1. Adapting Transport Systems: Towards a Low Carbon Future Industrial bio-transformation: Exploring the Potential Institutional limits Supervisors: Samarthia ThankappanAlma Hodzic University of YorkUniversity of Sheffield

2. What are Bio-materials ? Materials, chemicals and energy derived from renewable biological resources. Bio-materials are considered an integral part of bio-energy strategies, due to their combined material and energy applications.

3. Use of Bio-materials is increasing Natural fibre- reinforced plastics Vegetable oil-based polyols & polyamides Bio-based polyesters & thermoplastic elastomers Soybean-based foams Ethanol ?

5. Key Research Questions How will biomaterials impact existing material producers? How will markets develop around changing infrastructure? What impacts do technology, regulation, society and geography have on material substitution occurring within the supply chains? What is the extent of adaptations occurring in the sectors & what future changes are envisaged?

6. Research Aim Study the process of transformation within and across the supply chains of the two sectors (Agriculture and Automobiles), with a key focus on the institutional constraints to the development of the technology

7. Identify the scale and growth rate of the substitution of traditional material by bio-materials. Analysis of the impact of transformation towards material substitution occurring within and across the supply chain. Examining the sustainability implications of the above at the local and national levels. Formulating strategy concepts suitable to bio-materialism. Can biomaterials make a substantive contribution to greater sustainability? Research Objectives

8. STAGE I Comprehensive literature review Mapping of current scale of bio-material supplies and material flows Identifying pressure points in the supply chain by means of existing literature and semi-structured expert interviews/focus groups among scientists, industry executives and policy makers STAGE II At the macro level supply chain interactions to track impacts of technical limits and the geographic flows of biomaterials will be undertaken At the micro level, the incentives required to achieve a desired change within the various links in the supply chain will be explored. Methodology

9. Interfaces with other Networks/organisations White Rose Network: Enabling supply chain adaptation to climate change and resource poor future (Validating the sustainability of bio-renewable replacements for petrochemical products) CNAP - Centre for Novel Agricultural Products Research