Chemistry can aid multi-million pound renewables sector

Dr Sandy Dobbie, chairman of Chemical Sciences Scotland, has revealed how he believes the chemical sciences industry can boost the country’s transition into a low-carbon economy.

“Recent images of wind turbine towers being blown over or catching fire during the storms may have alarmed advocates of wind energy,” he wrote in a recent article in the Scotsman newspaper. “Scotland has ambitious climate change targets, but we should look beyond wind and waves for answers.

“Science has a key role to play in aiding our transition to a low carbon economy. Chemistry helps us use resources more efficiently, whether through better insulation, lighter vehicles, renewable fuels, or better batteries. Thus for every tonne of carbon dioxide emitted by the chemical industry, three tonnes is saved by industries that use.”

Dr Dobbie, who is also a founding director of the chemical sector merger and acquisition specialist Cogency, went on to highlight the roles of Scottish universities and the commercial sector in helping the country to use resources more effectively.

One example he gave was The Solar Spark, a research project being led by scientists at Edinburgh University.

“The Solar Spark could revolutionise the way we harness solar power by improving the efficiency and cost of solar cells,” he continued. “These low cost cells can work in even the gloomiest of Scottish conditions and could one day help out the 1.6 billion people in the developing world currently without electricity.

“Another area of development is in biofuels, where Scottish companies have the potential to transform the fuel we use for air, road and seaborne travel. We could see biodiesel coming from inexpensive feedstocks. In addition, more fuel-efficient tyres using advanced synthetic rubber are being developed by Polimeri Europa here in Scotland.

“In short, chemistry tackles climate change issues at source by increasing efficiency. We already have some of the biggest global players in the chemical sciences sector based in Scotland, which is why it is our second top exporter (behind whisky) worth £2.7 billion every year for our economy. So we need not be daunted by the environment challenges we face but instead should put science at the forefront of the fight.”