New energy efficiency centre for food sector to receive UK government funding

The UK government and key stakeholders are planning to invest £12m in a new centre aimed at supporting energy efficiency in the food sector.

The Centre for Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains will be led by Brunel University, London, while the universities of Manchester and Birmingham will act as research partners.

The new interdisciplinary centre, which will be headed by Professor Savvas Tassou, will develop new approaches, processes and technologies in order to lower energy demand at all stages of the food chain – production, distribution, retail and consumption.

To achieve this, researchers from the universities of Brunel, Manchester and Birmingham will collaborate closely with some of the UK’s leading food manufacturers, retailers, equipment manufacturers, scientific and technical providers and knowledge transfer networks.

Tassou said that researchers will collaborate with key stakeholders to ensure that the research meets the needs of the food industry and government targets for lowering energy use and carbon emissions, and also addresses consumer needs and well being.

"This is a significant achievement for Brunel and provides a platform for us to build on our existing food related research and commercial activities," Tassou added.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), a British research council that funds research and training in engineering and the physical sciences, is providing £6m for the centre and the rest of the grant will be provided by the three universities and the industry.

The new centre will be one of five new End Use Energy Demand (EUED) research facilities that will evaluate energy use across society and the ways in which energy can be conserved and used more efficiently.

The EUED centres will receive total funding of more than £26m from EPSRC as well as the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) – a British research council that funds research on economic and social issues – while an additional £13m will come from industrial partners.

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Image: Professor Savvas Tassou, head of Brunel University’s School of Engineering and Design, will lead the new research centre. Photo courtesy of Brunel University.