SCGC-FIRST recognised at the Vice-Chancellor's Awards 2026

We are proud to share that SCGC-FIRST was named Highly Commended in the Collaboration for Innovation Award category at the University of Oxford's Vice-Chancellor's Awards 2026, announced in June 2026. The recognition, led by Professor Dermot O'Hare, celebrates SCGC-FIRST as a leading example of early-stage, research-led innovation delivered through equitable industry collaboration to address the world's most pressing sustainability challenges.

The Vice-Chancellor's Awards celebrate the dedication, ambition and inspirational contributions of Oxford's people and their commitment to excellence in pursuit of the University's core mission. Within the "Impact through Innovation" theme, the Collaboration for Innovation Award recognises research-led innovation delivered with external partners.

About SCGC-FIRST

The SCGC Fund for Innovation and Research in Sustainability and Technology (SCGC-FIRST) was established in early 2022, when Professor O'Hare secured a £1m commitment from SCG Chemicals (SCGC) to create a new innovation fund for Oxford researchers. Launched in September 2023, the scheme was designed to address a clear gap in the research–innovation ecosystem: the absence of sustained support for very early-stage, high-risk research with potential for transformational impact.

Jointly designed by the University of Oxford and SCGC, funded by SCGC and administered by the University, SCGC-FIRST supports challenge-led research aligned with pressing industrial and global sustainability priorities, including energy transition, decarbonisation, circular economy, sustainable materials, and AI-enabled science and manufacturing. Projects are developed and led by Oxford researchers within a shared framework that preserves academic independence and research integrity, and a defining strength of the fund is its multidisciplinary approach, integrating chemistry, materials science, engineering and data-driven disciplines.

Led by Professor O'Hare, the fund operates through a rigorous and transparent assessment process in which applications receive independent peer review from two senior academic assessors and one industrial advisor. Since its launch, three annual funding rounds have been completed, supporting ten projects, involving 15 Oxford research groups and directly funding ten postdoctoral researchers. The portfolio spans low-carbon hydrogen production, carbon utilisation, advanced catalysis, sustainable packaging and plastics upcycling, alongside AI-driven methods to accelerate materials discovery and reduce manufacturing emissions.

SCGC-FIRST has become an exemplar of research-led innovation through equitable industry collaboration, offering a modern, lean engagement model that enables early-stage innovation while maintaining strong governance and academic integrity. The SCGC-FIRST continues into a fourth funding round, scheduled for September 2026, reflecting the mutual trust, shared ambition and long-term commitment at the heart of the collaboration.

Congratulations once again to Professor O'Hare and everyone involved in SCGC-FIRST on this well-deserved recognition.

Full list of winners: Vice-Chancellor's Awards | Oxford University