (ISCF TFI).
Hold discussions to progress equality, diversity and inclusion in the foundation industries.
Hold discussions about dynamics in policy, regulation, economy and society that affect the transformation of foundation industries.
Expand collaborations in support of transforming foundation industries.

A summary of the 2022 Foundation Industry Forum can be found here:
Day 1 Summary
Day 2 Summary
Day 3 Summary

Main Sponsors:

Supporters:

Highways UK Exhibition
2023-10-18 - 2023-10-19 | NEC, Birmingham
The Highways UK exhibition brings together the people responsible for planning, developing, managing, maintaining, and future-proofing the nation’s roads networks.
This year will bring together 15,000+ attendees including 375+ exhibitors, 300+ speakers, 60+ start-ups, 30+ partners and associations, and more.
Industry leaders will share their views and expertise in theatres including National Highways Theatre, Local Authority Theatre, Technology & Transformation Stage, Innovation Stage, Sustainability Theatre and more.
The exhibition will host over 375 exhibitors from across the globe, featuring new ways of thinking and novel partnerships to generate solutions.
Tickets are completely free and give you full access to the premium conference, the exhibition and networking with thousands of industry leaders.

Celebrating Circular Economy Innovation
2023-11-16 10:00 - 16:30 | Royal Academy of Engineering, Prince Philip House, London, SW1Y 5DG, United Kingdom
CENTS Research Showcase and Celebration Event 2023
Thursday 16th November 2023, Al-Qasimi Room, Royal Academy of Engineering, Prince Philip House, London
Join us at the CENTS Network’s End-of-Project Celebration Event, as we mark four years of dedicated effort and a steadfast mission: fostering a vibrant community of practice with a specific focus on applying Circular Economy principles within Sustainable Transportation systems.
In partnership with our management team, the network’s members, and valued partners, we have collaboratively generated impactful outcomes. These outcomes have laid the pathways, cultivated critical mass, and added to the necessary thought leadership in realising a Circular Economy Transition.
Now, we arrive at the pivotal question: what’s next? We’ve extended invitations to policymakers, business leaders, industry experts, academia, and additional stakeholders. Together, we will continue to amplify the networks legacy and chart the course forward

About the event

Circular Economy research showcase for Sustainable Transportation Systems
Networking with key stakeholders from across the supply chain
Hear from leading experts and distinguished researchers in the field
Make new connections, and find future collaborators for partnership working

This event will be of interest to

Environmental Researchers, NGOs and Changemakers
Transportation Industry Professionals
Circular Economy Enthusiasts
Data and Technology Experts
Academic and Research Communities
Government and Policy Stakeholders
Industry Associations

Reserve your place today, and we look forward to welcoming you on November 16th 2023 at the Al-Qasimi Room, Royal Academy of Engineering, Prince Philip House.
Celebration and Showcase Event (warwick.ac.uk)

19th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing
2023-12-04 - 2023-12-06 | Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The GCSM serves as a global forum for academics, researchers, and specialists from universities, research institutes and industry across the globe, working on topics related to sustainable manufacturing. A unique feature of the GCSM conference series is its integration of industrial engineering perspectives, sustainable manufacturing applications in emerging and developing countries, as well as education and workforce development for advancing sustainable manufacturing.
Sustainable Manufacturing is the buzzword for our global conference, taking place annually since 2003 and returning to South America for the second time in 19 years. The conference aims to exploit manufacturing engineering potentials for bridging the gap between awareness on sustainability challenges and means to systematically and concretely cope with them.
To overcome the challenges of global sustainability becomes an ever more urgent task, as the awareness about imbalanced wealth distribution, climate change and lack of holistic responsibility in investments are considerably rising. Interdisciplinary discourse and reasonable action in learning and teaching on topics such as circular technology and economy, distribution of labour for comprehensive human development, careful use of natural resources and prudence are responsibilities of global citizens.

TFI Network+ Conference
2023-12-05 - 2023-12-06 | Mercure Sheffield, St Pauls Hotel and Spa, 119 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 2JE, United Kingdom
This in-person conference will bring together the Foundation Industries community to discuss the latest innovations and developments. There will be many chances to network throughout the event, as well as poster sessions, Q+A and a conference dinner.

Here to Hope 2024
2024-01-29 - 2024-02-02 | YHA Castleton Losehill Hall, Hope Valley, Derbyshire, S33 8WB, United Kingdom
‘Here to Hope 2024’, is an annual gathering of enthusiasts for industrial sustainability. The programme is structured around the need for Industrial Transformation to happen at scale and speed with an extra focus on Regenerative Manufacturing. The agenda is flexible and will also offer opportunities to meet your needs.
This is a programme about the future and sprinting into it with purpose for what the planet needs most. We want you to think about your impact, your careers and your PhDs within this context and make the most of this time set aside for conversations and exploration. Part of the time will be spent tackling specific issues to allow our thinking to move to reality (we will be leading sessions on Regenerative Manufacturing for example), and some of the time will be spent discussing how we cope as individuals.
NOTE: Standard Registration is not free of charge. When you register, you will need to select at least one of the nights’ accommodation for the registration to become valid. The fee is £220.00 for 4 nights or £55.00 per night.
Last Booking Date for this Event- 20th December 2023

TMS 2024 Annual Meeting & Exhibition
2024-03-03 - 2024-03-07 | Hyatt Regency Orlando, Orlando, FL, United States
The TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition brings together more than 4,000 engineers, scientists, business leaders, and other professionals in the minerals, metals, and materials fields for a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary exchange of technical knowledge.

Blue Skies, Greener Future: A Global Renaissance of Metallurgy
2024-04-19 13:00 - 14:00 | Virtual – Zoom
Blue Skies, Greener Future: A Global Renaissance of Metallurgy: The Birth of Metallurgy 2.0
Speaker: Professor Zhongyun Fan
Metals are the backbone of global manufacturing and the fuel for economic growth. However, extraction and processing of metals are highly energy intensive and cause severe environmental damage: metal extraction accounts for 12% of global primary energy demand and 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The global grand challenge is to decouple economic growth from environmental damage. The worldwide sustainability crisis has led to a complete rethink of how we source, formulate and deploy metallic materials in the future, triggering a global renaissance of metallurgy and giving birth to Metallurgy 2.0. In this context, we have developed a vision for full metal circulation (FMC), under which the global demand for metallic materials will be met by a full circulation of secondary metals without the need for either mining or metal extraction.
Speaker: Prof. Zhongyun Fan is a professor of metallurgy, the founder and Director of BCAST at Brunel University London. He is the principal investigator/director of the EPSRC funded LiME Research Hub, a national centre of excellence in liquid metal engineering. He is also the principal investigator for the UKRI Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre for Circular Metals.
He has published over 400 scientific papers with an H-Index of 59 and a total citation of 14071 (Google Scholar). He has led a wide range of research projects as principal investigator with grants totalling over £70M.
He has been chairman of 4 major international conferences and members international scientific committee of 6 international conferences. He was the co-chairmen of the Casting and Solidification Society (IOM3, 2012-2018), is a Board Member of the Light Metals Division (IOM3), a Fellow of the Institute of IOM3 and the Institute of Cast Metal Engineers (ICME). He was the recipient of the Elegant Work Prize (1995), the Cook/Ablett Award (2003) and Dowding Medal and Prize (2012) of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).

Materials Research Exchange (MRE) 2024
2024-04-23 - 2024-04-24 | Business Design Centre, 52 Upper St, London, N1 0QH, United Kingdom
To celebrate 10 years of Materials Research Exchange (MRE), we are ushering in a ground-breaking transformation for 2024 by introducing four exciting flagship events all in one spectacular experience!
This unique event is your gateway to the world of materials innovation, featuring an exhibition, investor showcase, and cross-cutting seminars on technology transfer from the UK’s world-class research base.
What’s on
Prepare to be amazed as MRE 2024 delves into a diverse range of materials, from nanotechnology to biomaterials, textiles, polymers, metals, glass, and more. These materials are not just theoretical concepts but critical building blocks for real-world applications, including energy, construction, packaging, marine, automotive, and low carbon technologies.
MRE is a catalyst for progress. Through cross-cutting presentations, thought-provoking panel discussions, and an investor showcase brimming with potential, MRE fosters an environment of knowledge-sharing and cross-sector interactions. MRE is where the UK’s research and innovation excellence in materials meets the world of UK product manufacturers and forward-thinking investors.
This is your chance to connect with the materials community to collaborate, exchange ideas, and adopt the latest advances in materials science.
Flagship events

Circular Critical Materials Conference

Reimagining Materials and Manufacturing Showcase

GRIPS Conference

Investor Showcase

Why attend?
MRE brings an opportunity to network with over 1500 delegates from the materials community: researchers, academics, industry, government, investors and innovators from various fields to explore and discuss cutting-edge developments in materials science and technology. For our international attendees, this is a unique opportunity to witness the UK’s world-leading capability in new materials development and meet with potential collaborators

Final TransFIRe Celebration Event
2024-06-12 09:00 - 16:45 | Lecture Room 16, Cranfield Management Development Centre (CMDC), College Road, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, United Kingdom
Join the TransFIRe team for an event celebrating the culmination of the TransFIRe project on Wednesday 12 June in Lecture Room 16 at the Cranfield Management Development Centre, Cranfield University
The event will summarise the achievements and research outputs of TransFIRe over the three years of the project and will discuss the legacy and next steps for the Foundation Industries.
Add this event to your calendar

Agenda

Venue / Accommodation

Dinner

About

Agenda for Wednesday 12th June
09.00
Registration
09.30
Welcome and introduction
Rosa Wilkinson, Director of Policy, High Value Manufacturing Catapult

09.35
Opening address
Professor Karen Holford, Chief Executive and Vice Chancellor, Cranfield University
09.45
New polymeric materials from industrial chemical waste streams, with applications in durable coatings and wastewater treatment
Professor Justin Perry and Professor Matt Unthank, Northumbria University
There are a range of carbon based materials that are currently undervalued or even unvalued by the foundation industries which we have shown can be converted into materials with identified use cases as an alternative to them being sent for landfill or energy recovery. We will show that the unrecyclable fraction of the PET recycling process can be converted into an alkyd polymer using biosourced or waste fillers to create a robust coating for industrial applications needing durability. In another case study, we will show that the range of waste polysaccharides from the paper and food sectors can be used as "drop in" alternatives to petrochemical monomers making plastic films and coatings which can be entirely biosourced and are suitable for a range of application including waste water treatment (which is under trial at a pilot scale by Northumbrian Water). Finally we will show that whilst the chemical industry forms a complicated network of material inputs and outputs, it is possible to map this to facilitate industrial symbiosis at a regional and hopefully national scale.
10.05
A realistic route to decarbonization of the UK cement and concrete industry by 2050
Dr Michal Drewniok and Dr Hisham Hafez, University of Leeds
The UK cement industry is responsible for 7MtCO2, approximately 2.1% of total territorial UK CO2 emissions and approximately 9% of the UK's manufacturing emissions. This impact can be reduced by using low-carbon cement replacement materials (Supplementary Cementitious Materials – SCM) or alternative fuels. Carbon intensity of the final product which is a structure made from concrete can be reduced further by layout and structural optimisation, waste reduction as well as better concrete mix design. In system terms, increase reuse and refurbishment of concrete structures can reduce the cement and concrete demand and therefore reduce CO2 emissions.
While each of these steps have a relatively marginal CO2 reduction potential, their combination can achieve much larger CO2 savings. This presentation will demonstrate how the combined effect of multiple marginal actions that can be applied today to reduce CO2 emissions from the cement industry.
10.25
Analysing resource efficiency & benchmarking of foundation industries
Professor Jonathan Cullen, University of Cambridge
Within the pressing global call for a decarbonised economy, the UK takes a leading role. The foundation industries are fundamental in this transformation, though they face significant challenges in reducing carbon emissions. This presentation will deliver insights from the studies conducted on resource efficiency and benchmarking, examining the resource flows to bring clarity to the use of resources within these sectors. We will analyse key metrics such as energy intensity, emissions intensity, and material circularity, thereby showing their combined effect on the nation's performance indicators. Our analysis provides a clear perspective in recognising opportunities and refining strategic initiatives towards the net-zero emissions target set for 2050.
10.45
Coffee break (Atrium)
11.15
ThermoRecycliSt: Exploring new horizons for waste recycling in Foundation Industries
Dr Ahmed Khalil, University of Exeter
This presentation delves into the innovative Thermodynamic Simulation-Guided Recycling Strategy (ThermoRecycliSt) and its significant contributions to the recycling of waste materials and the use of alternative raw materials in the foundation industries. By leveraging thermodynamic simulation calculations, ThermoRecycliSt effectively predicts phase changes in both individual waste materials and integrated raw mixes, primarily within the refractories industry, and including the ceramic, cement and glass foundation industries. This efficient screening tool assesses the suitability of waste materials, thus offering broad guidance for diverse foundation industries aiming to enhance resource utilisation and environmental sustainability.
Key case studies demonstrate ThermoRecycliSt's impact. The "Recycling Refractory Waste" project, in collaboration with Trent and Parkinson-Spencer Refractories Ltd, showcased the strategy's ability to improve raw material mix performance and identify applications for refractory systems. The "Wienerberger Model-Driven Sustainable Brick Manufacturing Case Study" demonstrated the potential of integrating agricultural waste, such as sugarcane bagasse, into bricks. ThermoRecycliSt and empirical correlations predicted essential properties (e.g., mechanical strength, porosity) for optimising waste incorporation in bricks to achieve energy-saving benefits. Together, these case studies highlight ThermoRecycliSt's versatility and its vital role in shaping sustainable waste recycling practices across foundation industries.
11.35
Natural coatings for paper packaging
Dr Simon Curling and Jennifer Woods, Bangor University

The use of plastics in packaging has come under a lot of scrutiny in the past few years due to its persistence in the environment. Plastic is an undeniable effective material but are there alternatives? Paper and card are one obvious alternative, however, these are not an effective material when liquid or grease is present. Treatments such as films or coatings can be added to improve these properties but if they are made from plastics this may remove the benefit of using paper in the first place!
New processes can use biodegradable polymers as films or use technology to remove the films, although current interest is in recycling and repulping the paper rather than degrading. In addition, natural coating materials, using seaweed and beeswax have also been developed in association with Wipak Ltd.
This presentation will discuss the developments into repulping these new materials and the promising results in the methods of application and resultant properties of using natural coating materials.
11.55
Industrial Symbiosis: from research activities to new applications?
Dr Lampros Litos, Cranfield University
As companies are always looking for new ways to reduce their carbon footprint, substitution of raw materials can be worth exploring. In some cases, process waste can be a particularly valuable feedstock. In looking for novel use cases for waste material in foundation industries the concept of industrial symbiosis offers a valuable paradigm for research and development of new applications.
In the first instance companies are looking for a like-for-like substitution of virgin materials with waste. If direct substitution is not an option, barriers to new opportunities quickly arise. Some barriers can be strategic, technological, organisational or simply economical and though technically possible to overcome, the effort and resource for additional R&D require a strong business case attached to it. Afterall, using waste material as feedstock can only be economical within a limited geographic radius.
Taking a cross-cutting view of the technology working groups in Transfire, the workstream created workshops and industry engagement opportunities for industry partners to exchange ideas and information on waste. In addition, the workstream took a deeper dive into the complexity and effort required for process technologies to be adopted, making an assessment of adoption readiness against different foundation industries.
12.15
Benchmarking of UK glass manufacturing for the identification of potential energy efficiency improvements
Professor Paul Bingham, Sheffield Hallam University
This presentation will cover work to investigate the compositions of commercial soda-lime-silica glasses currently present in the UK market, as there is a lack of recent research on the subject, with the most recent studies now being over 20 years old. The differences uncovered in composition of current commercial glass compositions, compared to glasses from 30 to 40 years ago, has shed light on the direction of travel and reasons for adjustments to UK glass compositions over recent decades, but it also provides insights and predictions into the future trends. Crucially, it also illustrates opportunities for glass manufacturers to modify or adjust their glass compositions to enable lower melting temperatures, thereby reducing energy demand and fuel carbon emissions. It also de-risks compositional modifications for a glass manufacturer by highlighting that other manufacturers have already successfully commercially implemented such changes.
12.35
Lunch (Restaurant 3, 1 and 7)
13.35
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Foundation Industries – International Women in Engineering Day session
Professor Sue Black OBE, Durham University and Jo Stansfield, TransFIRe’s Senior Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Project Manager, and Founder of Inclusioneering Limited

Join us for a live recording of a very special episode of The Equity Edge podcast. Hosted by Professor Sue Black and Jo Stansfield, the Equity Edge is all about shaping tomorrow’s foundation industries, with a focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and how it can help us achieve a sustainable and fairer future.
This special episode celebrates International Women in Engineering Day, held annually on 23rd June, and highlights the amazing achievements of women engineers and exciting career opportunities for girls. We will be joined by a panel of guests who will share their stories, experiences and insight as women working in the Foundation Industries - these include:

Sarah Connolly, Innovation Lead, Innovate UK
Dr Lorraine Ferris, Royce Fellow, Henry Royce Institute
Lucy Smith, Head of Transformation, Materials Processing Institute

14.30
Crossing fences and building bridges: Understanding barriers to community-industrial partnerships for energy transitions
Professor Steve Yearley, University of Edinburgh
This presentation will give a flavour of key WS3 activities, in particular the research on four topics: indicators and metrics for firms’ SD/environmental performance; GIS modelling in the context of circularising spent sand and other resources; business-to-business learning; and the User Journey approach to mapping key participants’ understanding of the problem- and opportunity-space.
The rest of the talk will focus in a little more detail on our fifth issue – understanding the barriers to (and scope for) community-industrial partnerships for energy transitions. FIs are typically hot processes where firms find it hard to re-use all the ‘waste’ heat on the premises (to heat offices or pre-heat materials etc). The key question then is: what gets in the way of them sharing that valuable energy with the communities in which they’re located?
Our results highlight key issues on the supply side, such as contractual and legal barriers for firms which think of sharing their heat and difficulties they experience relating to ambiguous emissions “Scopes” and carbon accounting schemes. Critical too are demand-side issues among the potential customers for their heat; for example attitudes and perceptions of industrial waste heat. The talk will finish by highlighting the risk of FIs missing the boat in the current energy transition and being left behind: how do FIs compare with other emerging sources of (waste) heat for community use?
14.50
Coffee break (Atrium)
15.20
Sustainability solutions for the metal industry
Professor Rossi Setchi, Cardiff University
This talk will highlight some of the work of the TransFIRe team with two champions of sustainability and circular economy in the UK. The first case study includes detailed chemical analysis of a range of by-products and investigating opportunities to transform these by-products into valuable resources for the steel making industry and other foundation industries. The second study focuses on the recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) to recover precious metals. It introduces the team's methodology for modelling material and energy flows within the e-waste recycling process.
15.40
Scaling and accelerating the innovation needed to drive the transformation of the foundation industries
Dr Graham Hillier, FRSA, Chair, Foundation Industries Sustainability Consortium (FISC)
In this talk we will look at the importance of the foundation industries in a developed society and how we can go about creating a leading set of sustainable low carbon and resource efficient industries for the future. We will consider how research is translated through to innovation and then applied to manufacturing with a focus on the future development of these industries that truly are the foundation of our economy.
16.10
Event wrap up
16.15
Event close

Venue
Lecture Room 16, Cranfield Management Development Centre
How to find us - Cranfield campus
Local Taxi
The local taxi company is called Skyline - Skyline Taxis | Book Taxi Milton Keynes | Northampton | Bedford | Flitwick
You can prebook taxis via their app or by calling. A taxi from Milton Keynes Train Station will cost around £14. A taxi from Bedford Train Station will cost around £20.

Parking
There is free parking at the CMDC.

Accommodation
Accommodation can be booked directly with the conference venue - CMDC – Venue Cranfield - for a rate of £113.95pp for bed and breakfast – you can do this by calling 01234 754820 or by sending an email to cmdcreservations@cranfield.ac.uk.
At the time of booking, you will require credit card details to guarantee your room booking.

Conference Dinner Details
Please note that bookings for the conference dinner are now closed and we can no longer accommodate any further guests.
Tuesday 11th June - B239, Lounge 2 and Restaurant 2 CMDC
18.45: Welcome Drink (a welcome drink will be provided on arrival and further drinks can be purchased from the bar) (Lounge 2)
19.15: Dinner (Restaurant 2)

Menu
Starter:
Chilled cucumber and dill soup (v) with Heirloom cherry tomatoes, pickled shallot and micro cress.
Main Course:
Roasted chicken supreme, chicken and basil veloute, polenta, lemon and olive oil slice, balsamic roasted Mediterranean vegetable stack
or
Courgette, fennel and soya bean fritters (v), lemon and dill sour cream, polenta, lemon and olive oil slice, balsamic roasted Mediterranean vegetable stack
Dessert:
Earl grey and dark chocolate pot, french macaroon, chocolate spears and digestive crumb
Freshly brewed coffee and petit fours

Join the TransFIRe team for an event celebrating the culmination of the TransFIRe project on Wednesday 12 June at Cranfield Management Development Centre at Cranfield University .
As TransFIRe draws to a close, this event will showcase key findings from a range of our transformational research projects, undertaken in collaboration with a wide range of industrial partners from across the foundation industries. We will discuss lessons learnt, how these might be relevant or useful to other sectors, next steps for our partners and how the legacy will continue.
This event will be aimed at anyone working within the foundation industries and their supply chains and will be a great opportunity for networking.

11th International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing
2024-09-18 - 2024-09-20 | Hotel Vila Galé, R. De São Fernando 5, 9100-173 Santa Cruz, Portugal
SDM-2024 will consist of keynote talks, oral presentations, invited sessions and workshops. It will cover the theory and applications of sustainable design and manufacturing, and related areas, whilst providing an excellent platform for the presentation and discussion of new data and concepts, leading to knowledge exchange and the generation of new ideas.
The conference proceedings will be published by Springer as book chapters in a volume of the KES Smart Innovation Systems and Technologies series, submitted for indexing in Scopus and Thomson-Reuters Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI) and the Web of Science.
