The EPSRC CDT in Net Zero Aviation in partnership with Industry will collaboratively train the innovators and researchers needed to find the novel, disruptive solutions to decarbonise aviation and deliver the UK's Jet Zero and ATI's Destination Zero strategies. The CDT will also establish the UK as an international hub for technology, innovation and education for Net Zero Aviation, attracting foreign and domestic investment as well as strengthening the position of existing UK companies. The CDT in Net Zero Aviation is fully aligned with and will directly contribute to EPSRC's "Frontiers in Engineering and Technology" and "Engineering Net Zero" priority areas. The resulting skills, knowledge, methods and tools will be decisive in selecting, integrating, evaluating, maturing and de-risking the technologies required to decarbonise aviation. A systems engineering approach will be developed and delivered in close collaboration with industry to successfully integrate theoretical, computational and experimental methods while forging cross theme collaborations that combine science, technology and engineering solutions with environmental and socio-economic aspects. Decarbonising aviation can bring major opportunities for new business models and services that also requires a new policy and legislative frameworks. A tailored, aviation focused training programme addressing commercialisation and route to market for the Net Zero technologies, operations and infrastructure will be delivered increasing transport and employment sustainability and accessibility while improving transport connectivity and resilience. Over the next decade innovative solutions are needed to tackle the decarbonisation challenges. This can be only achieved by training doctoral Innovation and Research Leaders in Net Zero Aviation, able to grasp the technology from scientific fundamentals through to applied engineering while understanding the associated science, economics and social factors as well as aviation's unique operational realities, business practices and needs. Capturing the interdependencies and interactions of these disciplines a transdisciplinary programme is offered. These ambitious targets can only be realised through a cohort-based approach and a consortium involving the most suitable partners. Under the guidance of the consortium's leadership team, students will develop the required ethos and skills to bridge traditional disciplinary boundaries and provide innovative and collaborative solutions. Peer to peer learning and exposure to an appropriate mix of disciplines and specialities will provide the opportunity for individuals and interdisciplinary teams to collaborate with each other and ensure that the graduates of the CDT will be able to continually explore and further develop opportunities within, as well as outside, their selected area of research. Societal aspects that include public engagement, awareness, acceptance and influencing consumer behaviour will be at the heart of the training, research and outreach activities of the CDT. Integration of such multidisciplinary topics requires long term thinking and awareness of "global" issues that go beyond discipline and application specific solutions. As such the following transdisciplinary Training and Research Themes will be covered: 1. Aviation Zero emission technologies: sustainable aviation fuels, hydrogen and electrification 2. Ultra-efficient future aircraft, propulsion systems, aerodynamic and structural synergies 3. Aerospace materials & manufacturing, circular economy and sustainable life cycle 4. Green Aviation Operations and Infrastructure 5. Cross cutting disciplines: Commercialisation, Social, Economic and Environmental aspects 75 students across the UK, from diverse backgrounds and communities will be recruited.

The global hydrogen generation market is valued at $115.25 billion in 2017 and is projected to grow to $154.74 billion by 2022 [Global Outlook & Trends for Hydrogen, IEA, 2017]. We are witnessing significant market opportunities emerging for hydrogen technologies today. New and existing hydrogen technology developments and market activities are projected to intensify over the coming decade. Sustainable hydrogen solutions are a key pathway for decarbonising transport, heat and power generation sectors. Common challenges to sustainable hydrogen being adopted across these sectors are: - Cost reduction - Safety - Systems level and multisectoral innovations - Managing change Over the next decade innovative solutions are needed to tackle the above challenges, but it will be impossible without a dedicated mechanism to train doctoral Energy Innovation Leaders. These leaders should have a firm grasp of the technology from scientific fundamentals through to applied engineering and a solid understanding of the techno-economic barriers and an appreciation of the societal issues that will impact on the translation of disruptive technologies from research labs through to market. This goes beyond being multidisciplinary, but is a transdisciplinary training, reflecting the translation steps from understanding market driven needs, planning and conducting appropriate basic and applied research to products/solutions/system development through to successful market penetration. This is delivered by a cohort training approach through the cross fertilisation of ideas of a cohort with a diverse background, peer-demonstration of the value of research across a diverse range of stakeholder-led projects, thus facilitating a peer-to-peer transdisciplinary learning culture. The SusHy Consortium, led by Gavin Walker, continues a long running and highly successful collaboration in hydrogen research between the Universities of Nottingham, Loughborough, and Birmingham (UoN, LU, UoB) which started over a decade ago with the Midlands Energy Consortium. The Midlands Energy Graduate School spawned two successful CDTs (Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and their Applications and the current Fuel Cells and their Fuels). The current proposal for a CDT in Sustainable Hydrogen brings together the world leading expertise in hydrogen generation, purification, sensors/monitoring, and storage, along with whole systems issues (resilience engineering, business economic models and life cycle analysis) which exist across the three Universities. A gap in the consortium expertise is in the research field of hydrogen safety and we identified the internationally-renowned Hydrogen Safety Engineering and Research Centre (HySAFER) at Ulster University (UU) as the right partner to deliver on this key aspect. This is the first broad collaboration in the world seeking to investigate, train researchers and produce leaders in Sustainable Hydrogen. Stakeholder Partnerships. A key strength of this CDT is the active involvement of the Stakeholders in co-creation of the training programme which is reciprocated in the value with which the Stakeholders view of the CDT. This shared vision of a training partnership between the Universities and Stakeholders will lead to the smooth function of the CDT with not just a high-quality training programme, but a programme that is tailored to the sector needs for high-quality, industry-ready doctoral Energy Innovation Leaders. The valued CDT-stakeholder partnership will also be a significant appeal to candidates interested in energy-related PhDs and will be used to help market the CDT programme to a diverse talent pool.

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Engineering Hydrogen Net Zero will develop the necessary networking, training and skills in future doctoral level leaders to enable rapid growth in hydrogen-related technology to meet the UK government's 2050 net zero targets. This CDT is a partnership of three world class Universities and around 40 Industrial and Civic organisations. The CDT aims to address the challenging aspects of rapid growth in hydrogen production and usage such as cost, supply and waste chain development, scalability, different system configurations, new technology, and social requirements through a blended cohort co-creation approach. The CDT will provide mandatory and optional training in Fundamental Knowledge, Thinking Innovatively, Business Acumen and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Community (EDIC). A cohort based CDT is most appropriate for embedding skills in Engineering Hydrogen Net Zero due to the breadth of the training needs and the need for co-support and co-learning. In addition to a tailored co-created skills training program, the CDT will engage with partners to address key research priority areas. The CDT research plans are aligned with the EPSRC's "Engineering Net Zero" research priority, aiming to engineer low-cost hydrogen for net zero. Decarbonisation is not just implementation of a single solution fits all but a complex process of design that is dependent on what is being decarbonised e.g. different types of chemical industry to whether or not there is future access to a hydrogen hub. This results in the requirement for many new solutions to ensure affordability, scalability and sustainability. This includes undertaking research on hydrogen into topics such as, design for scalability, hydrogen on demand, new low cost materials, new interfaces, new processes, new storage means, new energy interactions, new waste management, existing infrastructure adaption and lifespan monitoring and management and social acceptance. The CDT will work with industry and civic partners to generate impact through innovation through research. This will include direct financial benefits, improved policy outcomes through engagement with local authorities, government organizations, and standards bodies, enhanced public engagement and acceptance of hydrogen, and create employment opportunities for students with industry-ready skills. The CDT represents an excellent opportunity for students to work together, with industry and with world leading international experts on impactful projects for a common decarbonisation goal with multifunctional stakeholders. This CDT will build upon the experience of the University partners and the lessons learnt from participation in 7 previous CDT's to bring forward best practice (e.g. buddy scheme and childcare funding) and remove roadblocks to opportunities (e.g. timetable clashes). We will co-create a CDT with international reach and access to over £55m worth of hydrogen and wind turbine demonstrator and research facilities. The team has excellent links with Universities and Industry internationally including partners in Europe, Canada, Malawi, China, USA, Brazil and Australia. CDT students will have opportunities to learn from International experts at a summer design and build, link with world leading experts to build international networks of contacts, undertake CPD activities (such as partner site visits), attend national and international conferences & partners secondments, research sandpits and webinars. All activities will be undertaken with due care, diligence & best practice in EDIC. The academic, industrial and civic team has the expertise to deliver the vision of the co-created CDT through the development of a unique research and training program.

The centre will focus on negative emission technologies. Most climate policy specialists in the UK and around the world consider these will be essential to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. At present the Supergen Bioenergy hub has 2 research projects on BECCS (focused on gasification), the Oxford based greenhouse removal hub works with 4 demonstrators (on biochar, peatlands, enhanced weathering and afforestation), all focused on academic research in UK institutes. This project will work with both Supergen and the GGR Hub (as well as the dmonstrators which have Nottingham and Aston leadership and participation) to expand the research to the currently neglected areas of engineered GGR solutions. The scale and level of activity often makes it difficult for individual universiteis to engage fully in the needs of the sector and so the CDT will address that by providing a wide pool of supervisors, facilities and disciplinary perspectives. No other centre currently does this for PhD students. No other centre has or is planned to address the future skills need with the huge anticipated expansion of this centre. The main technological themes are: Direct air capture and CO2 storage Direct air capture and CO2 utilization Biochar synthesis and utilisation Biomass to materials and chemicals CO2 Utilization Biomass to energy with carbon capture and storage

The pace of deployment of offshore wind (OW) energy is rapidly accelerating to power the transition to net zero. The UK government aims to increase from the current 14GW of offshore wind to at least 50GW by 2030, requiring c£17bn investment per year, then 120-170GW by 2050, to provide clean energy resilience. Despite the remarkable success of OW over the past decade, making it a central component of the UK energy mix, future growth brings new challenges. Deployment must now expand beyond the relatively benign, shallow waters of the southern North Sea to sites further from shore, a fundamentally different engineering, operating and natural environment. In such areas the two-way effects of new OW engineering on the marine biosphere and concomitant impact on other sea users are poorly understood. Beyond technical challenges, a major barrier to rapid deployment is consenting time. The Government aim to reduce typical consent time from 4 years to 1 year by 2030 is only achievable if new approaches to data collection, aggregation and modelling are validated and adopted. The volume and speed of deployment must increase 6-fold, while remaining commercially competitive, requiring industrialisation of manufacturing and installation while ensuring that materials (such as rare earth metals, copper, composites) and other resources (including energy) are used sustainably. The OW workforce will reach >100,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030, with >8,000 projected at HE Level 7+. To achieve and sustain this, the workforce must be drawn from a diverse talent pool and be built on equitable, inclusive cultures where safety and wellbeing are central. The sector OW Industry Council (OWIC) recognises that increasing growth, and UK supply chain content, requires a highly skilled and resilient workforce and highlights the key role of CDT programmes in providing this. The previous EPSRC-NERC Aura CDT in Offshore Wind Energy and the Environment (Aura CDT I) successfully demonstrated the value of OW research and training at the interface of engineering and environmental sciences. Sustainable sector growth now requires further research that integrates emergent social, societal and economic challenges of OW energy. Thus, the proposed UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Offshore Wind Energy Sustainability and Resilience (Aura CDT II), provides integrated solutions across the EPSRC/NERC/ESRC remit. These transdisciplinary sector needs are co-identified by key sector stakeholders, including Aura CDT project partners OWIC, ORE Catapult, The Crown Estate, Renewable UK and DEFRA. Direct industry engagement has co-created five Aura CDT II challenge-based themes to: push the frontiers of offshore wind technology; accelerate consent and support environmental sustainability; achieve a sustainable wind farm life cycle; build and support a sustainable workforce; and develop a resilient net-zero energy system. The importance of these themes to the sector is demonstrated by the cash and in-kind support of >40 project partners, allowing us to support >75 CDT students. The CDT connects the University of Hull with partner Universities Sheffield, Durham and Loughborough. PL Dorrell (Director of Aura CDT I) is supported by nine CLs from the partner universities and a pool of >100 diverse supervisors bringing world leading expertise in the areas of engineering, environment and social sciences required to support the training and research elements. Both full and part time students will receive postgraduate training delivered collaboratively through an intensive 6-month multidisciplinary programme at Hull and subsequent courses, with all partners, addressing topics including leadership, public engagement, responsible innovation and EDIW. Small clusters of doctoral students will link expertise from across the four universities and industry partners to provide holistic insights into sector challenges while building cross-cohort collaboration and multiplying impacts.