Associate Professor Kua Harn Wei and his team, comprising of Abhimanyu Goel, Research Associate (Department of the Built Environment) and Huang Lei (Department of the Built Environment, Class of 2024), won the top jury award of the "Capturing Greenhouse Gas Removal" Image Competition, organised by Oxford University's Smith School of Enterprise & the Environment, and the UK CO2RE programme. The UK CO2RE conducts research on Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) and is the co-ordinating hub of the GGR-Demonstration Programme, the largest GGR programme funded by the UK government to date. 
 
They submitted an image entitled ‘Biochar: Halo and Bubble of Life’ which is a new material the team is developing, comprising biochar made from recycled wood and limestone calcined clay cement (LC3). This material allows the capture of CO2 in seawater and freshwater, creating a “CO2 halo” around itself. 
 
The image shows a cube 3D-printed with this material in a Voronoi structure, being tested as an aquatic plant nursery. It aims to use captured greenhouse gases to promote marine biodiversity. 
 
The large bubble on the top right represents the biochar's interior, highlighting the pores that capture CO2. Inside two smaller water bubbles are images of microscopic folds in the biochar, resembling infants, symbolising hope and sustainability for future generations. The jury was composed of researchers from Oxford University, the University College of London and the University of Manchester, stating that the photograph captured innovation in GGR whilst lending the visual quality of aesthetic optimism.