Applications are open for PhDs for October 2026 entry. Applications will be reviewed on an on-going basis.
Only applications submitted for specific advertised projects will be considered. Applications to the general Programme are now closed.
*Please be advised that currently ONLY the University of Bath are accepting applications from INTERNATIONAL students. Whilst the system will allow international students to apply for ‘Home Only’ projects at all four universities, such applications are NOT being read/reviewed/considered by either the Central Team or the project supervisors at University of Sheffield, Imperial College London or Heriot-Watt University.
If you are interested in applying for any of the specific projects listed below, please visit the How to Apply page and click the ‘Apply Now’ button. You may apply for up to 2 projects at any one point in time.
Heriot-Watt University Projects
All HWU project vacancies now filled.
Imperial College London Projects
All Imperial College project vacancies now filled.
University of Bath Projects
We have project options across a range of areas, including but not limited to life cycle assessment of industrial technologies, environmental psychology of decarbonisation, the use and production of hydrogen, opportunities for high temperature fuel replacement. We are looking for the right candidate to be part of our CDT and we have a range of supervisors and projects available.
This project is open to Home and International students. See the “How to Apply” page for full eligibility criteria.
Mitigating climate change will necessitate a significant reduction in the production of steel and aluminium, both of which contribute substantially to global emissions. A major issue is the considerable waste generated during metal processing; upwards of 30% of these materials are cut off and don’t make it into final products. This waste often comes from process scrap trimmed after forming operations.
In the sheet metal forming industry, stamping scrap can easily exceed 40% for a typical automotive component. This excess material is frequently included to facilitate forming and simplify die design. Historically, waste reduction hasn’t been a primary focus for die designers, as material costs were relatively low compared to factors like labor and production rates.
Recent research, however, has demonstrated that targeted interventions in die designs can significantly increase material utilization without requiring replacement of existing process infrastructure. The “folding-shearing” process [1], for instance, was introduced to eliminate the need for blank holders in stamping operations and is now being commercialized by DeepForm Ltd, an industrial partner for this project.
The design of stamping dies is a highly technical process, relying primarily on sophisticated simulations and human expertise. It can be time-consuming, and there’s often no guarantee of achieving an optimal design. Current software predominantly focuses on optimising for formability and feasibility, often adhering to conventional die designs.
This project will adopt cutting-edge data-based optimisation approaches to design die geometries that minimize the size of the blank needed to produce a specific part. The scale of this problem necessitates combining dimensional reduction with fast optimisation methods to ensure computational tractability.
DeepForm, a Cambridge-based startup, engages with automotive OEMs and first-tier suppliers. They leverage their patented fold-shear metal pressing processes to reduce costs and CO2 emissions. Originating in academia, DeepForm continues to support research through various avenues. This project will greatly benefit from their extensive knowledge base, internal expertise, and growing exposure to the stamping industry.
University of Sheffield Projects
We have project options across a range of areas, including but not limited to AI-based analysis of environmental datasets, future-proofing sustainable aviation fuel supply chains, and modelling integrative systems for hydrogen and carbon removal technologies. Supervisors work closely with industry partners, and we welcome applicants interested in energy, sustainability, and data-driven solutions.
Please note these projects are open to HOME students only. See the “How to Apply” page for full eligibility criteria.
The green industrial futures depend on a sustainable and resilient resource supply chain to achieve the net zero goal. This project aims to develop a new approach to future proof energy and materials feedstock resilience for sustainable aviation fuels supply chain. The dual effects of sustainability and security of energy and critical materials supply will underpin the model development. It will involve a paradigm shift which combines geo-spatial-temporal modelling, prospective life cycle analysis, techno-economic assessment and AI methodologies. It will map and analyse the sustainable aviation fuels supply chain beyond organisation and embeds embodied/hidden layer of direct/indirect dependence and closed-loop/circular relation in the value networks at multi-tier. Primary data will be derived from TERC, SAF-IC, IDRIC and industry partners. Co-developed with partners, future scenario for SAFSC will be examined across 2030, 2040 and 2050 via various technological pathways and fed into industry and policy decision making.
Both carbon removal technologies (a.k.a. negative emission technologies) and hydrogen (especially green) will play a key role towards achieving the net zero commitment. A mixed level of maturity of these technologies, supply chain dependency on imported resources, energy content, climate and energy policies variation have led to the dual challenges on scale up viability and global standardisation. This project aims to unpack the integrative systemic and symbiotic effect of carbon dioxide removals (CDR) and hydrogen on operational, economic, social, behavioural and environmental performance. Advanced modelling and comparative assessments will identify optimum systems combination leading to a resource efficient outcome. A new model and framework will be developed for the scale up and standardisation of integrative systems of CDR and hydrogen.
This project will include experimental work on industrial pilot-scale plants at the Energy Innovation Centre – including the multi-fuel gas turbine and the hydrogen electrolyser. A number of operating parameters can be manipulated to alter the performance of a gas turbine, whether utilising natural gas, hydrogen or blends of these. This project will consider a range of operating parameters, optimising these and various process conditions to enhance the overall performance of the gas turbine employing specific indicators. Used with a complementary CFD modelling approach, the research will define the optimal values for a range of key parameters and explore how these differ for various turndown ratios and fuel blends. This will be applicable to gas turbine power stations, enabling them to devise operating strategies to enhance performance based on fuel availability and load requirements. There may also be applications for industrial gas firing plants, where fuel costs and availability may determine the operating strategy required.