Wednesday 12 June 2019
New £28m UK research hub aims to drive electrical revolution
A new £28 million research hub aimed at putting UK manufacturing at the forefront of the electrical revolution has been launched.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s (EPSRC) ‘Future Electrical Machines Manufacturing Hub’ brings together researchers who will work closely with industry to address key manufacturing challenges in the production of electrical machines.
That includes the aerospace, energy, high value automotive and premium consumer sectors.
The Hub will initially cover topics including the use of the latest manufacturing processes to make electrical machines lighter, understanding and demonstrating how digital tools can support skill intensive manual manufacturing tasks and how robotic systems can be applied to tasks such as the winding of coils in electrical machines.
The team, led by the University of Sheffield’s Faculty of Engineering and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), will work with academics at Newcastle University and the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC).
The £28m investment is underpinned by a £10 million award from the EPSRC and funding from industrial partners including Rolls-Royce, Airbus, Siemens Gamesa, GKN Aerospace, McLaren and Dyson and the university partners.
Professor Geraint Jewell, Director of the EPSRC Future Electrical Machines Manufacturing Hub, said: “The University of Sheffield has recently been named the number one university in the UK for income and investment in engineering research which positions us as a global leader. This new hub exemplifies this in action - we are bringing together world-leading researchers with industry to deliver real impact in the manufacture of electrical machines.
“The hub will not only address the key manufacturing challenges mentioned but also assist UK manufacturing to capture significant value in the supply chain, improve productivity and deliver the cleaner growth at the heart of the UK’s Industrial Strategy.”
