This generous award towards the establishment of Imperial's new state-of-the-art research lab will accelerate the transition to a net zero future.
The funding from the Wolfson Foundation will support Imperial's new research facility dedicated to solving urgent challenges in climate change and sustainability. Imperial has received the Foundation's generous support since 1959, and this grant highlights the long-standing and continued collaboration between the two organisations to advance science and education for humanity's benefit.
The Sustainable Futures Lab (SFL) will act as a global focal point for the generation and translation of knowledge that supports the path to a sustainable tomorrow. This initiative will provide a platform for researchers from the molecular to the systems scale to come together, facilitating new multidisciplinary thinking and collaboration to accelerate solutions that have a global impact.
Consisting of indoor and outdoor spaces, this new research facility will include lab spaces as well as an outdoor area for solar-driven or environmental exposure research activities.
Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation, said: "By bringing together multidisciplinary expertise in a sustainably designed facility, the Sustainable Futures Lab will be a catalyst for innovative solutions to accelerate the transition to a net zero future – in the UK and beyond. Addressing one of the most urgent challenges of our time, we are pleased to continue our long-standing partnership with Imperial through this ambitious project."
A new global standard for university sustainability
Here at Imperial, there are many talented individuals who are continuously finding innovative ways to accelerate our transition to a more sustainable future. Professor Omar Matar Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering
Imperial is recognised in the top 10 universities globally for sustainability, as per the QS Sustainability Rankings for 2025. As a key pillar of the university's Strategy, Science for Humanity, Sustainable Imperial aims to set a global benchmark for university sustainability, from educating future leaders and scientists to produce solutions and achieve our net-zero future to minimising all kinds of pollution from Imperial's campuses. The Sustainable Futures Lab fits right into this landscape, being a sustainably-built and operated research space with minimal carbon footprint, supporting the decarbonisation mission at Imperial's campuses.
Professor Omar Matar, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, said: "Here at Imperial, there are many talented individuals who are continuously finding innovative ways to accelerate our transition to a more sustainable future, including shaping new technologies and facilitating their uptake by industry and the public. Thanks to philanthropic support from friends and partners like the Wolfson Foundation, our brightest minds will have the space and resources they need to deliver life-changing solutions that will benefit millions worldwide."
Environmental consideration is at the heart of the planning and implementation of this project. Aiming to achieve the highest BREEAM certification – an internationally-recognised sustainability assessment to evaluate the environmental performance and impact of buildings – the lab will be the first UK academic research space in Engineering that allows research to be conducted truly sustainably.
A space for collaboration
Housed in the Department of Chemical Engineering, the lab will serve as a flagship for multi-scale, collaborative and sustainability-related research. Imperial academics, researchers and students working on sustainable chemicals and energy production will benefit from the latest state-of-the-art facilities and equipment brought by this new research initiative. Research in the lab will focus on topics of sustainable chemical manufacturing, industrial decarbonisation, sustainable energy technologies and negative emissions technologies.
Thanks to support from Imperial's friends and donors, the best minds can come together, collaborate and deliver solutions to solve humanity's grandest challenges. Find out how philanthropy is powering Imperial to create positive change in the latest issue of the university's Impact of Giving Report.
