To support the factory digitisation vision, the technologies will help monitor processes and visualise performance graphically to engage all staff in improving efficiency and decision making.

Innovative and ground breaking high strength aluminium alloys and processing technologies have been developed for use in light weight crash resistant battery enclosures and for the integration of such structures into ultra-low emissions vehicles (ULEVs). The combination of extrusions, HFQ sheet and castings can form both the protective structures and can provide novel thermal management systems which can control battery operating temperatures to precise levels reducing the risk of thermal runaway and optimising battery pack operating temperatures during driving to reduce energy losses. This provides significant advantages in manufacturing and assembly costs/set up time whilst meeting current legislative requirements, providing the opportunity to define new standards of safety, crash management and energy efficiency. Both energy and power density of battery systems are increased by reducing battery enclosure weight by using an aluminium alloy intensive architecture, combining innovative design and advanced manufacturing processes. The project aims to take another major step with disruptive high strength aluminium alloys and their processing and joining technologies, enabling new enclosure design concepts for the manufacture of both vehicle integration structures and battery enclosures for a new generation of lightweight hybrid and electric vehicles for the UK market that will have a major impact on the UK government's carbon reduction targets for the UK vehicle fleet. The project will design, develop a recyclable aluminium intensive components for a test enclosure and for full scale demonstrators of battery enclosure for vehicles specified by the two major global OEM's that are project partners. The longer term intention is to establish a UK based manufacturing facility for world leading cost efficient aluminium battery enclosures based on the intensive use of fully recyclable aluminium alloys in order to provide an on-shore resource for ULEV component manufacture.

McLaren Automotive, Ricardo, Grainger and Worrall, Lentus Composites, the University of Bath and a major European OEM have been awarded an APC grant to develop a high specific power, modular combustion system and associated engine technologies for application in future vehicle programmes. The APC grant will support the development of a completely new generation of technically advanced engines offering significantly improved CO2 figures for high performance vehicles. The grant will also improve the UK’s development and production capabilities for low CO2 ICE technology. The European OEM will transfer skills and development experience of engine systems to McLaren Automotive; Ricardo will extend its capabilities in the same areas; Grainger and Worrall will deliver complex, lightweight casting technology; Lentus Composites will seek grow from an SME status to a full automotive tier 1 supplier; and the University of Bath will advance capabilities in ICE system efficiency R&D.

Caterpillar UK Engines Company Ltd in partnership with Grainger & Worrall Ltd and Loughborough University will launch a 22 month program of research into the localised material property dependance of the casting process for key engine components. The consortium aims to harness the combined capabilities of as-cast material property prediction, cycle dependant property evolution and advanced Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) processes to simultaneously and synergistically optimise engine component design and production processes to significantly impact engine capabilities for increased efficiency and productivity at reduced cost. This research project, scheduled to start in 2015, is enabled by an £623,000 grant from the UK government’s Innovate UK and builds on a previous project co-funded by the TSB (now Innovate UK). The programme of research will be performed across the consortium members' facilites in Peterborough, Bridgnorth and Loughborough.

Lightweight crash management systems are of increasing importance for most forms of ground transport. Automotive OEMs like JLR have advanced aluminium automotive body designs but still depend on steel for bumper beams. For rail applications steel based crash systems predominate. Constellium has developed considerably stronger extrusion alloys based on the AA6xxx alloy system that are fully recycling compatible with the sheet used for automotive structures and body panels. Brunel University has developed alloys and casting technologies that enable extrusions and castings to be combined in novel ways to produce a new generation of compact lightweight crash management systems. The envisaged work programme will include a high strength alloy being combined with casting alloys using overcasting techniques and the use of bonded and riveted joints to demonstrate the potential for both increased crash resistance and weight saving. The project will demonstrate and evaluate optimised designs for crash management systems for both automotive and rail transport.

This project lays the foundations for Jaguar Land Rover and UK suppliers to combine their powertrain expertise and experience in a new, collaborative environment. This project will create an experimental "make-like-production" facility in which Jaguar Land Rover and our supply chain partners will participate in the investigation of manufacturing and assembly methods suitable for possible future use. The facility will include prototype machine tools and assembly systems which will allow us to research and innovate in this highly competitive area. The knowledge and confidence gained from the project will enable Jaguar Land Rover to continue to be market leaders in reducing consumption and emissions.

An innovative research project led by Jaguar Land Rover, ALIVE6, - will apply new technologies to the Ingenium engine family, striving to maximize fuel efficiency whilst maintaining the in-vehicle feel Jaguar Land Rover customers expect. The collaboration with Grainger and Worrall, Automotive Insulations and Nifco will research low friction cylinder bore coatings, thermal engine encapsulation and a composite sump respectively. Bosch (UK) Ltd and Mahle Powertrain bring advanced control technologies while downsizing and NVH technologies are supported by FEV UK Ltd and UEES The innovative powertrain technologies will offer improved fuel economy, low weight and excellent transient performance. The consortium members recognise the importance of collaborative advanced research projects supporting initiatives that will expand the UK’s competitiveness and develop skills, innovations and new technologies in the automotive sector and throughout the supply chain.

Al-Si casting alloys have a wide range of applications in the automotive sector. These alloys contain high levels of silicon, which causes large grain sizes. Refining the grain size is crucial to achieve the superior performance castings. Grain refiners used for non-cast aluminium alloys are ineffective in cast aluminium due to the silicon levels. Brunel’s new grain refiner (BGR) provides a much needed solution to this problem. The BGR has the potential to transform practices in the Al-Si casting industry by enabling innovative, cheaper, and simpler casting to produce high performance cast structures. Delivering benefits to a wide range of casting techniques, it should enable castings with superior properties, thereby, allowing aluminium to replace some steel components in the automotive sector. The project aims at applying grain refiner to produce high performance Al-Si alloys cast components for automotive applications.

Heavy duty vehicles account for approximately 8% of UK transport CO2 production. A fully-electric, battery-powered heavy duty vehicle is hard to envisage and so the challenge for the HD industry is one of efficiency gains, whether to the engine or to the vehicle-plus-drivetrain (including hybrids). One way of improving diesel engine efficiency is by increasing its peak cylinder pressure capability thereby allowing more advanced injection timing. The Ultra-High Peak Cylinder Pressure Heavy Duty Diesel Engine programme is developing, harmonising and applying advanced simulation tools to design and manufacture an engine with 30% up-rated cylinder pressure capability. Additionally, novel multidisciplinary optimisation tools are being harnessed to ensure near optimal functionality of the end product, and to help solve this complex design-for-manufacture problem. As outcomes of this proposed programme, the simulation-driven processes and production of the demonstration engines will represent a significant improvement over the current state in terms of both time and cost. These step changes in performance and development costs are complemented by the reduced CO2 of between 2 - 8% per engine that will be realised during the functional life of the product.