I am an Associate Professor in Clean Energy Transitions, with working spanning catalysis, nanomaterials design, clean energy and environmental chemistry.

My research bridges industry, academia, and policy to create next-generation nanomaterials and sustainable processes for clean chemical and energy generation, directly addressing UK NetZero targets. Spanning three main themes: (1) Nanomaterial design and advanced characterisation, (2) Clean chemical technologies and energy solutions, and (3) Sustainable waste utilisation, advancing circular economy concepts. Current key projects are:

[1] Nature-inspired chemical production: Integrating advanced experimental and modelling techniques to unlock new biochemical pathways and process technologies to efficiently convert biomass and waste into high-value platform chemicals and biofuels. Combining low-energy, circular manufacturing processes, it delivers scalable alternatives to fossil fuel-based methods. Supported by EPSRC (EP/K014749/1), Innovate UK (PROWASTE/Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing – Grand Challenge), RSC, PhD funding, and industry partners, this work positions bio-based chemical production as a cornerstone for NetZero, enabling scalable and market-ready, circular chemical manufacturing.

[2] Marine decarbonisation through electrification: Developing bi-directional vessel-to-grid (V2G) systems, this research transforms electric vessel fleets into "power bunkers" for marina/port energy management, grid stabilisation, and rapid vessel charging. Addressing challenges in battery performance, degradation phenomena, and lifespan, it explores region-specific V2G standardisation, factoring environmental, legal, and commercial considerations across UK and Canadian energy markets. Key collaborations with national and international partners, including EDF Energy, the Department for Transport (DfT), Bluegrid, AquasuperPower, National Grid, RAD Propulsion, and RS Electric, ensure a broad impact. Building on a successful feasibility project, this initiative delivers a transformative blueprint for sustainable maritime energy management. Outcomes include battery life extension, carbon emissions reductions, revenue generation through grid services, and NetZero advancements.

[3] NHS decarbonisation and enhanced sustainability: Developing new technologies, nanomaterials and processes to enhance air and water quality in NHS settings, through selective anaesthetic drug capture and re-use (air and waterborne). 

Through integrated academia-industry collaboration and outreach, my work delivers scalable solutions for green energy and clean chemical production, driving innovation, cultivating green skills, and advancing globally impactful, sustainable energy systems in the maritime and chemical sectors. 

Research interests:

• Functionalisation and characterisation of hierarchical nanomaterials
• Biomass/Seaweed conversion and "drop in" fuel synthesis
• Tracking and analysing pollutant degradation pathways in the environment (PFAS, Micro/nanoplastics, pharmaceuticals, tire particles)
• Electric vehicle battery deployment and material recycling
• Plastic recycling and circular economy
• Green chemistry for sustainable medicines manufacturing
• Decarbonisation of the marine and aviation sectors (Sustainable fuel synthesis, electrification, alternate fuels and associated policy/regulation)

Grants contracts:

Innovate UK Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing - Grand Challenge (2025-2028), "Circularity and sustainability in volatile anaesthetics," L. J. Durndell (PI), £3.6M

Innovate UK - Knowledge Transfer Partnership (2025-2028), "The processing and recycling of contaminated marine dredged materials" L. J. Durndell (Co-I), £180,949

Innovate UK - Canada-UK Ocean Collaborative R&D (2024-2025), " CanUK vessel-to-grid (CANUK)" L. J. Durndell (PI), £658,349

Innovate UK Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 4 - Demonstrator (2024-2025), "Virtual Bunkering for Electric Vessels (VBEV2)" L. J. Durndell (PI), £992,840 

Innovate UK - Flexible, agile, scalable and sustainable medicines manufacturing (2024-2026), "Optimise and build processing capability for remanufacturing of waste volatile anaesthetics (PROWASTE)" L. J. Durndell (PI), £710,164 

Innovate UK Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 - Feasibility (2023) "Virtual Bunkering for Electric Vessels (VBEV)" L. J. Durndell (PI), £315,630

NERC Highlight Topics (2020-2024), "Biodegradable Bioplastics - Assessing Environmental Risk (BIO-PLASTIC-RISK)," R. Thompson (PI), L. J. Durndell (Co-I), £1,082,438

NERC (2019-2022), "Current and Future Effects of Microplastics on Marine Shelf Ecosystems (MINIMISE)," R. Thompson (PI), L. J. Durndell (Co-I), £723,951

RSC Researcher Mobility Grant (M19-1518 - 2020-1), L. J. Durndell (PI), £5,000

RSC Research Fund Grant (R19-2791 - 2020-1), L. J. Durndell (PI), £4,000 

Links:

• Google scholar profile
• Researchgate profile

PhD Supervisor
Teaching on the following modules:

• CHM1011 - Practice of Chemistry 
• CHM1014 - Solving Chemical Problems
• CHM1017 - Inorganic Chemistry 
• CHM2011 - Inorganic Chemistry
• CHM2014 - Analytical Chemistry 1
• CHM2016 - Research Skills
• CHM3014 - Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
• CHM3018/9 - Chemistry Project

• Analytical chemistry (Specifically Thermal adsorption-desorption phenomena, gas adsorption (N₂/CO₂), X-ray crystallography, X-ray spectroscopy, chromatography and electron microscopy)
• Catalysis
• Nanomaterials
• Inorganic chemistry (d- and f-block theory)
• Physical chemistry (Kinetics, electronic structure, bonding, electronic excitation-relaxation phenomena, photonics, nuclear energy - phenomena, processes and materials)