ECO-I North West - Opening up the expertise, equipment and resource of the region’s leading universities

Company Profile Darwen Terracotta are specialist in architectural terracotta and faience and work all over the world on both restoration and new builds. Through a combination of the latest modelling, casting, drying and kiln firing technologies and an experienced team, they are able to match, design and produce terracotta of the highest quality. The Project The project will explore practices and technological solutions to reduce the carbon impacts within the ceramic manufacturing sector. The main area of research will concentrate on maximising energy efficiency through the heat recovery and waste heat utilisation. The main source of waste heat is from their firing kilns and research will look at other heating processes that could potentially benefit from this heat. The research will investigate the carbon footprint and energy use associated with the company’s current processes and practises. The outcome from the project will assist the business to identify and prioritise the key areas in order to reduce their carbon footprint and eventually looking towards becoming carbon neutral Matthew Elcoate Matthew graduated from Leeds University in 2020 with a master’s degree in Energy and Environment, having previously worked as a sustainability analyst at a food production company. He is committed to developing emissions-reducing solutions to businesses within energy- intensive sectors with an aim of providing achievable pathways to becoming carbon neutral. Academic Supervisors Professor Karl Williams Dr Matthew Stables Darwen Terracotta and Faience Ltd