of roundwood available for Irish industry by the next decade. The question is, therefore, how do we most effectively and sustainably utilise Ireland’s wood harvest for economic, environmental and social return? The answer is partly more long-life wood-based products and systems at volume (ie housing), and more high-value wood-derived products. Challenges and opportunities in the sustainable processing and use of materials are increasingly being addressed by Trinity industry partners and Trinity alumni in everyday life. The NXTGENWOOD research programme in high-value applications of wood is in line with the principles of a circular sustainable economy. Available forest-based biomass not suitable for standard processing by Irish sawmills and wood product manufacturing facilities is addressed. Applications of native Irish hardwoods and faster growing softwoods and barks are under investigation, as well as biomass from Irish manufacturing facilities. This research involves engagement with Irish private foresters and semi-state Coillte, researchers, industry (SMEs & MNCs), and from a regulatory perspective, the Building Research Establishment. The research is highly interdisciplinary in nature. Collaboration between scientists and engineers who are studying and improving the properties of wood at a small scale, leads to the discovery of new findings and possible uses for wood. Trinity chemists address green chemistry and sustainable biopolymers and biocomposites – this work is in collaboration with Research Professor RP Babu. University College Dublin biochemists are using forest-derived carbon as a feedstock for bacteria to produce future new biochemicals. University of Galway glycoscientists are investigating the potential health benefits of wood for humans or the Irish agrifood sector. University of Limerick engineers are addressing potential battery/energy applications of forest materials. University College Cork chemists are investigating if cellulose (also used to make paper) can be used to turn waste heat into electricity. The research is international in outlook and leverages over 30 years of Professor Morris’s research expertise in surface and interface chemistry and polymer science, and as importantly the expertise of students, post-doctoral researchers and collaborating academics. Via project advisory boards, and additional EU-funded projects, for example the MCSA DEMANS project, NXTGENWOOD benchmarks and collaborates internationally with island nations of similar size, such as SCION in New Zealand, or countries with similar populations and markedly more forest like LUKE Finland. Advances in wood-based materials and biochemicals require collaboration and innovation along the supply chain and human capital development. Professor Morris has a long tradition of training PhDs and post-doctoral researchers for academia and positions in the Irish industry or internationally. Coillte recently predicted a skills gap of 1,770 highly skilled employees to realise the ambitions of Ireland’s Forestry Strategy. The project has been leveraged for additional EU collaborative research programs of scale. Research progress to date includes new techniques to visualise wood in three dimensions, energy-efficient production of platform biopolymers from wood, novel composites from wood, potential wood-based diagnostics materials, and waste heat conversion to electricity via wood-derived materials. Wood over fossil fuels: Three climate advantages 1. SEQUESTER – forests and their soils sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over long time periods. 2. STORE – long-life timber products such as timber frame houses store carbon dioxide long after timber has been harvested, and often into subsequent products. 3. WOOD-DERIVED CARBON-BASED PRODUCTS can serve as substitutes for fossil fuel-based alternatives, reducing their circulation in the market.
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