This proposal aims to further interdisciplinary research collaborations around the question of how to develop whole systems energy waste pathways in relation to solar plus storage energy systems.
Through a 6 month networking process built around 3 workshops in the UK, India and Sub-Saharan Africa, and the collaborative production of interdisciplinary working papers, this project will bring together relevant UK research communities around battery development, environmental impact of energy materials and the governance of political economies of waste and recycling – and connect these to existing solar and battery recycling economies and waste infrastructures in India and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Although interdisciplinary approaches are increasingly called for by major research funders, the relatively short period between call announcement and deadline for submitting applications on large research proposals puts early career researchers at a disadvantage, as developing interdisciplinary research proposals is a time consuming process, particularly across borders. Emphasis on female and early career involvement will enable in particular new voices to begin collaborating on the forming of future research consortia prior to calls being made.
Britta Turner
Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology, Durham University
britta.turner@durham.ac.uk
Durham University
University of Kota, India
Strathmore University, Kenya