New award for carbon capture technology for University of Greenwich team

Researchers who have found a way to capture carbon and clean up contaminated land have won the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Contribution to Innovation and Technology.

Dr Colin Hills and Dr Paula Corey from the University of Greenwich were told their innovation 'could drastically reduce the impact of climate change', according to the Green Building Press.

The pair developed technology which, according to Times Higher Education, could capture 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

Their Accelerated Carbonation technology captures CO2 and turns it into rock, which can then be used as an aggregate resource – replacing increasingly scarce sand and gravel - in the construction industry.

Peter Ringrose of the Technology Strategy Board, who was judging the category, said: 'This is how innovative knowledge transfer should work, and due credit should go to those involved in a truly collaborative piece of work involving university researchers and industry culminating in the creation of a start-up company with significant future potential.'

Other research projects which made the shortlist included the 16-passenger tribrid bus developed by the University of Glamorgan which emits only water and can reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour.

Another shortlisted entry was a computerised transport scheduling program developed by the University of Leeds' spin-off Tracsis.