Meet our partner: Imperial College London. Presentation of their role and expertise in Purple4Life

Imperial College London (ICL)  is one of the UK’s leading research universities (currently ranked 2nd in the QS World University Rankings 2025). Imperial is a science-based university with an international reputation in teaching and research, focusing on science, engineering, medicine, and business.

As a key partner in Purple4Life, Imperial’s Resilience and Sustainability (R&S) Centre, led by Prof. Evina Katsou, brings exclusive research expertise within the three pillars of ‘’Water and Wastewater Technological Innovations’’, ‘’Sustainability and Circularity Performance Measurement and Assessment’’ and ‘’Digitalization and Data Science’’.

The R&S Centre of Imperial is at the forefront of developing sustainability assessment frameworks and methodologies for various industrial and bio-based sectors, which in this case enable the support and public acceptance of Purple4Life processes and product technologies. 

Track record

The R&S Centre is populated with a wealth of more than 25 researchers, with a range of backgrounds including social, computer, and environmental science, as well as chemical and civil engineering. The group has led and participated in more than 40 European research (Horizon Europe) and national industrial projects, combining their expertise in multiple research fields to produce customised decision-support frameworks and tools that enhance process sustainability at operational and strategic scales. Ultimately, the group specialises in guiding technological innovations from low to high TRLs across the European research sector by supporting planning, operation, and replication stages.

Role in Purple4Life

ICL leads Work Package 5 and the critical Environmental and Social Assessment tasks it contains. T5.1 Environmental and Criticality Assessment will apply life cycle-based methodologies to quantify the impact of Purple4Life food and feed products. Furthermore, within the activities of T5.2 Social Assessment, the social impacts of the project’s value chain will be examined through selecting and calculating relevant social impact indicators to show the social benefits of the project compared to equivalent products. Lastly, T6.5 Consumer Acceptance will identify and analyse the drivers and barriers influencing consumer acceptance of Purple4Life products. Using stakeholder workshops and surveys to assess willingness to consume and emotional or conceptual associations, a robust educational and marketing strategy will be developed.

Facilities and capabilities

• Assessment: The team has developed standardised and in-house assessment frameworks and methodologies to conduct comprehensive sustainability (economic, environmental, and social) and circularity analyses, including advanced approaches such as Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD), eco-design, and risk analysis. Within the Purple4Life project, this includes Environmental Life Cycle Assessment and Social Life Cycle Assessment.
  • Example Horizon Europe-funded projects with similar activities include DEEP-Purple, Post Purple, BIORECER, WATER-MINING, HYDROUSA, BL2F, STREAMS, StreamSTEP, RESILEX, SYMBIOREM, R3VOLUTION, SAFELOOP, ELOXYCHEM, BioReCer, SMART-Plant.
• Digital: The team applies advanced AI and ML capabilities to develop data-driven approaches for process monitoring, optimisation, and prediction. Their work integrates backend and frontend development of decision-support systems, combining advanced modelling, multi-criteria analysis, and visual analytics to enhance both operational and strategic decision-making. These tools enable performance optimisation, emissions tracking, and sustainability gains across industrial and environmental systems.
  • Example Horizon Europe-funded projects with related activities include DEEP-Purple (H2020), DigiNTrace (H2020), CSSBoost (Horizon Europe), CRONUS (H2020), and CARDIMED (Horizon Europe).
• Experimental: The Roger Perry Environmental Engineering Laboratory at Imperial College London’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is a state-of-the-art facility within the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering section. Fully equipped for advanced research, it offers an exceptional range of analytical capabilities for chemical, physical, and microbiological analysis of environmental samples. The laboratory features cutting-edge instrumentation, including gas and liquid chromatography, spectroscopic and elemental analysis, and thermal and surface characterisation tools, enabling comprehensive investigation of complex environmental systems. Designed for flexibility and safety, it provides a world-class environment supporting innovative research across sustainability, water, and environmental engineering.

Networks and programs

Prof. Evina Katsou has extensive networks and connections within Water Europe and the European Commission, developed through leadership roles as an Action Group (Co-)Lead of the ICT4Water Cluster, Co-Lead of the Circular Economy VLT of Water Europe, Expert in the EC’s Mission on Water and Ocean Restoration, and Leader of the European Commission’s Water Resilience Strategy. She also holds key leadership positions in international organisations, serving as Lead Author for the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report (Working Group III, Mitigation of Climate Change), member of the ISO 59020 drafting team, and active contributor to two IWA Specialist Groups on resource recovery and decentralised wastewater systems. The group is also engaged in two European COST Actions, including Purple Gain (WG3 Leaders), which recently held its 9th Purple Futures Workshop (23–24 September 2025) hosted by Imperial. Prof. Katsou also Co-Chairs the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s new research theme on Connected Efficient Cities. Connected Efficient Cities.

The team

Prof. Evina Katsou (Chair Professor) leads the ICL team within Purple4Life. She has extensive experience in delivering successful Horizon Europe projects as a Work Package and Task Leader, as well as holding other roles including Project Risk Manager.

Dr. Shervin Shahvi is a Research Associate at ICL and leads the social impact and consumer acceptance tasks, having led similar high-impact assessments in other Horizon Europe projects including SYMBIOREM and RESILEX.

Dr. Ana Arias is a Research Associate at ICL (and MSCA Fellow) and leads the environmental impact assessment, having extensive experience in other Horizon projects (including BL2F) and publishing over 40 papers (h-index 16) in this field.

Dr. David Renfrew is a Research Associate at ICL and leads the circularity assessment of Purple4Life processes and products, having led similar tasks in other Horizon projects including DEEP-Purple, WATER-MINING, and BioReCer.