Research

Research Vision: The L.I.G.H.T. Laboratory (Cao Group)

The Laboratory for Integrated Green Harvesting & Transport (Cao Group) is dedicated to addressing the global grand challenges in climate and sustainability by re-engineering how we capture, transport, and convert energy at the molecular and systemic scales. Our vision is to pioneer the next generation of sustainable mechanical, biological, and chemical systems by mastering the precision control of energy carriers, such as photons, phonons, and electrons, at multiple scales.

Core Scientific Philosophy

At the heart of our research is the belief that the transition to net-zero requires more than incremental improvements; it demands the intensification of energy processes. By leveraging expertise in optofluidics, photonics, and interfacial transport, we develop multiscale frameworks to optimise the delivery of energy to reaction sites. Our approach integrates:

• Precision Carrier Transport: Investigating the fundamental physics of how light (photons), heat (phonons), and charge (electrons) interact within engineered materials to minimise losses and maximise conversion efficiency.
• Multiscale Design & Optimisation: Utilising artificial intelligence and machine learning to accelerate the discovery of materials and the design of reactors, bridging the gap from nanoscopic transport phenomena to giga-scale industrial systems.

Strategic Impact Areas

While our fundamental work is platform-agnostic, we focus our applications on the "hard-to-abate" sectors where traditional electrification falls short:

• Carbon Management: Developing advanced technologies for carbon capture, atmospheric removal, and the subsequent conversion of CO₂ into value-added chemicals and fuels.
• Transport Decarbonisation: Engineering high-energy-density sustainable fuels specifically tailored for the demanding requirements of maritime shipping, aviation, and heavy-duty trucking.
• Solar Energy & Thermal Storage: Advancing solar-driven harvesting systems and long-duration thermal energy storage to provide a continuous, renewable foundation for industrial processes.

By integrating the Grantham Institute’s focus on climate policy with the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s technical rigour, the L.I.G.H.T. laboratory (Cao Group) strives to transform fundamental transport science into scalable, global solutions for a sustainable future.