The new £1m Joint Centre on Low Carbon Research will aim to create a bridge between China and the Midlands county of England, where the UK government’s £60m Energy Research Accelerator – a research institute formed of six UK universities including Nottingham and the British Geological Survey – will be based.

“The new Joint Centre on Low Carbon Research will act as an exemplar for the university’s engagement strategy with Asia”

Through the centre, academics will cooperate on joint research projects, student and staff exchange programmes and seminars.

Research will focus on carbon capture, utilisation and storage, waste biomass and lignite.

A joint memorandum of understanding has already been signed to carry out joint research on the development of solid absorbent technologies for CO2 capture.

“Developing new technologies for capturing and storing carbon dioxide is vitally important for the world in our efforts to prevent global warming,” noted Wang Maohua, associate president of SARI.

The two institutions, both leading in the energy research field, will work together to identify and apply for a range of funding opportunities, using their combined expertise and intellectual property to lend weight to their applications.

JCLCR will also have the backing of industry partners, including Lu’An Group, BP and Johnson Matthey.

The centre builds on a five-year-long informal relationship between the two institutions, including joint EPSRC-National Science Foundation China projects on new materials for CO2 capture.

“The new Joint Centre on Low Carbon Research will act as an exemplar for the university’s engagement strategy with Asia,” commented Colin Snape, the University of Nottingham’s lead on the centre.

“It is also a ground breaking initiative, as research will be coordinated to generate joint intellectual property for the new technologies to be developed.”