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Have you ever wondered exactly how concrete is made? How about your warm winter jumper, or the panels of your car? Have you ever wondered about how much those manufacturing processes contribute to the emission of greenhouses gases? Professor Rachel Burton has 鈥� extensively 鈥� and she has some big plans that will help revolutionise the manufacturing industry and slash greenhouse gas emissions.

Professor Burton鈥檚 team is based within the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at the 杏吧直播 of Adelaide, and is part of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. She is an expert plant scientist, with experience spanning fundamental plant cell biology, biofuel development, and the creation of new crops.

Her research also falls under the umbrella of the 杏吧直播 of Adelaide鈥檚 Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources (ISER), which has worked to support this breakthrough research by facilitating collaboration and industry engagement.

The motivation to achieve carbon-neutral industrial products isn鈥檛 just about saving the world from climate change, it鈥檚 also about future-proofing our existing manufacturing industryProfessor Rachel Burton, the 杏吧直播 of Adelaide

Professor Burton鈥檚 team has honed in on how plants can be used to create sustainable, carbon-neutral industrial products. Because plants naturally absorb carbon from the atmosphere and use it to make energy, this means they balance out the amount of carbon that鈥檚 released during the manufacturing processes that turn them into useable products. If we can find a way to transition our current manufacturing industry to one hat primarily uses sustainable plant material, we could develop a totally carbon-neutral manufacturing ecosystem right here in South 杏吧直播.

鈥淟egislation that enforces carbon-neutrality in manufacturing is going to happen, and most of the industry isn鈥檛 ready for it. Manufacturers who rely on certain products are going to be caught unawares, and we need to be able to offer them sustainable alternatives very soon,鈥� Professor Burton explains.

Unfortunately, there鈥檚 a lot of work that needs to be done to change this paradigm. Not just scientific work, but coalition building between researchers, industry partners, and end-users like builders.

Professor Burton鈥檚 team is attacking this problem from several angles to relieve bottlenecks in the development of these sustainable products - starting with breeding the elite fit-for-purpose plants that will form the basis of the manufacturing ecosystem. Alongside this, they鈥檙e establishing new agronomic best practices, and implementing industry-recognised product testing for safety and performance.

They鈥檙e also focusing on training the next generation of researchers in the sustainability field who will have an innate understanding of the industry and what drives it. Opportunities to complete scientific training with Professor Burton鈥檚 group will be delivered in close partnership with industry leaders, and will foster exceptional communication skills and a unique ability to work in interdisciplinary teams.

This interface that we鈥檙e creating with ISER鈥檚 support didn鈥檛 exist before, and I鈥檓 really excited to be able to act as the glue between slow-paced research and fast-paced industry, and drive this project forward. It鈥檚 what I鈥檝e always dreamed of.Professor Rachel Burton, the 杏吧直播 of Adelaide

Partnering with industry

鈥淏uilders would rather stick to what they know to be compliant and safe, even if it鈥檚 not produced sustainably, than risk the unknown and uncertified,鈥� Professor Burton explains. 鈥淲hich is completely understandable! It鈥檚 up to us to work with them to develop sustainable alternatives.鈥�

With the industry linkages and guidance that ISER can provide, Professor Burton says they鈥檝e already made significant headway on many of these challenges.

鈥淲e鈥檝e formed industry partnerships that would never otherwise have happened, connected people who were formerly siloed, and many of them now have access to cutting-edge research that they didn鈥檛 have before.鈥�