Globally, transport is responsible for 23% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions and 80% of these emissions are attributable to road transport. Significant transformations, including extensive electrification of the sector, are necessary to achieve climate change goals. To understand new energy vehicle (NEV) policy research, we explore the status, knowledge base and research frontiers of NEV policy research by studying 355 papers collected from the Web of Science™ (WoS) Core Collection database. We map NEV policy research trends and knowledge structure development using knowledge domain technology and bibliometric techniques. The knowledge base analysis shows that: (a) NEV policy formation and evaluation; (b) policy incentives and consumer adoption; and (c) consumer preferences towards NEV adoption are all essential knowledge foundations in NEV policy research and development (R&D). The efficiency of NEV policy, cost-effectiveness of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), consumer preferences for NEV adoption, hydrogen energy and fuel cell vehicles, climate policy and CO2 emissions are five main lines of research in NEV policy studies. With the highest number of publications from Tsinghua University, China is the most active country in NEV policy research. Energy Policy, Sustainability and Journal of Cleaner Production are the core journals and Energy and Fuels and Environmental Sciences are the core disciplines of NEV policy research. The findings of this analysis help policymakers and researchers to navigate the literature on NEV, provide a clear map of existing works, identify the gaps and recommend promising avenues for future studies.

Biotechnology employs engineering approaches to the life sciences with global economic, environmental, health and societal impacts. Biotechnologies are classified in a colour coded fashion that encompasses their broad areas of use:

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funded six Networks in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy (NIBB) for a second phase in 2019 and previously 13 BBSRC NIBB for a first phase in 2014. These networks promote interactions between academia and industry to advance research along the technology readiness levels (TRLs). The networks fund collaborations that start in the region of TRL2 and Johnson Matthey contributes to the management of one of these BBSRC NIBB entitled ‘The Elements of Bioremediation, Bio-Manufacturing and Bioenergy (E3B)’. This network brings together communities working on metals in biology.

Dr. Wang is a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at Lancaster University. Prior to this, he was a Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at the University of Aberdeen, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Heriot-Watt University, where he also obtained his PhD (2014). He completed both MSc and BEng studies at Tianjin University. Wang has been the author of over 50 peer-reviewed publications, an editorial board member of Chinese Chemical Letters and his research has mainly been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Royal Society, UK Catalysis Hub and industry. Wang’s research interest ranges from reaction engineering, green energy and materials to chemicals, where heterogeneous catalysis is the core discipline. His recent work has focused on the innovative use of heterogeneous catalysts (e.g., supported metals) in enzymatic transformations via cofactor regeneration,1,2 paving the way to a potential new regeneration technology.

Hydrogen offers a source of energy that does not produce any greenhouse gas (GHG) when combusted. However, some hydrogen manufacturing methods consume large amounts of energy and produce carbon dioxide as a byproduct. The production of hydrogen by bacteria is an attractive alternative because it is not energy intensive and, under the right conditions, does not release GHG. In this review, we introduce the five known ways by which bacteria can evolve hydrogen. We then describe methods to encapsulate living bacteria in synthetic layers, called biocoatings, for applications in bioreactors. We review the few examples in which biocoatings have been used to produce hydrogen via the photofermentation method. Although not used in biocoatings so far, the dark fermentation method of hydrogen production avoids the need for illumination while offering a high yield with low oxygen evolution. We identify the potential for using genetically-modified bacteria in future research on biocoatings.

Johnson Matthey’s annual review of the platinum group metal (pgm) markets was published on 15th May 2023, providing an outlook for pgm supply and demand for 2023. The report contains a comprehensive review of developments in the automotive market, covering production and powertrain trends and their implications for pgm use as well as an update on future emissions legislation. It also features an in-depth discussion of the ruthenium and iridium markets in view of increasing interest in the use of these metals in the net zero transition.

Additive manufacturing of jewellery alloys has been actively investigated for the past 10 years. Limited studies have been conducted on gold and platinum jewellery alloys. Platinum is of increased interest due to the technological challenges in investment casting. In the present paper, typical platinum jewellery alloys have been tested by laser track experiments on sheet materials. The effect of alloy composition on width and depth of the laser tracks was studied by metallography. Optimum parameters of the laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) process were determined for a typical 950Pt jewellery alloy by the preparation of dedicated test samples. Densities of >99.8% were reached for a wide range of processing parameters. However, for real jewellery parts the resulting density was found to depend significantly on the part geometry and on the chosen support structure. The supports must take into account the geometrical orientation of the part relative to the laser build direction and the orientation on the build plate. Local overheating gives rise to porosity in these areas. Therefore, the supports play an important role in thermal management and must be optimised for each part. The design of suitable supports was successfully demonstrated for a typical jewellery ring sample.

Join us for our online conference, where we will be asking important questions about the future of platinum group metals (pgms), their contribution to technology development and the net zero transition. The conference brings together industry and academics, professional organisations and policymakers, to discuss the critical role pgms have to play in the technologies of the future.