Aviation is arguably one of the most difficult sectors to be decarbonised. The UK government's recent Transport Decarbonisation Plan targets for Accelerating Aviation Decarbonisation to reach net zero by 2050, aiming to decarbonise emissions from airport operations in England by 2040, and to support the development of new and zero carbon UK aircraft technology [1]. The Department for Transport's Aviation Strategy recommends electrification as a possible solution to mitigate aviation's carbon emissions [2]. Electrification technologies are being deployed successfully in land-based transport. Electrification is now being challenged to address the more ambitious aviation decarbonisation. In the air, electric and hybrid aircraft particularly for short-haul or regional electric aircraft have advanced rapidly. On the ground, UK airports (Heathrow as a project partner of this proposal) lead pilot decarbonisation projects to enable the transition to regional electric and sustainable aviation, and shape the landscape of future low-carbon infrastructure and services. Currently, there is a significant disconnect between power systems and electrified air transport in terms of energy users and suppliers, infrastructure and interoperability to achieve the net-zero in both industries. The electrification of aviation will create a new nexus between power systems and electrified air transport. There are several key challenges: 1) The power systems will require electrified aviation to integrate into ground energy infrastructure and must not overload the future grid. 2) Electrified aviation as a new energy user requires the power systems to supply large volumes of low-carbon electricity to meet new loads of electric aircraft. 3) Significant charging infrastructures are required. Our feasibility study on a UK airport indicates that even if only 10% domestic flights are electrified then £50M will need to be spent on charging infrastructure. 4) Significantly high costs will be incurred for building additional power generation capacity. Our initial study indicates 15 GW additional power generation capacity will be required if 45% of UK domestic flights are electrified. This proposed research will explore the fundamental integration of a new nexus between power system and electrified air transport system, named 'Aviation-to-Grid', with an ambitious aim to bridge the significant disconnect between two systems in terms of energy demand and supply, infrastructure and interoperability. This will be achieved by using the multiscale energy modelling and system integration as key research methods. A new concept of Aviation-to-Grid flexibility will be investigated as a potential solution to unlock the flexibility provisions from Aviation-to-Grid, so that infrastructure and operation costs can be reduced and co-optimised across both systems. This project, for the first time, brings power industry (National Grid ESO), airport operators (Heathrow Airport), energy infrastructure solutions (UK Power Networks Services), transport policy (Department for Transport) and the UK academic communities (Supergen, DTE Network) together in a truly interdisciplinary manner. In this project, multiscale energy modelling (WP1) and multiscale system integration (WP2) will explore a bottom-up approach across the new nexus of power systems and electrified air transport. Aviation-to-Grid flexibility provisions will be evaluated with cost-benefit analysis (WP3). Industrial application potential of Aviation-to-Grid flexibility will be demonstrated in a real-time simulation platform in the lab using representative case studies with recommendations for implementation (WP4). [1] Decarbonising transport: a better, greener Britain, Department for Transport, 14 July 2021 [2] Aviation 2050 - the future of UK aviation, Department for Transport, 22 October 2019

The global construction sector is estimated to account for 100,000 fatalities annually and about 30-40% of all fatal occupational injuries. In the UK, although the construction sector accounts for only approximately 5% of the workforce in Britain, it accounts for a disproportionate 31% of occupational fatal injuries to employees. Injuries and new cases of ill health in construction cost society over £1.1 billion a year. The direct and indirect costs of injuries and illnesses resulting from construction are not only borne by the victims and their families, but also by the victims' employers, the construction client, the industry as a whole, and the government. Due to the socio-economic impacts of the unenviable health and safety record of the construction sector, there are efforts to improve health and safety in construction. Prominent amongst the efforts has been the emphasis on mitigating or eliminating health and safety risks through design, which is commonly referred to in construction as design for safety (DfS). The importance of DfS rests on the fact that design contributes significantly to the occurrence of accidents, injuries and illnesses in construction. DfS requires that designers (e.g. architects and engineers) give careful consideration to how their design decisions would affect the health and safety of builders, maintenance workers, and users of built assets. In the UK, DfS is mandatory under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) which stipulate that designers (organisations/individuals), when preparing or modifying designs, should eliminate, reduce or control foreseeable risks that may arise during the construction, maintenance and use of built assets. Consequently and understandably, CDM 2015 also requires that the appointment of organisations with design responsibilities should be based on their capability. This brings to the fore the important issue of design firms having adequate maturity in terms of DfS capability. Whilst some design firms may have attained some appreciable maturity in terms of DfS capability, others will also be deficient. Whilst there is a growing body of research on DfS in construction, there is lacking an in-depth understanding of what constitute DfS capability. Furthermore, neither has there been research aimed at understanding the maturity levels related to DfS capability. Consequently, there is lacking a robust systematic approach for ascertaining the DfS capability maturity of construction organisations with design responsibilities to pave way for improvements in DfS capability. Borrowing from the popular maxim that, "If you can't measure it, you can't improve it", and considering the significance of design to health and safety, this research will develop a web-based DfS capability maturity indicator (DfS-CMI) tool which will offer a robust and systematic approach for diagnosing the DfS capability of construction supply chain organisations involved in architectural and engineering design. The research will employ an expert group technique and ICT tool development and testing processes. The DfS-CMI tool will serve as a robust process improvement tool to enable architectural, engineering design and construction firms to improve their DfS capability. The tool will also provide a mechanism for ascertaining the DfS capability of organisations under the CDM 2015 regulations.

This research seeks to address the long-standing issue of poor performance in infrastructure projects, also known as the productivity paradox. This paradox can be described as the inability of infrastructure projects to improve performance, despite the steadily increasing global demand for infrastructure and long track record of project delivery. To address this issue, this research aims to (1) develop understanding of how business innovation occurs in infrastructure projects and (2) provide strategic guidance on implementing business innovation strategies in this setting. Drawing upon business innovation and project management literatures, this Future Leaders fellowship focuses on processes of value creation and capture (VC&C) and seeks to understand how they determine the performance of infrastructure projects. Despite the growing need to advance the understanding of VC&C for participating actors and end-users of infrastructure projects, there is, however, very little empirical research in this area. Building on the applicant's international connectivity and track record of research into construction and project-based organisations, the fellowship will achieve two principal goals. First, it will initiate a long-term programme of empirical research into VC&C processes in infrastructure projects. Second, it will enable the applicant to achieve a distinctive and internationally recognised leadership profile in mainstream management, strategy and innovation studies. To this end, the applicant will conduct research to understand the organisational dynamics of VC&C in infrastructure projects, develop business innovation strategies for infrastructure projects working with internationally recognisable partners, and undergo experiential career development programme comprising the acquisition of new theoretical and methodological knowledge, development of research management and supervisory skills, and expansion of international connectivity. The research will initially develop five qualitative case studies with the following infrastructure providers as partner organisations: Heathrow Airport Ltd, Transport for London, UCL Estates, Rijkswaterstaat (the Dutch Highways and Waterways Agency), and the European Investment Bank. The applicant will be hosted by the Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management, working primarily with Prof Andrew Davies as mentor along with other leading researchers in business innovation and infrastructure. To validate the findings in an international context, expand his international network, and gain additional methodological skills, the applicant will spend three months visiting and working closely with researchers in the Global Projects Center at Stanford University. By the end of the fellowship, the applicant will have established a recognisable research programme into business innovation dynamics in infrastructure projects. The long-term programme of enquiry arising from this research is anticipated to constitute a step change generating research outputs that directly support business innovation and progressive policy-making facing the challenges and opportunities in infrastructure provision, both in the UK but also internationally. In such a way, this fellowship will promote disruptive thinking on business innovation and working practices and ways to implement improvements across private, public and civil society sectors participating in infrastructure provision.

The global construction sector is estimated to account for 100,000 fatalities annually and about 30-40% of all fatal occupational injuries. In the UK, although the construction sector accounts for only approximately 5% of the workforce in Britain, it accounts for a disproportionate 31% of occupational fatal injuries to employees. Injuries and new cases of ill health in construction cost society over £1.1 billion a year. The direct and indirect costs of injuries and illnesses resulting from construction are not only borne by the victims and their families, but also by the victims' employers, the construction client, the industry as a whole, and the government. Due to the socio-economic impacts of the unenviable health and safety record of the construction sector, there are efforts to improve health and safety in construction. Prominent amongst the efforts has been the emphasis on mitigating or eliminating health and safety risks through design, which is commonly referred to in construction as design for safety (DfS). The importance of DfS rests on the fact that design contributes significantly to the occurrence of accidents, injuries and illnesses in construction. DfS requires that designers (e.g. architects and engineers) give careful consideration to how their design decisions would affect the health and safety of builders, maintenance workers, and users of built assets. In the UK, DfS is mandatory under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) which stipulate that designers (organisations/individuals), when preparing or modifying designs, should eliminate, reduce or control foreseeable risks that may arise during the construction, maintenance and use of built assets. Consequently and understandably, CDM 2015 also requires that the appointment of organisations with design responsibilities should be based on their capability. This brings to the fore the important issue of design firms having adequate maturity in terms of DfS capability. Whilst some design firms may have attained some appreciable maturity in terms of DfS capability, others will also be deficient. Whilst there is a growing body of research on DfS in construction, there is lacking an in-depth understanding of what constitute DfS capability. Furthermore, neither has there been research aimed at understanding the maturity levels related to DfS capability. Consequently, there is lacking a robust systematic approach for ascertaining the DfS capability maturity of construction organisations with design responsibilities to pave way for improvements in DfS capability. Borrowing from the popular maxim that, "If you can't measure it, you can't improve it", and considering the significance of design to health and safety, this research will develop a web-based DfS capability maturity indicator (DfS-CMI) tool which will offer a robust and systematic approach for diagnosing the DfS capability of construction supply chain organisations involved in architectural and engineering design. The research will employ an expert group technique and ICT tool development and testing processes. The DfS-CMI tool will serve as a robust process improvement tool to enable architectural, engineering design and construction firms to improve their DfS capability. The tool will also provide a mechanism for ascertaining the DfS capability of organisations under the CDM 2015 regulations.

Observed, Strategic, sustained action is now needed to avoid further negative consequences of climate change and to build a greener, cleaner and fairer future. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change the rise in global temperature is largely driven by total carbon dioxide emissions over time. In order to avoid further global warming, international Governments agreed to work towards a balance between emissions and greenhouse gas removal (GGR), known 'net zero', in the Paris Agreement. In June 2019 the UK committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, making it the first G7 country to legislate such a target. Transitioning to net zero means that we will have to remove as many emissions as we produce. Much of the focus of climate action to date has been on reducing emissions, for example through renewable power and electric vehicles. However, pathways to net zero require not just cutting fossil fuel emissions but also turning the land into a net carbon sink and scaling up new technologies to remove and store greenhouse gases. This will require new legislation to pave the way for investment in new infrastructure and businesses expected to be worth billions of pounds a year within 30 years. This challenge has far-reaching implications for technology, business models, social practices and policy. GGR has been much less studied, developed and incentivised than actions to cut emissions. The proposed CO2RE Hub brings together leading UK academics with a wide range of expertise to co-ordinate a suite of GGR demonstration projects to accelerate progress in this area. In particular the Hub will study how we can (1) reduce technology costs so that GGR becomes economically viable; (2) ensure industry adopts the concept of net zero in a way that will maintain and create jobs; (3) put in place sensible policy incentives; (4) make sure there is social license for GGR (unlike fracking or nuclear); (5) set up regulatory oversight of environmental sustainability and risks of GGR; (6) understand what is required to achieve GGR at large scale and (7) guarantee there are the skills and knowledge required for all this to happen. Building on extensive existing links to stakeholders in business, Government and NGOs, the Hub will work extensively with everyone involved in regulating and delivering GGR to ensure our research provides solutions to strategic priorities. We will also encourage the teams working on demonstrator technologies to think responsibly about the risks, benefits and public perceptions of their work and consider the full environmental, social and economic implications of implementation from the outset. CO2RE will seek to bring the GGR community in the UK as a whole closer together, functioning as a gateway to UK inter-disciplinary research expertise on GGR. We will inform, and stay informed, about the latest developments nationally and internationally, and reach out to engage the wider public. In doing so we will be able to respond to a rapidly evolving landscape recognising that technical and social change are not separate, but happen together. To accelerate and achieve meaningful change, we will be guided by consultation with key decision-makers and the general public, and set up a £1m flexible fund to respond to priorities that emerge with the help of the wider UK academic community. Ultimately we will help the UK and the world understand how GGR can be scaled up responsibly as part of climate action to meet the ambition of net zero.