Sir Anton Muscatelli, Co-chairman of the International Finance Forum (IFF) Academic Committee, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, addressed the Congress of Business (COB) on May 13 during Glasgow Climate Week, which was sponsored by city authorities and which ran from May 12 to 16.

The event, which has been held each year since 2016, builds on the Glasgow Climate Pacts established at COP26 and drives meaningful change by turning sustainable strategies into actionable results, marshaling the United Kingdom’s premier businesses and academics. COB signals that business and cities will take the lead in the transformation toward a sustainable economy, per its website.

Prof. Muscatelli started by talking about the Impact of research, discovery, and innovation. He presented the university’s efforts towards achieving net zero and its engagement in GALLANT (Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation), which is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and whose researchers seek to help Glasgow become better at handling problems caused by climate change, while also ensuring health, happiness, and fair treatment for all.

Muscatelli alluded to the University of Glasgow’s distinction of being one of the world’s top 100 universities and occupying 12th place in the impact ranking of achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and its status as an affiliate of the Russel Group - an elite coalition of 24 UK universities with the greatest research intensities - before introducing four examples of the work the institution is doing to help achieve net zero emissions.Two of these involve its spin-out companies -  Chemify and Clyde Hydrogen - while the others are research programs the university is involved in - Scotland Beyond Net Zero and the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research.

Chemify accelerates development of new drugs and medicines by automating the design of novel molecules to drive advances in medicine, materials science, agriculture, and green energy. It uses artificial intelligence to enable full-stack digitization of chemistry from code to molecules and back to code for molecular discovery, optimization, and synthesis, per its website. It speeds chemical synthesis of reproducible complex new molecules, and creates functional libraries of unprecedented scale. The chemical industry is one of the biggest generators of waste and Chemify contributes to net zero by streamlining conventional discovery processes, Muscatelli said, adding that the fast-growing firm has created job opportunities among the most deprived parts of Scotland, and has also just concluded its GBP33 million (USD44 million) Series A funding round - one of the largest in the UK.

The other spin-out - from the University of Glasgow’s School of Chemistry - Clyde Hydrogen Systems, is an innovative technology company building breakthrough systems for green hydrogen production at scale. Its decoupled electrolysis technology offers flexible opportunities not possible with existing electrolyzers. The significance of this field is underscored By the Scottish government’s GBP180 million investment in it, Muscatelli noted.

The University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow jointly formed Scotland Beyond Net Zero, which works with local partners and the Scottish Government to address key challenges associated with the climate emergency, including clean energy, storage, decarbonization, green transport, community empowerment, and climate justice. This coalition is seed funding many net zero initiatives. One example of this is research into “electric wallpaper” to heat old tenement buildings. Heating accounts for 37 percent of the UK’s emissions, Muscatelli said, noting that many old buildings cannot be adapted to use, e.g., heat pump technology, and thus such innovations are crucial to achieving net zero.

The MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research carries out fundamental research on viruses and viral diseases, translating the knowledge gained for the improvement of global health and the benefit of society. The Centre formed in 2010 as a partnership between the University [of Glasgow] and the Medical Research Council under UKRI. Over the past 10 years, its research has advanced the understanding of viruses that impact global health, as well as developing a range of innovative control measures for viral diseases. Its research follows a multidisciplinary ‘molecules to populations’ approach which is designed to tackle some of the most significant viral threats to global health. Importantly its research activities are underpinned by an unrivaled combination of state-of-the-art facilities, technologies, infrastructure, and a critical mass of dedicated world-leading expertise. It has the expertise and facilities required to support research to address the threats posed by both known and novel viruses and the diseases they cause.

Muscatelli concluded by stressing the need for enhanced collaboration between second-tier UK cities such as Glasgow and Manchester, and then fielded audience questions during the Q&A session that ensued.

The entire forum may be viewed at: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e_BD7gVvxgU