We realised from the outset that this summer would only be the beginning for our ambitious and important project. The design, creation and implementation of our bioreactor pods was only ever going to be a drawn-out process, which could take years, and we knew that. We therefore started looking far ahead early on, undertaking in-depth and forward-thinking integrated human practices work. This took two forms...

The first was a project design and implementation plan for our project moving forwards. This was based on a structured analysis of four possible future scenarios, constructed from detailed research and meetings with stakeholders, to ensure the plan’s real-world utility and flexibility. The plan identifies different directions and strategies for research, design and implementation to take depending on which future circumstances materialise. Please have a look at our Future Scenarios Analysis and our design and implementation plan below, or download it as a PDF.

Our second integrated human practices approach was to develop a design plan for creating a fuel cell to be incorporated into our bioreactor pod. This was inspired by air pollution expert Dr Chatterton’s concerns regarding the potential release of NOx back into the environment, for example if our pods’ ammonia byproduct is used in fertilisers. The fuel cell will avoid this by converting the ammonia at source into the harmless products of electricity, nitrogen gas and water. Our idea to design a fuel cell was also inspired by the emphasis placed by politicians such as Councillor Fi Hance on the improved public acceptance that would result from the pods being interactive and providing a useful public service. Using the electricity generated from a built-in fuel cell, our pods could offer free mobile charging points or help to light streets at night. Alternatively, the electricity generated could be used to improve our bioreactors’ efficiencies.

Read more about plans for our microbial bioreactor on our Description and Design pages.