A team of polymer scientists at WMG, University of Warwick, is working on a way of making batteries more recyclable, with the aim of closing the loop on battery manufacture.

As 70 per cent of the world population lives in cities, improving urban resilience against disaster is paramount, and to do this effectively you need to involve the communities most affected say Professor Jon Coaffee, Politics and International Studies and Academic lead for the Global Research Priority in Sustainable Cities, University of Warwick, and Dr Vangelis Pitidis, Politics and International Studies.

Concerns are growing about the security of winter gas supplies, and industries reliant on gas, such as the fertiliser industry, are curtailing production, threatening various supply chains. Professor Michael Bradshaw from Warwick Business School explains.

Now is the time to act, not only to mitigate against irreversible damage to the planet, but also look at the practicalities of the way we live in order to protect the most vulnerable, explains Dr Raquel Nunes, a public health expert specialising in the effect of heatwaves.

Professor David Greenwood from WMG, University of Warwick, looks ahead to COP26, the ban on sales of petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles by 2030 and considers how the UK could and should become a global leader in the decarbonisation of transport.

The electric vehicle revolution is speeding up, but it can only go so far without the necessary infrastructure & technology. How is research improving the range, rechargeability & affordability of electric vehicles?

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how manufacturing supply chains are critical to the process of delivering products and services essential to life. Whilst a series of ‘lifeboat’ projects are needed to protect manufacturing capability in the short term, Professor Janet Godsell, from WMG, University of Warwick says now is the time for UK manufacturing supply chains to pivot and build capability for the future.

Life in lockdown may not last forever but Bill Gates is probably right in saying we will not return to normal until a vaccine has been rolled out worldwide. This could be many months, if not years away. In the meantime, we provide supportive treatment to the most severely affected patients and look into our arsenal of existing drugs to treat COVID-19, explains Dr Ayfer Ali from WBS.

New research suggests that using an app to track people’s movements and identify and isolate anyone who has come into contact with an infected person could be critical in avoiding or leaving lockdown, writes Professor Eivor Oborn from WBS.

Consider please, the supercapacitor. To the uninitiated it sounds almost like it should be featured in a comic or a piece of kit in a 1960s space adventure series. But these devices are not imaginary – they exist and may actually be the key to clean energy for future transport systems across the world.

When the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 it sent significant numbers of businesses to the wall. Fast forward 19 years, Professor John Colley looks at what might happen following the similar “app” boom.