The SPF Clean Air Programme Annual Conference brought together partners and researchers from across Wave 1 and 2 Clean Air Programme investments to focus on new evidence and solutions emerging from the wide range of high-quality research and to provide information on outputs. The conference aimed to develop an understanding of the completeness of The Clean Air Programme, to provide an opportunity to network across all the projects involved in the Clean Air Programme and with Clean Air stakeholders, and to enable a better public understanding of the implications of air quality.

Representatives from organisations outside the SPF Clean Air Programme were invited to participate with the possibility of using the occasion to involve others interested in cleaning up the air, outdoors and indoors, for better health. To enable a better public understanding of the implications of air quality, representatives from the interested community organisations were invited to take part to ensure knowledge exchange of outputs and ongoing clean air research to guarantee continued public engagement.

The conference focused on a main theme: The future of indoor / outdoor air pollution

SPF investments presented their research, findings and planned impacts in the context of future indoor and outdoor air pollution and these were specifically framed by the following sub-themes:

  • Regulation and Future Generations – Thinking of the future of indoor/outdoor air pollution, how might regulation be used to ensure better air quality for future generations?
  • Climate change co-benefits – Thinking of achieving net zero and cleaning up the air we breathe, how might your research help identify and deliver co-benefits?
  • Hyperlocal AP monitoring and information for the public – Recognising the importance of providing information to the public and other key stakeholders, how could your research be harnessed towards behaviours that are directed towards improving human health?

The conference also had a number of cross-cutting themes:

  • Inequalities
  • The right to breathe clean air
  • Generating/Delivering positive narratives

Click here for the SPF Annual Conference 2022 Programme.

We were delighted to be joined each day by our key note speakers:

Day 1 – Dr Maria Neira, Director – Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, World Health Organisation

Day 2 – Professor Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Director – Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative, and Director of the Air pollution and Urban Environment Programme. ISGLOBAL

Day 3 – Dr Iq Mead, Head of the Air Quality Measurement, Imperial College London

Please see below the recordings from each day.

Day 1 – 5th April 2022

The Martin Williams Memorial Lecture, Dr Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, World Health Organisation

CodiKoat: Harnessing Nanoparticle array technology for the removal of domestic atmospheric pollutants

Codikoat is developing a novel filter technology (Codivent) designed to remove small particulates (PM2.5), SO2 and NOx from the domestic atmosphere.

See CodiKoat for more information.

BioAirNet: Indoor/Outdoor Bioaerosols Interface and Relationships Network

BioAirNet is taking a transdisciplinary approach to identify and inform the future directions for tackling the societal challenge of characterising the emission dynamics, exposure profiles and health impacts to particulate matter of biological origins (BioPM).

See BioAirNet for more information.

IAQ-EMS: Indoor Air Quality – Emissions and Modelling System

IAQ-EMS aims to develop and deliver ambitious software and data tools in the form of a progressive suite of open access resources which advances the UK’s capacity for indoor air quality modelling for estimation of emissions and exposure.

See IAQ-EMS for more information.

Kilometre scale air quality model for the UK

Forecasts of pollution levels are often made using a computer model. We are investigating how models that use finer resolution can improve our forecasts and estimates of pollution exposure, by capturing more detail and smaller spatial features.

See Kilometre Scale Air Quality Model for UK for more information.

INGENIOUS: UnderstandING the sourcEs, traNsformations and fates of IndOor air pollUtantS

We are aiming to understand the sources, transformations and fates of indoor air pollutants, working at the intersection between pollutant measurements, health and occupant behaviour.

See INGENIOUS for more information.

Smarter Home Indoor Air Quality Monitoring System

We plan to develop an ultrasensitive home-based IAQ monitoring system that can detect adverse pollution levels, visualise air pollutants in an engaging way to raise awareness, and provide actionable suggestions to help people improve IAQ.

See Smarter Home Indoor Air Quality Monitoring System for more information.

HEICCAM: The health and equity impacts of climate change mitigation measures on indoor and outdoor pollution exposure.

The aim of HEICCAM is to strengthen evidence to optimise the health and equity impacts of changes in air pollution at the indoor/outdoor interface as we transition to a low carbon future.

See HEICCAM for more information.

FamilyAIR : Personalised, Actionable Air Quality Monitoring for the Entire Family

While we spend more the 90% of our time indoors we have a general lack of understanding of the factors that affect indoor our air quality. The aim of the FamilyAIR project is to develop a human-centred air quality monitoring system that engages and educates household members, providing tailored, actionable advice that promotes positive behaviour change

See FamilyAIR for more information.

DUKEMS: Developing a UK Community Emission Modelling System

DUKEMS delivers a framework and operational tools designed to support the atmospheric modelling community by providing a flexible, user-friendly system to deliver emission input data for modelling in a transparent, traceable and reproducible manner.

See DUKEMS for more information.

DREaM: Component-Specific Air pollutant Drivers of Disease Risk in Early to Midlife: a pathway approach

We are examining whether long term air pollution exposures in children and adults leave marks in DNA that can be employed as biomarkers of exposure to different pollutants.

See DREaM for more information.

AutoAlign

AutoAlign’s real time alignment measurement system encourages vehicle owners to proactively maintain correct wheel alignment and consequentially to reduce tyre and particulate emissions. The solution is designed for all types of vehicles equipped with tyres. No longer will vehicles need to go to a garage to have their alignment checked and no longer should vehicles be out of alignment for extended time periods

See AutoAlign for more information.

CAGE: Clean Air Gas Engine

OakTec develops world leading gas, biogas and hydrogen engines for the off highway sector. In the CAGE project we designed, developed and with HS2 trialled a world leading clean power solution for the construction sector, combining a new ultra low emission 6kW bioLPG generator with a solar-battery hybrid power system in a site welfare unit. This reduces CO2 emissions by 70-95% compared to diesel subsystems with similar benefits to air quality through reduction in health harming emissions. Since the project has finished a new hydrogen version of the hybrid system has been developed for trial on Orkney with zero emissions.  A further output of CAGE was a new site generator using OakTec’s development of a 30 kW bioLPG JLR automotive engine to provide higher power outputs for stand-alone site power.  CAGE Technologies Ltd is a new business established to commercialise these technologies.

See CAGE for more information.

Day 2 – 6th April 2022

Keynote – Urban and Transport Planning Pathways to Carbon Neutral Liveable and Healthy Cities, Professor Mark Nieuwenhuijsen – Director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative, and Director of the Air Pollution and Urban Environment Programme, ISGLOBAL

HIP-Tox – Hazard Identification Platform to Assess the Health Impacts from Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollutant Exposures, through Mechanistic Toxicology

We will provide an experimental platform for hazard ranking of source-specific pollutants with a focus on neurodegenerative disease

See A New Pollutant Hazard Platform for more information.

ANTICIPATE – Actively anticipating the unintended consequences on air quality of future public policies

ANTICIPATE aims to bring together policy analysts and policy makers from UK central government, devolved administrations and local and regional authorities, stakeholders from business and civil society organisations, and academics and researchers to explore forthcoming policy initiatives for their consequences (intended or unintended, positive or negative) on air quality.

See ANTICIPATE for more information.

Clean Air Metrology

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is working to provide metrology support across the Clean Air programme, aiming to improve the interaction and understanding of information flow between disciplines, and providing end users with the assurance they need in the validity of conclusions.

See NPL for more information.

Clean Air Solutions for Vulnerable Groups

CleanAir4V is an interdisciplinary network which aims to identify, develop and evaluate indoor air pollution solutions for two identified vulnerable groups (Children and those with pre-existing medical conditions). 

See CleanAir4V for more information.

Cool Run

Hubl’s solution to multi-temperature, last-mile delivery.

CoolRun Pods are a smart, secure and affordable means of moving temperature-sensitive goods without on-vehicle refrigeration. The insulated pods reduce pollution, improve utilisation and make chilled/frozen food distribution practical on ambient EV’s.

See Cool Run for more information.

DIMEX-UK – Data Integration Model for Exposures

The aim of this project is to estimate personal exposures of air pollution using agent based models allowing exposure profiles of ‘virtual individuals’ to be created, and for inequalities in exposures between different population groups to be identified.

See DIMEX for more information.

MAQS-Health – A Multi-Model Air Quality System for Health Research

MAQS-Health has developed a coupled air quality modelling system accounting for physical and chemical processes at all relevant temporal and spatial scales; its predictions enable exposure and impact modelling from national to street-scale.

See MAQS-Health for more information.

Platform technology for the removal of critically underserved air pollutants in homes

Immaterial is developing novel materials that efficiently remove targeted pollutants. This project will rapidly iterate these materials and build prototypes for independent testing by leading academics at the University of York.

See Platform technology for the removal of critically underserved air pollutants in homes for more information.

TRANSITION Clean Air Network

TRANSITION is an interdisciplinary network (spanning nine universities, UKHSA and over 20 public, private and not-for-profit partner organisations) working together to optimise the air quality and health benefits of UK land-transport decarbonisation.

See TRANSITION for more information.

RESPIRE: Relating Environment-use Scenarios in Pregnancy/Infanthood and Resulting airborne material Exposures to child health outcomes

Pregnant women have a unique position in our efforts to mitigate the vulnerability of children to the ill-effects of air pollution. We will address knowledge gaps related to patterns and consequences of airborne exposures during pregnancy. The core tenet is to elaborate how pregnant women interact with and respond to airborne materials to inform guidelines, policies and behaviours to truly engender longterm health benefits.

See RESPIRE for more information.

Day 3 – 7th April 2022

Keynote – Breathe London: Public Facing Hyperlocal Monitoring, Dr Iq Mead – Head of Air Quality Measurement, Environmental Research Group, Imperial College London

Wellhome

Children growing up today represent an ‘indoor child generation’.  Working in partnership with local community, the WellHome consortia is examining the quality of air inside and outside homes with an asthmatic child selected from across the social spectrum.

Please see Air Pollutants and Child Asthma for more information.

APEx: An Air Pollution Exposure model to integrate protection of vulnerable groups into the UK Clean Air Programme

While human exposure to air pollution is typically assessed in terms of outdoor concentrations, in reality, we are all exposed differently depending on our own behaviour, our home environment and how we travel around our cities. The APEx model will combine three existing models to capture variations in personal exposure to air pollution, including indoor and outdoor pollution sources and travelling between. This model will allow us to assess how to better protect vulnerable communities and individuals over and above improvements in outdoor air quality.

See APEx for more information.

Clean Air Framework

The Clean Air Framework will provide an online hub for air quality and health data and tools. Future users are being involved in the development from the beginning to ensure we provide relevant resources for our diverse group of users.

See Clean Air Framework for more information.

Breathing City: Future Urban Ventilation Network

The Future Urban Ventilation Network are developing a framework to enable an integrated health-evidenced approach to urban building design and technology innovation. We consider indoor-outdoor flows in the context of air quality challenges together with their impacts on thermal comfort, noise and energy use.

See Breathing City for more information.

GAP: Indoor & outdoor air quality outreach

The project will design and demonstrate the use of a suite of up-to-date, impactful (accessible) science-based materials with and for (i) children and young people to help them better understand and act on air pollution and (ii) groups of adults with different needs and circumstances in respect to air pollution knowledge.

See Indoor & Outdoor Air Quality Research for more information.

Measure, inform, nudge: an integrated, human-centric air quality measurement and visualisation system

The project will develop and pilot an innovative solution to monitor, visualise and reduce the health impacts of domestic indoor air pollution. The solution will collect and analyse data on key air quality parameters and provide actionable recommendations to households to mitigate the health impacts from exposure to pollutants.

See Measure, Inform, Nudge for more information.

OSCA

The Integrated Research Observation System for Clean Air (OSCA) is a multidisciplinary research project, combining atmospheric observations, laboratory studies, data processing development and integrated scientific synthesis to deliver improved understanding of urban air pollution in the UK, and enable delivery of key objectives of the Clean Air: Analysis and Solutions Programme.

See OSCA for more information.

QUANT

QUANT is enabling the use of low-cost sensors for UK clean air challenges through a real-world assessment of low-cost sensor devices, and the development of novel data methods to enhance the usefulness of sensors and sensor networks.

See QUANT for more information.

TAPAS

TAPAS is concerned with air pollution is schools and the interaction between indoor and outdoor pollution. Through four focus areas we are looking at: 1 the nature and scale of the problem; 2 the range of possible solutions; 3 their priority; 4 dissemination of information to the relevant communities

See TAPAS for more information.

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