How ideas are shaped at Scottish university

Innovative net zero approaches to growing economy

A focused trip to see how one university in Scotland is tackling the net zero challenge, has been hailed a success.

The team from Salix visited the University of Strathclyde to see a number of projects, including solar pv and heat pumps.

Chris Cain, client support officer at Salix, said: “It is very important to us to get out and see projects and talk to the public sector organisations about their net zero strategies and the challenges they face.

“The work in Scotland has been amazing and we are grateful to the University of Strathclyde for sharing their learning.”

The University of Strathclyde has received loan funding, delivered through Salix.  This has been through the Salix Recycling Fund and Salix Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme schemes as well as larger scale Scottish Funding Council funding.

The funding has helped the university fund several measures at the new National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, which sits next to Glasgow airport.

The institute is home to experts working to grow the economy and work towards healthier and greener communities. The university team works alongside industry, academia, and the public sector to solve problems, train the next generation of makers, engineers, and inventors, and generate creative ideas aimed at changing how we produce goods and protect the planet.

The Salix team was fortunate to get a tour of the building and meet experts working on the net zero challenge.

The building was opened by First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf in June 2023.

Through funding schemes which the university has accessed, Salix delivered roof-top Solar PV, dry wall insulation and the floor insulation through the Universities Recycling fund and this included £674,937.66 in a project commissioned in November 2022.

During the visit Salix was also able to see:

• Roof-top Solar PV project at the Duncan building.
• The newly refurbished Learning & Teaching building
• The pre-project site of the universities called the ‘Heart of the Campus’ project.

Zoe Hurst programme co-ordinator at Salix, added: “We are always learning from our projects and it is fascinating to see how these measures have been implemented and the difference they have made to the carbon challenge that we all face today.

“We are looking forward to monitoring progress and visiting the university once again.”