Greentribos
The world is warming and the weather is becoming increasingly unstable and extreme, and whether we like it or not, the overwhelming scientific consensus is that mankind’s use of fossil fuels is a key component in this climate change. Friction, wear and lubrication are major players in the consumption of energy, and so reducing friction and wear and using green lubrication is the most direct route to reducing energy consumption and pollution and so contributing to a better environment for us all. GreenTRIBOS takes up this very important challenge by developing innovative, but sustainable and green, technologies to decrease both friction and wear and improve lubrication. The 12 early-stage researchers (ESRs) will be working in three science-based work packages to develop integrative green concepts, their functional mechanisms, and lifecycle analyses to verify the sustainability, as well as quantifying the tribological performance to reduce energy consumption, resource depletion and polluting emissions. In the overarching integrative work package, the ESRs will assimilate these results into a coherent set of generic, green-tribology concepts and design rules – that will be made freely available to all – with a measurable impact on sustainability over the whole lifecycle of the system. All 12 ESRs will use complementary techniques, tools, models and approaches supported by their supervisors, research groups and non-academic mentors throughout their individual PhD-specific ESR project plans. By training the ESRs in scientific, technical and transferrable skills, they will become the next generation of high-potential scientists and engineers to instigate the step change that is required for a sustainable engineering future to serve the needs of a sustainable 21st century Europe.