The Responsible and Resilient Electronic and Electromagnetic (RaRE) Materials Network Plus is one of a number of new projects announced today, which will share £150m in new funding from UKRI’s National Material Innovation Programme.
The network unites more than 50 partners across industry, academia and government, including Loughborough University.
Together, as the UK’s first network dedicated to electronic materials, they will work to tackle a longstanding challenge for the country’s research landscape – the disconnect between research in applied materials and electronics design and integration.
The UK’s electronics and technology sector is vital to the country’s economy, supporting 100,000 jobs and contributing £100bn each year. However, the sector is currently vulnerable to challenges caused by shocks in global supply chains, like the £22bn loss suffered by UK carmakers during chip supply shortages in 2021.
Similar vulnerabilities continue to affect key sectors including telecommunications, defence and energy, many of which depend on secure and sustainable materials supply chains.
The Network will tap into the expertise of its members to develop new solutions to supply chain challenges and strengthen the UK’s resilience. RaRE’s Co-Investigators from the Universities of Glasgow, Oxford, Southampton and Loughborough will find new ways to develop knowledge exchange between the country’s experts in semiconductors, heterogeneous integration, interconnects and system design, and design tools.
Ultimately, RaRE aims to create a long-term positive impact by de-risking ambitious research and providing national and global leadership in the field of sustainable and circular electronics.
Professor William Whittow, Professor of Radiofrequency Materials at Loughborough University, said: “Materials for manipulating electromagnetic waves are essential for unlocking advanced connectivity technologies. We are delighted to work on connecting researchers and end-users in electromagnetic and telecommunications with emerging technologies in material science.
“Loughborough is pleased to take part and linking major initiatives across manufacturing technologies, defence and electromagnetic, and space technologies."
Professor Mahmoud Wagih, the network’s principal investigator at the University of Glasgow, said of the network: “Electronics have the most cross-cutting impact across the advanced materials spectrum, from enabling connectivity across the electromagnetic spectrum and transforming computing, to powering a sustainable and resilient grid.
“Pulling advanced materials innovation from chemistry and material science to electronic engineering practice will be essential to unlocking national growth and creating a resilient and sustainable supply chain.
“We are pleased to be coordinating the electronics work stream of the National Materials Innovation Programme, and look forward to fostering new connections towards launching inter-disciplinary research and advancing the underlying people and skills."
The Network will have two key areas of focus. The first will centre on creating new links between researchers working across advanced connectivity, quantum technologies and next-generation power electronics, providing a unique interface between materials research and emerging electronic systems.
The second focus area will work to strengthen the UK’s electronic materials community, providing new opportunities for skills development, career progression and collaboration across academia and the public and private sectors.
Professor Dimitra Georgiadou of the University of Southampton said: “There are exciting initiatives across emerging electronic materials, from 2D materials and organic semiconductors to solution-processable metal oxides and quantum-dot nanocrystals, and in developing scalable, greener manufacturing routes for next-generation devices, where our Southampton team and partners are active.
“Through the RaRE Network Plus, we look forward to connecting these capabilities with applications in RF and wireless technologies, neuromorphic computing and sensing, while strengthening links with the UK and Southampton’s wider ecosystem, from fundamental research to training programmes.”
Professor Lucia Corsini of the University of Oxford said: “Materials innovation is a key lever for achieving a circular economy in electronics. The University of Oxford is thrilled to join the RaRE Network Plus, bringing expertise in circular economy design, circular business models and sustainability assessment, whilst building on existing initiatives on circular electrical and electronic equipment.
“We look forward to embedding systems-level approaches to circularity. Linking materials, product design, manufacturing and waste management, along with tools such as AI and prospective Life Cycle Assessment, we aim to help develop more resilient supply chains that reduce mining of critical raw materials towards sustainable and circular electronics."
