SynHiSel Researchers’ Showcase & Co-Creation Workshop

Shaping the Future of Sustainable Separations Through Collaboration

Day 1: Showcasing Research, Innovation, and Emerging Talent

The first day of our event focussed on the strength and diversity of the SynHiSel research community.

Through a series of flash presentations and poster sessions, researchers shared work spanning early-stage concepts through to applied challenges, highlighting both sustainability impact and scale-up potential. Discussions throughout the day reflected the depth of expertise across the programme and the shared ambition to deliver real-world impact.

A key highlight was the focus on Early Career Researcher development. Dedicated sessions on communication, networking, and careers in industry provided valuable insights into engaging with different stakeholders and navigating future career pathways.

Interactive activities—including elevator pitch challenges—encouraged researchers to think differently about how they present their work, building confidence and improving their ability to communicate complex ideas clearly.

Day 2: Co-Creation with Industry

Day 2 of our event expanded the conversation by welcoming guests from industry interested in the important role and growing potential of membrane separation processes.

Through interactive discussions, participants identified key opportunities presented by membrane technologies across clean energy, advanced materials, sustainable manufacturing, critical minerals, and life sciences – core growth sectors identified in the GOV.UK Industrial Strategy (IS-8).

Participants also discussed the main challenges facing the deployment of membrane technologies, including scale-up, long-term validation, regulatory hurdles and integration, compounded by cost and skills gaps.

By bringing together researchers from our six partner universities with representatives from twenty companies, we developed a plan to address those challenges through a proposed SustainMem Innovation Hub: a national translation platform combining pilot-scale testing, modelling, data, and training to move membranes from lab to industry.  

Such a hub would allow us to exploit significant opportunities across sustainable fuels, carbon capture, lithium recovery, solvent recycling, bioprocessing and pharmaceutical purification.

Day 2: Lab & Facilities Tours

While discussions continued in the workshops, our Early Career Researchers had the opportunity to tour the labs and facilities at Newcastle University.

Huge thanks to the team at Newcastle for organising these, in particular to Pedro Sanchez-Camacho and Jose Fabian for leading the tours.

Co-Creation Workshop: Key Insights and Next Steps

Some key takeaways from discussions with industry:

• ~ Separation processes account for ~10–15% of global energy use, yet remain under-addressed
• ~ The UK has world-leading membrane research, but scale-up and deployment remain major challenges
• ~ Barriers are systemic: infrastructure, cost, integration, and access to pilot facilities
• ~ There is strong appetite for collaboration – particularly around shared testing and validation

These insights are directly shaping the development of SustainMem, our proposed Innovation Hub for Sustainable Membrane Separations, and future funding proposals.

As we move toward large-scale carbon capture, the hydrogen economy, advanced biorefineries, and a circular economy for critical materials like rare earths and lithium, the demand for efficient chemical separations will only grow. Developing new, energy-efficient separation technologies will be essential to making these sustainable systems a reality.

Unlocking the full potential of membrane technologies will require joined-up thinking across academia, industry, and policy.

Follow SynHiSel on LinkedIn to stay connected and hear about future events, including our first international conference (Sustainable Membranes and Membrane Processes), where we will bring key stakeholders together.