Recent research suggests that the effects of climate change are already tangible, making the requirement for net zero more pressing than ever. Part of the solution for net zero will be geo-energy technologies in the North Sea, including offshore wind, blue and green hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage. These new technologies will interact with each other in the potentially-sensitive subsurface, seabed and water column. The project will assess the environmental sustainability of these technologies combined, for selected test areas of the UK offshore, and will develop solutions to make sure that the technology and infrastructure of the offshore energy transition, works well, is efficient, and does not harm the environment. Work package 1 focuses on the security and viability of industrial scale subsurface offshore hydrogen storage and carbon dioxide storage and investigates how the two might interact, and how best to make decisions about when to use storage space for hydrogen, and when for carbon dioxide. Work package 2 focuses on the characteristics of the sea bed and water column above the storage sites in the geology, and the effects of gas or fluid release from geological storage on the environment, and the environmental interactions of other offshore energy infrastructure like windfarms and cables. Work package 3 will focus on the social implications of an offshore energy transition, evaluating the risks and benefits of different technological scenarios to ecosystem services (the natural benefits that we get from the ocean, like fisheries), and it will look for net benefits where combinations of technologies provide extra environmental or efficiency improvements. Work package 4 will work with other WPs to ensure a fully integrated project, bringing together outputs from each work package into a usable form to support the decisions that stakeholders like the Oil and Gas Authority, Crown Estate, National Grid, and operators like Equinor, might make in the future.

To achieve global excellence in research and innovation, the research workforce must bring a diversity of experiences, expertise and ideas which necessitates the change of the cultures and structures which exclude marginalised researchers in order to meet UKRI's UK-wide talent programme. Our vision for the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Caucus (EDICa) is to advance the creation of inclusive research cultures enabling diverse researchers to access and thrive in careers across the research and innovation (R&I) systems. EDICa will advance understanding of the lived experiences of marginalized researchers, creating the hope and possibility of a research career for those traditionally excluded while imagining a different research world which embeds equity. Working across three workstreams: 1. the career and life cycle, 2. the research process and 3 the organisation of work, EDICa will undertake and lead a programme of research to advance EDI across the R&I systems. EDICa will synthesise evidence to identify gaps in existing understanding and EDI practice and areas in need of urgent research. We will also commission research via a flexible fund which will address gaps identified in the evidence reviews and conduct our own programme of research to advance EDI literacy, enabling workplaces and the inclusion of researchers living with menstrual disorders. In addition, EDICa will commission research projects across the three workstreams through the management of a flexible fund, with applications from those with lived experience of marginalisation and early career researchers particularly welcomed. Co-design with marginalised researchers and wider key stakeholders is at the heart of all of EDICa's activities. By working with stakeholder engagement groups, EDICa will create communities of practice who will not only shape the work of EDICa (including dissemination) but will also create a legacy of increased EDI literacy and capabilities across the R&I systems. EDICa will co-design, with key stakeholders, an online tool of training materials, evidence bases, best practice, and interactive multimedia. This tool, Equity in Research and Innovation Careers (ERICa) will be co-designed iteratively throughout the three year funding period, culminating in a formal launch in 2025.