Chris Fogwill

A leader in climate science and applied low carbon energy solutions, I have led research and knowledge exchange in major programmes that aim to reduce CO2 emissions through innovation in smart local energy systems, renewables and the pioneering production, storage and use of hydrogen. I have helped develop and deliver some of the most innovative low-carbon ‘at scale’ energy demonstration projects in Europe, including UKRI, BEIS and DESNZ funded partnership programmes such as: Cranfield University’s RPIF-funded Hydrogen Innovation Incubator (CH2i), the Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND), HyDeploy, Zero Carbon Rugley, HyDEX and HyPER. These programmes have been delivered in partnership with commercial partners including Siemens, ENGIE, BEIS, Toyota, Uniper, Cadent, AirBUS, Rolls Royce, Boeing, NPL, GKN Aerospace and with networks such as Midlands Innovation’s Energy Research Accelerator (ERA), regional Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and the Oxford-Cambridge Partnership. These multimillion-pound projects are leading the UK’s ambitions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and demonstrate how multi-disciplinary research with commercial partners and community stakeholders can make a global impact on energy use, decarbonisation and sustainability in a national and international context. Such programmes have been critical to institutional returns in both the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) and Research Excellence Framework (REF), which I have led at an institutional level. I also led Cranfield’s EarthShot Prize nominations process and the Green Future Investments fund, two key innovation drivers underpinning net zero and sustainability ambitions by offering funding and support to SMEs and start-ups in the UK and internationally.

Beyond my leadership in Research and Innovation, as climate scientist and Earth Systems modeller my personal research has been instrumental in defining the linkages between the Earth’s great ice sheets, climate and global sea level during the Anthropocene. My work in this field has provided critical insights that have enabled me, with my network of collaborators, to improve future projections of sea level rise due to anthropogenic warming, reducing uncertainty and helping inform on one of the key socioeconomic impacts of climate change. Key to this is my leadership within groups such as the HyDEX hydrogen knowledge exchange programme, ERA, the Midland Innovation Energy Research Accelerator (ERA), ANTCLIM21 climate projection network, and finally the PRECISE Network which I lead, a network dedicated to improved projections of sea level rise across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, which links Australian, New Zealand, Chinese, Bangladesh and Japanese researchers and governments to reduce uncertainty in sea level projections. Finally, as an Adjunct Professor at UNSW Australia I am an international leader in education and research who brings together global networks to deliver high impact programmes linking HEI and commercial interests to address the most challenging questions for society today.