UK cosmetics company co-funds tidal energy project near its head office

LUSH Cosmetics, a UK-based cosmetics-sustainability leader, has partnered with Bournemouth University to co-fund a three-year PhD studentship aimed at exploring the development of a new tidal energy station in Poole Harbor, UK.

If successful, the development of a 150 kWh tidal energy station in Poole Harbor would power operations at LUSH Cosmetic’s head office.

The project was initiated by Adam Goswell, head of R&D and tech innovation at LUSH. According to Products of Change (POC), the cosmetics brand’s team focuses on aligning the company’s environmental stance with energy consumption, particularly for technology. 

“A lot of the challenges we take on relate to our consumption of energy, especially when it comes to technology,” noted Goswell. “Whether that’s screens or devices in our stores, or the vast amount of global cloud computing we use.”

The proximity of LUSH’s offices and manufacturing units to Poole Harbor presents an opportunity to utilize tidal power for the infrastructure.

“We spend a lot of time in and around the harbour, and frequently on it mostly enjoying birding tours with Birds of Poole Harbour,” added Goswell. “We’ve always wondered what the potential would be if we could harness the tidal power in the harbour to power – or offset – some of the energy we use across our infrastructure.”

LUSH was connected to Bournemouth University through a mutual contact, leading to the creation of the PhD studentship, which will start in January 2025. 

The successful candidate will receive annual funding of £18,622 (approximately $24,600) and will be tasked with identifying a suitable site within the harbor, securing support and permissions from local authorities, and delivering a scalable technological solution that complements the natural environment and can be replicated at additional sites.

‘We trust the best candidate will be selected by the university and we’re of course excited to get started with the project in early 2025,” said Goswell.

The selected candidate will begin work on the project in early 2025, with the closing date for applications being September 27, 2024. Applications for the PhD studentship can be submitted through Bournemouth University.

According to recent research by Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and Imperial College London (ICL), tidal energy has the potential to provide 11.5 GW to the UK energy system, 11% of the UK’s electricity demand, and tidal stream projects could contribute up to £17 billion to the UK economy by 2050.