The University of Hull is collaborating with partners at the University of York and Teesside University on a project to develop the bioeconomy across Yorkshire, the Humber region and the Tees Valley, building on the existing knowledge and innovation in the region. The project was initially awarded £5 million funding from the Research England Connecting Capabilities Fund and was granted a further £1.8million to extend the project by a year.
The University of Hull brings particular expertise in the bioeconomy, particularly on aspects of biofuels, renewable energy and the environment, as well as logistical aspects of the wider circular economy.
THYME focuses on three areas of research:
Transforming bio-based waste into higher value new products. There is an opportunity for the region to become a world leader in the conversion of bio-based waste to higher value chemicals with multibillion pound markets.
Converting industrial sites by re-purposing them for bio-based manufacturing. The project will explore opportunities for new usage of sites associated with the Humberside and Teesside chemical industry clusters for processing bio-based raw materials and manufacturing high value biologics.
Growing the productivity of the region’s bioeconomy as a whole by bringing together research and commercialisation capabilities within the three universities. The opportunities for increasing productivity are extensive and include reducing waste; adding value to by-products, automating manufacturing processes; and adapting feedstocks.
THYME staff at the University of Hull:
Dr Josh Ahmed (Energy & Environment Institute), Hassan Alabdrabalameer (Chemical Engineering), Dr Jane Bunting (Ecology), Dr Pauline Deutz (Circular Economy), Dr Georgios Efthimiou (Microbiology), Dr Graham Ferrier (Geography), Dr M. Grazia Francesconi (Chemistry), Florence Halstead (Energy & Environment Institute), Dr Katharine Hubbard (Biological Science), Dr Sue Hull (Ecology), Dr Xuebin Ke (Chemical Engineering), Dr Dmitriy Kuvshinov (Chemical Engineering), Dr Dave Lunt (Biological Science), Dr Callum MacGregor (Energy & Environment Institute), Dr Will Mayes (Environmental Science), Professor John Murray (Computer Science), Dr Dipesh Patel (Chemical Engineering), Professor Ron Patton (Engineering), Emma Peasland (Energy & Environment Institute), Joy Morandin Rettori (Logistics), Professor Graham Scott (Teaching Excellence Academy), Dr Graham Sellers (Biological Science), Dr Vicky Skoulou (Chemical Engineering), Dr Irene Sotiropoulou (Energy & Environment Institute), Dr Martin Taylor (Energy & Environment Institute), Dr Rob Thomas (Energy & Environment Institute), Linda Whicker (Logistics), Josh Wolstenholme (Energy & Environment Institute), Dr Sharif Zein (Chemical Engineering)