UK manufacturers gain £20m innovation fund

 
London - The UK government has announced a £20-million fund to support innovative R&D projects that help manufacturers to stay ahead of international competition. The investment by the government-sponsored Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is to support the development of technologies, products and systems incorporating advanced technology and know-how.

Science and Innovation Minister Ian Pearson explained: "Manufacturing is a vital sector of the UK economy, accounting for over 50% of our exports. And the UK is the world’s sixth biggest manufacturer. Given the UK’s high-wage economy, future productivity and global competitiveness depend upon our ability to develop high-quality, clever technology and products."

According to TSB chief executive Iain Gray, there are some great examples of manufacturing technologies and innovation happening here in the UK. These projects, he said "reflect the changing nature of manufacturing and we are investing in the UK to enable it to maintain its place as one of the worlds leading manufacturing locations.”

Applications for R&D support have already been received from a range of industries in areas such as:
- Carbon-neutral construction products
- Mouldable auto parts from sustainable resources
- Energy efficient and environmentally friendly recycling of composites
- Advanced “health management” of wind turbine transmissions
- Intelligent management of electrical power systems
- The manufacture of sustainable prefabricated housing from renewable materials


TSB is to invest £19m in these projects, while the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is to support four of the projects with a further £1m investment. Taking into account the matched contributions from the private sector businesses involved, the total value of the research and development projects is in excess of £40m.

The funding of these projects is the latest investment by the Technology Strategy Board and follows their Autumn 2007 call for proposals in a number of innovation and technology areas. Announcements about further investments are likely to be made shortly, said a government statement.

TSB’s Autumn 2007 call for R&D proposals covered eight technology areas: Cell Therapy, Materials for Energy, High Value Manufacturing, Low Carbon Energy Technologies, Advanced Lighting, Lasers & Displays, Technologies for Health, Gathering Data in Complex Environments and Creative Industries. These funding competitions were phased over 3 months. Announcements about the projects to be funded in each area are likely be made over the next three months.

Details of projects currently available are:

Title: The design and manufacture of smart materials for orthopaedic applications
Summary: The primary objective of the project is to develop orthopaedic implants having improved fixation through the use of shape memory polymers (SMP). The project will deliver tailored biocompatible SMP materials, viable manufacturing technologies for their processing and key guidelines for the design of orthopaedic devices produced utilising our SMP technology.
Partners: Smith and Nephew UK Limited (lead), University of Leeds, University of Bradford

Title: Carbon neutral construction products using novel cements
Summary: A revolutionary MgO-based cement binder has recently been developed by NovaCem offering the potential for the production of carbon neutral/carbon negative construction products. The objective of this project is to critically assess the technical and commercial viability of this technology. The project aims to develop high value UK manufacturing processing technology and products that are optimised at laboratory scale and demonstrated at pilot plant scale.
Partners: NovaCem Ltd (lead), Imperial College London, Laing O'Rourke Plc, Rio Tinto Minerals, WSP Group plc

Title: Modelling and Development of Active Packaging for Multicomponent Microwave Ready Meals. MICROCOOK
Summary: The project objective is to develop intelligent & flexible packaging to enable high quality domestic microwave cooking of multicomponent ready meals. We will develop a high value flexible mass production system (prototype & software) of intelligent packaging utilising microwave susceptors & packaging shape to optimally direct microwave energy.
Partners: Uvasol Limited (lead), API Group Plc, McCain Foods (GB) Ltd, Optek Systems Limited, Pataks Foods Limited, The Needham Group, University of Leeds

Title: ReUSE - Recyclable, Unzippable Sustainable Electronics
Summary: An innovative enabling technology is proposed that will lead to the fabrication of sustainable multi-layer electronics assemblies, representing a disruptive change in manufacturing.
Partners: In2tec Ltd (lead), Gwent Electronic Materials Limited, NPLML

Title: LyoDEA: In-process sensing technology for control of the freeze-drying cycle.
Summary: This project will develop a new technology (LyoDEA) & new knowledge for the development, optimization & control of robust freeze-drying cycles.
Partners: GEA Process Engineering (lead), AstraZeneca PLC, De Montfort University, Solartron Analytical

Title: Rubber Product Enhanced Recovery Technology (RuPERT) by water jet cutting and microwave de-vulcanisation.
Summary: RuPERT will integrate two technologies in a novel and innovative manner creating a UK market worth over £100m p.a. The ultimate outcome will be products that could be recycled indefinitely from manufacture through a service life and back to the raw processing stage with minimal input of imported virgin material.
Partners: Symphony Energy Ltd (lead), ABB Ltd (Robotics Division), ARTIS, Credowan Ltd, Hughes Pumps Ltd, Imperial College London

Title: Ecobrake
Summary: The objective of the Ecobrake project is to produce friction materials (brake pads) for mass transit vehicles using environmentally friendly sustainable materials and a novel low energy, low capital intensive manufacturing process. Ecobrake will develop a faster, more efficient, flexible manufacturing process using less energy to produce brake pads of higher quality incorporating naturally occurring sustainable materials.
Partners: European Friction Industries Limited (lead), Aptec Products, Hemcore Ltd, University of Exeter

Title: Environmentally friendly and energy efficient pultrusion
Summary: The aim of this project is to develop a new pultrusion technique that is environmentally friendly and one that permits new and fast-curable resin systems (< 20 minutes pot-life) to be evaluated.
Partners: Pultrex Ltd (lead), Dispensing Liquids, Huntsman Polyurethanes, PPG Industries UK Ltd, University of Birmingham

Title: Energy efficient and environmentally friendly recycling of composites (E3 Comp)
Summary: This proposal will develop the machinery to facilitate the clean production of smart and hybrid composites using recycled, waste and aligned short-fibres.
Partners: University of Birmingham (lead), Bruker Optics Limited, Dispensing Liquids, Halyard (M and I) Ltd, Huntsman Advanced Materials, Luxfer Gas Cylinders, Milled Carbon, P-D Interglas Technologies Limited, PPG Industries UK Ltd, Pultrex Ltd

Title: PROduction Systems for Value Added Cluster Technologies (PROSVACT)
Summary: PROSVACT facilitates the economic manufacture of high value, innovative products based on the unique properties of nanoclusters with selected composition & size.
Partners: Teer Coatings Limited (lead), Inanovate (UK) Limited, Johnson Matthey PLC, University of Birmingham

Title: Nanostructured Advanced Ceramics (NASTRAC)
Summary: The goal is to manufacture bulk advanced ceramic components with significantly enhanced properties delivered via retaining a nanostructure. This will be achieved using largely conventional processing routes.
Partners: Dynamic-Ceramic Ltd (lead), British Ceramic Research Ltd, Loughborough University, MEL Chemicals Ltd, SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems, Syfer Technology Ltd, Valve Solutions Ltd

Title: Added Value by Laser Assisted Additive Manufacture - AVLAM
Summary: AVLAM will allow the rapid prototyping of new classes of high value cost effective metallic parts by Additive Layered Manufacture (ALM) using powder bed based laser deposition.
Partners: TWI Ltd – Industrial (lead), Airbus UK Ltd, Bombardier Aerospace, Materialise UK, TISICS Ltd, University of Exeter

Title: Remanufacture of high value products using a combined Laser cladding, Inspection and Machining system (RECLAIM)
Summary: In the RECLAIM project an integrated production system will be developed incorporating all of the processes required for cost effective, rapid and reliable remanufacturing of high value engineering parts. The new system combines laser cladding, machining and in-process scanning in a single machine.
Partners: DELCAM PLC (lead), Airfoil Technologies International Ltd, Cummins Turbo Technologies Ltd, De Montfort University, Electrox Ltd, Precision Engineering Technologies Ltd, Renishaw Plc, TWI Limited

Title: SYstem Manufacturing and Product design tHrough cOmponent Noise technologY (SYMPHONY)
Summary: SYMPHONY will exploit innovative computational & experimental techniques to develop novel validated component noise reduction concepts & design methods to address the key noise challenges of a new 150-seater sector aircraft and meet the near-term ACARE environmental goals for 2015
Partners: Rolls-Royce plc (lead), Airbus UK, Bombardier Aerospace, GKN Aerospace Services Limited, Loughborough University, QinetiQ Ltd, University of Cambridge, University of Southampton

Title: Increasing the cost competitiveness of contract SME electronics manufacturers through the development of a novel BOM correlation system- ''Partnamer''
Summary: Through creation of an intelligent Semantic Ontology Module (SOM) & Semantic Matching Engine (SME) we will define an INDUSTRY STANDARD part descriptor that will be capable of identifying key code abbreviations to reduce manual cross referencing of components, saving the industry £35m p.a.
Partners: Brynleigh Technology Limited (lead), PERA Innovation Academic, PERA Innovation Limited, Pillarhouse International Limited, Servowatch Systems Limited, The Components Obsolescence Group, Intellect Ltd, Interactive Ltd, CMCA(UK) Ltd.

Title: Next-GEM (Next Generation Encoder Manufacture)
Summary: This project aims to develop technology for the rapid manufacture of high precision optical encoders. A novel method of making diffractive scale will be developed, which can achieve finer features at a greater rate than the current state of the art.
Partners: Renishaw PLC (lead), Compound Semiconductor Technologies Global Ltd, Heriot-Watt University.

Title: BALEHAUS: the manufacture of sustainable prefabricated housing from renewable materials
Summary: Our project will develop the manufacture and delivery of an innovative low carbon system for housing construction. BaleHaus proposes to use prefabricated straw bale wall panels to build load-bearing low rise residential buildings.
Partners: White Design (lead), Agrifibre Technologies Ltd, Centre for Window and Cladding Technology, Eurban, Integral Structural Design, Lime Technology Limited, University of Bath, Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd.

Title: Sustainable innovative lightweight expanded clay-glass (''SILEC-G'')
Summary: The objective of this project is to manufacture lightweight aggregate LWA from pelletised mixtures of glass (including mixed colour glass) with non-bloating clay and other waste additives. The project aims to develop commercially viable technology, optimised at laboratory scale and demonstrated at pilot plant scale that will ultimately provide the UK construction industry with a sustainable supply of lightweight materials.
Partners: Claylite Aggregates Limited (lead), Castle Aggregates Limited, Imperial College London.

Title: Sustainable High value Construction Products from Domestic Black Bag Waste
Summary: The project will develop a novel and innovative approach to producing high value construction products from domestic waste streams which are currently sent to landfill. The project will address barriers associated with scale-up and demonstration of product fitness for purpose to move to a stage at which pilot scale pre-commercial manufacture is feasible.
Partners: BRE Trust (lead), Building Research Establishment Ltd, Cawleys Ltd, Estech Europe Limited, Excel Industries Limited, Kingspan Off-Site Limited, Marks and Spencer Group plc, Medite Europe Ltd, Tarmac Limited.

Title: Laser Printed Electronics (LPE)
Summary: In this project a novel manufacturing process for the production of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) will be developed based on direct writing by laser printing. This new process will provide the electronic sector in the UK with a simple, low cost, flexible and environmentally friendly production method for low volume, high value PCBs.
Partners: Quartz TSL (lead), De Montfort University, Flex-ability Ltd, MCP Tooling Technology Ltd.

Title: Farm Produced Ultrathin Lightweight Packaging
Summary This project will (i) produce novel biocomposite food packaging using plant-based materials including cereal and oilseed straws with optimised process variables to obtain ultrathin materials; (ii) confirm use of Innovative farm-based technologies to convert these materials into retail food packages, at costs competitive with current non-renewable products.
Partners: Bangor University (lead), Ciba UK plc, Co-operative Group Limited, C-Tech Innovation, Farmcare Ltd, Imperial College London, Paragon Flexible Packaging Ltd, Sintamesh Limited, University of Reading, Valueform Limited.