FEIT has developed a proposal for a Centre of Recovered Resources (CORR) – a platform to promote industry-led research, with the overarching objective of developing upcycling approaches to decommissioned energy and mining infrastructure, while taking economic, environmental and social sustainability into account.

The Centre will bring together leading Australian research institutions with energy and mining industries. It will allow researchers to do R&D and participate in high-quality research, while adhering to ethical norms of practice.

CORR made its public debut with a planning meeting in early December 2022, attended by FEIT researchers and industry representatives, as well as FEIT Dean Professor Mark Cassidy and Head of Department of Infrastructure Engineering, Professor Andrew Western.

CORR will collaborate with industry and research institutions to drive technological change in Australia’s energy and mining industries. The Centre intends to provide high-quality, research-led training to its partners, researchers and PhD students.

Plans are well progressed for an application for funding through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Project scheme this year. Professor Priyan Mendis (Department of Infrastructure Engineering) and Hon Associate Professor Fatah Mostamandi will be the Directors of CoRR.

Dr Massoud Sofi from FEIT’s Department of Infrastructure Engineering will be CORR’s Research Director. Dr Sofi is the Chief Investigator of four CRC-P Projects and a CI for the ARC’s Industrial Transformation Research Project (Transformation of Reclaimed Waste Resources to Engineered Materials and Solutions for a Circular Economy (TREMS)).

Dr Sofi said the initiative aims to facilitate the recycling and decommissioning of offshore infrastructures such as offshore platforms and subsea pipelines.

“CORR will enable academia and industry to collaborate and address decommissioning and upcycling infrastructure-related issues more efficiently. The transition to renewable energy has challenges for this sector, which can be addressed if we work collaboratively,” Dr Sofi said.

CORR will provide opportunities for researchers and industry collaborators to learn from global markets and specialists, and opportunities to participate in training activities such as workshops, seminars and on-the-job training, in addition to inventing new materials, products and processes.

The University of Melbourne FEIT Staff Newsletter 09 Mar 2023