Join the Sustainable Chemicals Café Series, part of the Sustainable Chemicals Innovation Network. These virtual events bring together innovators, researchers, and industry leaders to explore breakthroughs in sustainable chemicals and low-carbon manufacturing.

Why It Matters

The UK chemicals industry is working to double its economic output and source 80% of its carbon from non-virgin and sustainable sources.

This once-in-a-generation transformation will create thousands of skilled jobs, drive regional growth, and accelerate progress toward a low-carbon future. These cafés offer a valuable opportunity to contribute to that momentum by providing a platform for connection, collaboration, and fresh ideas.

Upcoming event themes & dates

Each café features a 10–15 minute presentation followed by a live Q&A, running from 10:00 to 10:45 AM. Here are the upcoming webinars:

• Advancing Circular Solutions for Biofuel Waste Valorization – 13 January 2026
  R3V Tech have developed a novel reaction pathway that enables undesired crude glycerol from biodiesel process to be converted into green solvent (Solketal) through electrochemical transformation at room temperature and pressure without cathalyst in a process that uptake CO2 and incorporate in the synthesis processes, increasing 50 times its market value. This is novel and inventive and represents a unique capability. The presentation will cover renewable feedstocks, green chemistry and circular economy innovations. Speaker: Adriano Randi, Founder & CEO of R3V Technologies.
• Biomanufacturing of commodity chemicals – 3 March 2026
  Professor Nigel Scrutton, Founder and CSO of C3 Biotech will be speaking about how their company is pioneering a new era in sustainable industrial chemistry, delivering biologically derived commodity chemicals and fuels that can finally compete — on price and performance — with fossil-based incumbents. At the core of our innovation is a breakthrough fermentation platform. By eliminating the need for costly sterile conditions, we slash both CAPEX and OPEX, unlocking biomanufacturing at a scale and cost point that radically shifts what’s possible for biological production.

We’re particularly interested in themes such as renewable feedstocks, green chemistry, advanced materials, digitalisation in manufacturing, and circular economy innovations.

Past events

• Floreon: Bio-Based Performance Polymers and the Circular Economy (29 July 2025). Floreon are pioneering the use of bio-based polymers in demanding engineering applications, supporting the plastics industry in its transition from fossil-based to renewable feedstocks—without compromising performance. Recent developments and case studies will be presented. (See recording above or watch on Vimeo)
• Decreasing the Scope 3 Emissions of Chemical Synthesis with CataNiTek Nickel Catalysts (2 September 2025). Speaker: Elliot Johnson Humphrey – Chief Technology Officer. Precious metal catalysts dominate the synthesis of some of the most valuable and impactful molecules in modern society, including agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and fine chemicals. CataNiTek is challenging these catalysts with its platform technology that allows access to a range of well-defined nickel(0) complexes. These are effective homogeneous catalysts, both for established reactions that are currently performed using metals such as palladium, but also bring a whole wealth of new synthetic methodology with nickel within reach of bench chemists across industry. (See recording above or watch on Vimeo)
• EvoCarbon: transforming CO₂ into added value carboxylic acids (4 November 2025). Armando Leal Puente, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Eutechtics speaks about how their early-stage startup developing EvoCarbon, a chemical process that converts captured CO₂ into high-value chemicals through a novel process that runs into energy-efficient conditions. EvoCarbon is circular and avoids fossil carbon entirely, offering a path to slash lifecycle emissions in one of the world’s most entrenched supply chains.

Join as an Attendee

Want to stay ahead of the curve in sustainable innovation? Register now to attend and connect with the people shaping the UK chemicals industry’s future.