Sustainability expert to help automotive industry with net zero transition

The director of Aston University’s Energy and Bioproducts Institute is one of the first members of a new organisation to help the automotive industry transition to net zero.

Professor Patricia Thornley (pictured), an international leader in assessing the sustainability of energy systems, has joined the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK’s (APC) academic advisory group.

Formed in 2013 APC supports the transition to a net zero auto supply chain in the UK. 

The advisory group is formed of academics who are leading research in areas relevant to the APC and its partner organisations.

She said: “Joining the committee will allow me to contribute my expertise to the benefit of the automotive industry and the wider national academic community.

“The aim of the group is to help strengthen the national partnerships between academia and industry to bring further high-quality research into the auto sector.

The academic community is an important part of APC’s portfolio as almost a quarter of its projects have academic partners.”

Stakeholder engagement director at the APC, Philippa Oldham, said: “In order to sustain and develop the academic engagement that we have generated over the years at the APC the new group has been created. We are in a unique position to deliver an approach that helps to connect academic communities with industry.

“The group acknowledges that the UK Research & Development landscape is very busy, and any new initiatives must fill the gaps and add value. One of the focuses of the group is to identify research focus needed to address automotive industry challenges and provide foresight on future disruptive innovation.

“The transition to a net zero automotive supply chain, in the UK, demands collaboration. To solve today’s challenges, we need to utilise tomorrow's innovation and insight.

“Industry-academia collaboration benefits the sector by providing access to talent, research support, knowledge exchange and innovation.”

The advisory group held their first meeting on 17 June, 2024.