Humanity faces critical global challenges in supplying clean energy, food, medicines and materials for a population forecast to reach 10 billion by 2050. Chemical synthesis will play a central role in addressing these challenges, as organic molecules are the fundamental building blocks of drugs, agrochemicals, and materials. However, the synthesis of most chemicals remains energy intensive, requiring fossil fuel feedstocks and endangered metal catalysts, and produces huge levels of waste - far from what is needed for a net-zero future. The essential transition to a circular chemistry economy will materialise only with a total re-think of organic synthesis: a 'Chemical Revolution' is urgently needed, for which Industry users will require a 'next generation' of suitably trained graduates. Without such change, the chemical industry will not be able to sustain the necessary pace of innovation in new chemical technologies, in the face of rapidly changing chemical regulation and policy, thus rendering this CDT crucial for the future of UK PLC. The Oxford-York ESPRC CDT in Chemical Synthesis for a Healthy Planet will deliver world-leading, ground-breaking training to a next generation of synthetic chemists, developing a sustainable, innovative chemistry culture that equips them to address major emerging and future global challenges in Human Health, Energy and Materials, and Food Security. In doing so, we meet a critical User Need, by supplying the workforce that is essential to create the innovative solutions UK chemical industries urgently require. Our overarching objective is to train students to supersede current practices for the synthesis of functional organic molecules by developing sustainable, field-advancing synthetic pathways to the complex targets needed in drug discovery, agrochemistry, and materials development. Our student cohorts will work together in a training period at both Oxford and York, before engaging with industry co-supervised projects in four research fields that develop innovative, sustainable transformations and synthetic strategies, and apply them in pharma, agro and materials chemistry contexts. With around a third of projects supervised jointly at Oxford and York, we will ensure a strong cross-institute connection; whole programme meetings and research field seminars will enable students across multiple cohorts to contribute to and elevate each others' science. Our association with the Eur1.25bn Center for the Transformation of Chemistry brings a unique connection for our students to a major initiative that is aiming to revolutionise chemical synthesis, as well its >140 chemical organisations across Europe. Our partnership with >10 SMEs and their Entrepreneurs-in-Residence will develop entrepreneurial skills and ensure students are exposed to the cutting-edge of chemical innovation in UK PLC. The applications and benefits from the CSHP CDT are many: Primarily, we will develop a UK-wide network of sustainably-minded, innovative chemists ready to meet the urgent User Needs of the UK chemical industry, bolstering this major sector of UK PLC. The scientists graduating from the CSHP CDT, the high-level science they produce, along with the related tools and technologies, will all contribute to the UK's ambitions as a Physical and Mathematical Sciences Powerhouse. We will set new benchmarks for graduate training by ensuring sustainability is embedded and visible in all research and its outputs, as well as influencing and connecting to graduates across the UK through biennial symposia. Our cohorts' work as Sustainability Ambassadors will permeate our exciting discoveries and the message of the future role of synthetic chemistry throughout society - from school to the general public. Above all, we believe this rigorous and inspirational programme is utterly essential if the UK is to remain globally competitive in the rapidly evolving chemistry landscape.

To secure a continued supply of safe, tasty, affordable and functional/healthy proteins while supporting Net Zero goals and future-proofing UK food security, a phased-transition towards low-emission alternative proteins (APs) with a reduced reliance on animal agriculture is imperative. However, population-level access to and acceptance of APs is hindered by a highly complex marketplace challenged by taste, cost, health and safety concerns for consumers, and the fear of diminished livelihoods by farmers. Furthermore, complex regulatory pathways and limited access to affordable and accessible scale-up infrastructure impose challenges for industry and SMEs in particular. Synergistic bridging of the UK's trailblazing science and innovation strengths in AP with manufacturing power is key to realising the UK's ambitious growth potential in AP of £6.8B annually and could create 25,000 jobs across multiple sectors. The National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC), a cohesive pan-UK centre, will revolutionise the UK's agri-food sector by harnessing our world-leading science base through a co-created AP strategy across the Discovery?Innovation?Commercialisation pipeline to support the transition to a sustainable, high growth, blended protein bioeconomy using a consumer-driven approach, thereby changing the economics for farmers and other stakeholders throughout the supply chain. Built on four interdisciplinary knowledge pillars, PRODUCE, PROCESS, PERFORM and PEOPLE covering the entire value chain of AP, we will enable an efficacious and safe translation of new transformative technologies unlocking the benefits of APs. Partnering with global industry, regulators, investors, academic partners and policymakers, and engaging in an open dialogue with UK citizens, NAPIC will produce a clear roadmap for the development of a National Protein Strategy for the UK. NAPIC will enable us to PRODUCE tasty, nutritious, safe, and affordable AP foods and feedstocks necessary to safeguard present and future generations, while reducing concerns about ultra-processed foods and assisting a just-transition for producers. Our PROCESS Pillar will catalyse bioprocessing at scale, mainstreaming cultivated meat and precision fermentation, and diversify AP sources across the terrestrial and aquatic kingdoms of life, delivering economies of scale. Delivering a just-transition to an AP-rich future, we will ensure AP PERFORM, both pre-consumption, and post-consumption, safeguarding public health. Finally, NAPIC is all about PEOPLE, guiding a consumers' dietary transition, and identifying new business opportunities for farmers, future-proofing the UK's protein supply against reliance on imports. Working with UK industry, the third sector and academia, NAPIC will create a National Knowledge base for AP addressing the unmet scientific, commercial, technical and regulatory needs of the sector, develop new tools and standards for product quality and safety and simplify knowledge transfer by catalysing collaboration. NAPIC will ease access to existing innovation facilities and hubs, accelerating industrial adoption underpinned by informed regulatory pathways. We will develop the future leaders of this rapidly evolving sector with bespoke technical, entrepreneurial, regulatory and policy training, and promote knowledge exchange through our unrivalled international network of partners across multiple continents including Protein Industries Canada and the UK-Irish Co-Centre, SUREFOOD. NAPIC will provide a robust and sustainable platform of open innovation and responsible data exchange that mitigates risks associated with this emerging sector and addresses concerns of consumers and producers. Our vision is to make "alternative proteins mainstream for a sustainable planet" and our ambition is to deliver a world-leading innovation and knowledge centre to put the UK at the forefront of the fights for population health equity and against climate change.