The China Clay (or kaolin) industry in Cornwall has been in operation for nearly 275 years since its discovery and was once a mainstay of UK industry, producing raw materials for Britain's potteries and paper industry. English China Clays was once a household name in Britain and was formerly the world's largest producer of china clay, before being sold to French company Imerys in 1999. The industry still forms a significant part of UK primary industry, employing over 750 people in mid-Cornwall and contributing £92m/year into the Cornish economy (Imerys statistics July 2020). Unfortunately, the china clay industry has long been in decline due to reducing demand for printing and writing papers and the emergence of competing kaolin sources and other minerals overseas. China clay in Cornwall is largely sourced from decomposed granite, a rock that also contains lithium minerals in the form of lithium mica. The lithium potential of the china clay region in Cornwall was outlined in a British Geological Survey (BGS) report of 1987 and the possibility of lithium extraction from this source is currently being evaluated by Cornish Lithium Ltd -- the lead partner in this grant application. The project consortium will include Imerys, Cornish Lithium and HSSMI and aims to enhance resilience of the Cornish china clay industry by evaluating the economic viability of extracting lithium from minerals that occur in the same rock as china clay -- thus increasing the resource efficiency of the mined rock, making this vital Cornish industry more internationally competitive and securing a domestic supply of lithium that is vital to the transition to renewable energy and a zero-carbon economy. This project takes an innovative approach to evaluating cutting-edge lithium extraction techniques and developing new processes to align co-production of lithium with Imerys' current kaolin production, demonstrating the commercial possibility to produce a vital new metal for the UK whilst making the Foundation Industry more resilient. Lithium is critical due to its vital importance in the transition to renewable energy/zero-carbon economy. The UK aspires to be a leader in battery and electric vehicle (EV) production and technology but faces a major hurdle given that there is no secure domestic supply of lithium for battery manufacture: an issue noted recently by the Prime Minister. Co-production of lithium from minerals found in china clay waste (current and historic material) will increase resource efficiency by reducing waste and generating additional revenue sources.

The HySMART (Hydrogen Stack Manufacturing using Advanced Robotics Technology) feasibility project is driven by an urgent need for fuel cell (FC) system producers and associated supply chain to drive down cost from \>€150/kW to <€50/kW (2025), and <€45/kW (2030) at 100k units/yr. (HE.2018), enabling FC vehicles to be offered on a cost competitive basis. Current processes are bespoke and limited in volume and size, providing limited opportunities to reduce costs, with current commercial sales of global automotive FC's -- in 1,000's/year. This project will study real-world applications of automation and inline testing for volume production of hydrogen FC stacks, to include end user requirements. Focusing on the development, integration and application of robotics, software controls and machine learning solutions for producing FC stack technologies. This will be achieved through a feasibility study to include: * Developing a technology roadmap to demonstrating robotics stack manufacturing FC capability * Key component development (MEA's, endplates, bi-polar plates) for in-house automated production to feed into final modular stack manufacture * Implementation of advanced inline testing capabilities, to provide a no faults forward stack production capability * Analysis of co-operative interaction capabilities and associated learnings in this key area of the FC system production process * Developing advanced automation concepts in 3D and test virtual manufacturing scenarios (digital prototyping) * Study end user requirements specific to active implementation into light/medium duty automotive applications The main HySMART deliverable will be key outputs from a comprehensive demonstrator study, detailing advanced product designs and validating key technical challenges; developing FC components ('design for assembly/disassembly'), installation/implementation of in-house robotics manufacturing, and inline testing capability producing high quality conformable modular FC stacks for light/medium duty vehicle applications. HySMART will result in the following benefits: * Instill automotive sector confidence in hydrogen FC technology, accelerating commercial uptake. * Provide industry stakeholders (manufacturers, OEM's, supply chain, etc.) with the operational and technical requirements of using advanced robotics in UK FC stack volume manufacture. * Enhanced conformational capabilities for FC stack developers to provide diverse and system range. * Roadmap to production of working robotic FC stack demonstrator with enhanced inline testing capabilities. * Implementation and roll-out of novel production processes, providing advanced cost-effective modular FC stack systems. * A FC stack system architecture, manufacturable by automation, delivering improved efficiency, and reproducibility. * Opportunities to develop and expand products into additional markets and sectors. Total project size will be £800,607, last 12 months and involve 5 UK partners (Bramble Energy, Microcab, Loop Technology, UCL and HSSMI).

This project will determine the feasibility of co-located battery pack assembly and remanufacturing facilities, operated by UltraMax, to supply the UK Automotive Sector. UltraMax currently run a lithium battery assembly facility in China, however, to meet the needs of existing and new customers in the UK/EU, reductions in lead times and higher levels of quality control are required for automotive products. It is expected that the co-located sites will provide optimal use of batteries throughout their lives, maximise value leveraged from components through reuse and minimise operational and capital costs while reducing waste. The key outcome from this project will be a robust business case to accelerate the process in which UltraMax will seek external investment. The project will include customer and equipment supplier engagement, production process development, factory layout estimation, logistics and personnel assessment, and finally business case development. The facility will respond to the need for a rapid increase in battery production in the UK, supporting and accelerating the electrification of the Automotive sector. By 2030 it is expected that 60GWh of batteries will need to be produced in the UK with an estimated 1-5GWh of this reaching end of life. The proposed facility will help to address both challenges. **UltraMax** (Owned by Baruch Enterprises -- as described on the portal)- Is a battery pack manufacturing company leading the market in lead acid replacement, lithium-ion batteries with their 500MWh facility in China. Their UK operations provide distribution of their products, testing facilities and an Alkaline battery production facility. They are experienced in sourcing battery equipment and running successful battery and cell manufacturing companies. **HSSMI -** HSSMI is a not-for-profit research and technology development institute who specialises in developing and implementing lean and high-volume manufacturing practices. HSSMI has supported the development, scale up and design of several UK cell, battery, and remanufacturing project.

The CICERO (Classic Car ElectRificatiOn) project addresses 2nd life opportunities for EV battery packs that pushes beyond the current state of art. The key objectives are: (i) develop a digital vehicle configurator and digital-twin of a Classic/Heritage vehicle, (ii) create a disassembly process designed and optimised via a digital twin. (iii) address logistics and OEM liability issues, and (iv) design a proof of concept classic vehicle demonstrator.

This collaborative project led by Veolia, will result in the development and demonstration of the UK's first dual PET bottle and tray recycling facility capable of recycling 100% of clear rigid PET in a closed loop system. In line with the UK plastics pact, the project and resultant facility will achieve the following innovations: * The piloting of the first UK dedicated recycling line for trays and non food bottles, unlocking the UK tray recycling capability and avoiding the downcycling of food bottles into lower grade applications. * The development of packaging manufacturing technologies able to include this new rPET grade into new trays and non-food bottles. * The delivery of a food grade PET bottle recycling process, implementing the state of the art technology to achieve 100% recycled content in food bottles. * The development and deployment of an ai driven 'digital twin' of the facility to support the design, commissioning and operational optimisation of the line. To deliver the above, Veolia is partnering with Unilever, Charpak and HSSMI in the consortium. The total project size is £34.7m and will take place over 3 years.

Recovery of Gallium from Ionic Liquids (ReGail) aims to develop a recovery process of Gallium from bulk sourced end-of-life (EoL) LEDs to supply the uptake of Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductors in power electronics, machines, and drives (PEMD). The work in developing this EoL process will also lay the foundation for upscaling EoL recovery of GaN in PEMD. GaN is mostly used in LEDs but are increasingly being adopted by PEMD due to their superior qualities as semiconductors compared to its silicon counterpart. GaN has a wider band gap, switches faster, loses less heat and takes up less space. These qualities make it very desirable as a transistor for all sectors of interest (aerospace, automotive, energy, industrial drives and robotics, maritime, off highway, and rail), making it a desirable material to urban mine and build a UK supply chain for. The innovation is to create a circular sourced supply chain of Gallium in the UK. Building on established recycling methods and expanding it to encompass bulk sourced EoL LEDs. The recovered Gallium will then be used in new GaN transistors for PEMD, creating a sustainable supply chain, avoiding virgin mining, increasing the UK's supply chain resilience, and laying the foundation for establishing the EoL recycling process for PEMD. The project will analyse the current gallium recycling and LED end of life practices, will subsequently optimise the pre-treatment, demonstrate electroplating, and simulate the entire process. The impact of the process will be assessed with recommendations and a business plan provided. The findings will then be exploited and disseminated by a professional association.

The UK Automotive battery supply chain has maintained significant strengths in the chemicals industry and developments of the next-generation anode and cathode technology. The AMTE Power Thurso facility has played a significant role in the upscaling of these technologies, from the lab to low production volumes. However, as the technologies find success there are limited opportunities to continue development and production within the UK. HSSMI and AMTE Power conducted a Faraday-Battery-Challenge round 3 feasibility project to establish the validity of a UK based Gigafactory. This study provided the expected operational and capital costs for such a facility as well as an expected operational date of 2022\. However, while the development of this facility is on-going, AMTE have seen a recent surge of demand from customers that cannot be currently met with the existing processes, equipment and scale of the current facility. To address this challenge, the Thurso+ project aims to determine the feasibility of upscaling AMTE Power's electrochemical battery cell production facility in Thurso and how it can best be aligned with their future Gigafactory. The Thurso+ project will aim to develop a productivity and investment roadmap which will be used to: \*Identify and implement immediate opportunities for increasing productivity and efficiency through lean and flexible manufacturing principles. \*Understand of how the Thurso facility can best achieve technological parity in production methods to those of state-of-the-art Gigafactories. This will facilitate further development of innovative and high-performance UK based products supporting the Automotive Industry. The project will increase accessibility of cell supply for low volume specialist vehicle manufacturers who struggle with large OEMs buying up capacity. The Thurso+ project is being submitted to Innovate UK's competition: ATF: moving the UK automotive sector to zero emissions. The project will demonstrate innovation in the development of lean, flexible, and state of the art, high volume cell manufacturing capability in the UK of which there is currently a significant lack of. There is innovation in the adoption of high-volume manufacturing techniques and process within a small scale facility. This will reduce scale-up costs through minimising development and trials during each increase in production quantity. The project consortium is made up of AMTE Power, the cell manufacturer, and HSSMI, experts in high volume and scale-up manufacturing.

Project AcouBat (Acoustic test for Batteries) will address the next generation of battery production assurance, using novel inline testing processes, and ensuring the delivery of quality, competitive UK products in a high-volume manufacturing environment. The consortium's vision will be to; 1) reduce overall lithium-ion cell production time and cost, while maintaining and/or improving quality 2) validate the acoustic test concepts on functioning cell production lines and 3) validate the business opportunity of the acoustic test. This project will bring together fundamental research organisations, with test integrators and production end-users, to develop leading concept designs for the developing electric vehicle industry. The project will focus on; 1) impact of implementing the acoustic test solution into the overall production time 2) establishing requirements and expectations for the acoustic inline test equipment 3) determining the optimal use of the acoustic inline test method and 4) design and scale-up of the acoustic inline test for high volume manufacturing of cells. The acoustic test method identified in the Faraday Battery Challenge Round 1 project 'VALUABLE' and methods developed by UCL, will be practically assessed on AMTE Power's cell manufacturing line. This non-destructive testing enables quality assurance processes to be implemented throughout the production line, from initial electrode creation to internal analysis of the completed cell. Existing production line testing focuses on mechanical and electrical inline testing methods to qualify the battery joints and connections. Whilst this approach aids manufacturers in ensuring quality product delivery, they cannot establish the overall electrochemical state of the components, which presently can only be measured offline statistically, or in lengthy cycle testing. The use of inline acoustic testing will detect faulty cells or poor electrode coatings early in the process, stopping errors at the source, and preventing their progress through the entire production line, to the expensive bottleneck of final battery cycle testing.

A collaborative project involving specialist UK-based companies and academia to develop, localise and industrialise the next generation of EV technology for existing and future vehicles produced by London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC). Building on the success of the current ‘eCity’ technology that has already helped to reduce over 30,000 tonnes of CO2, investment in this new EV technology ensures that LEVC will continue to lead the development of innovative green mobility products.

Battery technology across the broad range of challenging battery electric vehicle (BEV) applications is yet to reach a level of maturation enabling significant commonality of designs and components. As well as being isolated from battery design and development (D&D), the embryonic UK and global Tier 1/Tier 2 supply chain is highly fragmented, and fails to meet critical OEM requirements for: 1) cost-performance competitiveness with ICE-powered variants; and 2) quality-assured series manufacturing capacity and flexibility to meet diverse product variety requirements. High-performance battery cost/kWh remain 4-times higher than industry targets for cost-parity. Over 70% of these costs arise from non-cell-related components and manufacturing. Mutually-dependent commercial and technical barriers exist across product design, pack production and the UK Tier 2 component supply base. Hyperbat response The H1perChain project targets a step-change in high-performance battery cost, and readiness for flexible series production volumes. H1perChain will realise a novel digital manufacturing platform, to concurently address scalability and manufacturing technology developments across the supply chain. H1perChain represents a significant step towards Industry 4.0 digital transformation, with delivery of an architecture to digitally integrate the end-to-end product lifecycle across the full value chain. Effective capture of all application and manufacturing cost sensitivities at system down to component level, will provide unprecedented capability for detailed, accurate and dynamic cost-modelling across key supply chain functions. Digitally integrating live manufacturing data into D&D workflows H1perChain enables multi-dimensional cost-reduction strategies by precisely informing complex inter-related developments across battery engineering and design-to-cost, Tier 1 assembly, Tier 2 component supply moving into through-life aspects. Innovation outcomes Objectives align with phased business processes (tendering, product D&D and procurement planning), targeting pre-commercial validation on a representative OEM pipeline programme, with full-scale series produced launch programmes within 1-year of APC12 completion: Digitalisation platform: architecture for data capture across the product lifecycle/value chain and design-for-manufacture feedback; model development and integration Battery design and engineering: 3-D model parameterisation; native BEV architectures (e.g. flat-floor structural packs); volume-dependent design-for-manufacturing feedback (component-level, impact of different cell geometries) Business process development: OEM application and design/integration inputs to D&D; cost-modelling of application-specific component/assembly-level cost-sensitivity, and integration into tendering process Digital twins (Hyperbat facility and battery): design, virtual commissioning, live manufacturing and ongoing data capture Series pack production: automated module/pack assembly; cell joining; in-line testing Tier 2 scale-up: volume-dependent cost-reduction planning; internal make-or-buy decision for each component (Hyperbat/Unipart). Component/manufacturing process development; QA Services: feedback of in-use data into manufacturing; down-stream supplier integration

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This collaborative innovation project is focused on assessing the commercial feasibility of establishing a scalable Battery Cell Manufacturing Facility in the UK, with the capability to ramp up to a Gigawatt hour worth of cell production (35m units) of mixed pouch and cylindrical cells by the year 2024\. This is driven by the strategic need to establish the UK as a global leader in the development and manufacture of battery cells for electric vehicles. This project will result in the delivery of a business case and manufacturing blueprint for the proposed GigaFactory that will enable AMTE Power to advance their production and supply chain readiness of their battery cells towards the level of capability, scale and cost per Kwh required by the UK's burgeoning EV sector and it's global demand.

"Jaguar Land Rover is leading an exciting research project to investigate and develop strategies and capability to convert internal combustion engine manufacturing facilities to also make electric drive units for hybrid and electric vehicles. The company's engineers will work with industrial partners, Mapal, JW Froehlich, Fives Landis and Horizon and with the Manufacturing Technology Centre, the High-speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute and Birmingham City University to ensure that its state-of-the-art manufacturing machinery, systems and processes are flexible enough to manufacture both internal combustion engine and electric drive units efficiently along the same production line. This ambitious and highly innovative project will deliver manufacturing flexibility at a time when the exact speed of the changeover to electric motoring remains uncertain. If car buyers want more electric cars than expected, Jaguar Land Rover will be able to ramp up supply quicker than some of its rivals. If demand for diesel and petrol persists for longer, there will be no expensive electric drive factory sitting idle. The project will also ensure that the company builds on its existing manufacturing capability, rather than having electric drives built separately. The project therefore helps protect Jaguar Land Rover facilities and the staff during the switch-over to electric. The Government is supporting the project through its Advanced Propulsion Centre because the technology involved is both innovative and has the potential to benefit a range of UK businesses. The project will help ensure that the UK becomes a major centre for the production of electric drive units, encouraging suppliers of electric car components to invest and develop their businesses in this country."

The Closed Loop Innovation in Fused Filament Fabrication (CLIFFF) project will enable industry and academic 3D print service bureaus to reprocess discarded 3D prints back into high value new 3D printing filaments creating a fully circular business model for the Additive manufacturing (AM) sector. AM and 3D printing is a rapidly growing industrial sector, however, there are environmental concerns around this fast-growing sector. Unlike other plastic products, there is currently no established End-Of-Life (EoL) processing system for 3D printed polymer parts, so the vast majority of discarded prints ultimately end up in landfill. The CLIFFF project will therefore take a proactive approach whilst the industry is still maturing. Main objectives are to create a material identification system for EoL and failed 3D prints using a novel NIR based approach, create new reverse logistics business models and develop a lab-scale processing facility. The facility will shred and extrude the failed prints back into high quality 3D printer filament that will be comprehensively tested on a range of commercial 3D printers. End-user engagement and feedback will help ensure the long term sustainability of the approach. As opposed to a traditional large scale centralized recycling systems, the proposed system would be deployed regionally to reduce transportation costs and associated environmental impacts. The project team consists three organisations. GoPrint3D, a 30-year-old printing company, HSSMI a manufacturing RTO and In-Cycle a materials recycling technology SME and will run for 12 months.

"The overall aim of the HyDIME project is to design, integrate and trial an innovative hydrogen / diesel dual fuel conversion system for a 50kW diesel auxiliary power unit on a car ferry operating between Shapinsay and Kirkwall in Orkney. The project will last 12 months and result in: * The physical integration and proof of concept of the hydrogen conversion system working on a commercial ferry * The demonstration and testing of the system in accelerated sea trials to gain approval for the integration and usage of Hydrogen in a commercial vessel * The delivery of a scale up plan that outlines how the adapted ferry can interface with and optimally harness the 'Surf & Turf' Hydrogen production system in Orkney and how this can be effectively replicated across the UK. HyDIME will build on the outcomes from 2 previous innovation projects: the 'Surf n' Turf' project in Orkney, which has enabled excess energy produced from wind and tidal turbines to be harnessed and channelled through an electrolyser to produce hydrogen at the Shapinsay port; and the 'SWISH2 & LHNE project' which provided a feasibility study into the viability of a dual hydrogen injection system on road applications"

How can we halve our natural resource use and double our productivity in 10 years? By consistently improving by 7% year on year. This is what we know the best performing produce, manufacturing and retail companies can do. 2degrees has the online platform to start this improvement process for companies in many different sectors. Now we need to develop our dataset to model portfolios of improvements that can unlock that 7%. 2degrees and HSSMI are partnering to bring together deep experience in manufacturing system modelling, with a proven track record of creating intuitive software products to solve complex problems in industry. 2degrees have validated improvement actions across many areas of Energy, Water and Waste productivity and a best practice sharing platform to enable industry professionals to quickly draw up improvement plans. HSSMI have the knowledge of how to simulate production environments to optimize on these types of improvement actions. By partnering on this project, both companies can bring expertise to model and simulate actions for professionals to develop more robust improvement plans. By using simulation on an ever expanding and improving set of actions, and by sharing relevant insight across an audience of thousands of professionals, we can scale adoption much more quickly. This funding will help to enhance a new platform in a sector where high-cost, long lead-time, bespoke solutions are the norm and comparison of improvement projects is very difficult. This new online product will give a much broader range of professionals access to a simulation tool which is intuitive and powerful.

The project's aim is to create complimentary engineering capabilities and skills for ultra-high volume manufacture of next generation powertrains. The consortium brings together collective capabilities from manufacturing engineering, the machine tool industry and supply chain, augmented with a cross sector digital visualisation partner. The consortium will develop new processes and validate their suitability for high volume production. They will integrate new manufacturing concepts deploying Industry 4.0, where applicable , with the aim to create a factory digital clone. The ambition of the consortium is to merge new process and powertrain technologies with the latest advancements in digital manufacturing. They will also identify repurposing opportunities for conventional powertrain manufacturing equipment. The project will be a key project to anchor the high volume manufacturing engineering capabilities and its supply chains in the UK

"Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been used in prototyping and manufacturing one-off parts. The overall objective of the program is to deploy High Speed Sintering technology (HSS) in a high-volume production environment in series production. Our vision for the High Volume Additive Manufacturing (HVAM) program is to lead in deploying AM technology in a high-volume production environment to deliver outstanding value and knowledge for sustainable manufacturing. The project aims to develop HSS technology suitable for series production. The project aims to develop a decision-making tool will be used to compare and contrast AM against conventional manufacturing techniques. A systematic process of material selection to develop materials suitable for HSS, along with identifying the right process parameters and a test strategy for validation and benchmarking will be the followed. The project is unique as it will focus on developing a design for integrating the HSS technology in series production. In addition, a data driven approach will be taken in decision making which is a key focus of the program. The key objectives include 1\. Reduction in tooling costs 2\. Quality improvement for high value parts (Part Geometry) 3\. Improving Resource Efficiency (raw material use reduction) 4\. Faster demand fulfilment 5\. Secure and create high skilled jobs and attracting new investment. The project is novel as it aims to develop proprietary materials suitable for HSS. The program will also focus on creation of a bespoke tool to identify parts that are suitable for AM. This will provide valuable knowledge to manufacturers and designers to ensure readiness for digital manufacturing processes. In addition, the HVAM project is unique as it will focus on generating a design for integrating HSS in high volume production environment."

"Project VALUABLE's key objectives are to develop commercially viable metrology and test processes as well as new supply chain concepts for recycling, reuse and remanufacturing of automotive lithium-ion batteries to create a complete End-of-Life (EoL) supply chain network within the UK. The consortium's vision is to 1) increase the value-add of the battery supply chain in the UK, 2) decrease the environmental impact, and 3) optimise future battery design for EoL. By bringing together many disparate parts of many sectors, the project will provide an efficient and effective route to providing second life battery applications, whilst reducing the packs / cells being fed into the waste streams. The project will investigate key areas that are providing difficulties in dealing with automotive batteries at their EoL: 1) the lack of reliable and cost-effective test methods, 2) the lack of remanufacturing/recycling and reuse processes, 3) the lack of effective value chains, and 4) lack of design considerations for EoL in battery design. To implement efficient processes, the project will investigate and develop advanced 'machine vision' capabilities, to determine which packs have second life potential and at what level and which are for recycling. This development of advanced testing capability in the EoL processing line, will enable the consortium to explore significant value chain applications for end-of-life batteries, ranging from remanufacturing to go back into the same vehicle model, to use in lower demand mobility applications, through to use as energy storage mediums for the energy market. The test results will also aid future first life battery pack design, providing OEMs and battery producers with routes to both realise additional value from future applications for used batteries and to move towards 95% recyclability. In conjunction with the development of new designs and processes, the project team will also explore the growing legal and regulatory issues surrounding the battery producer responsibility / waste classifications in the UK and Europe. In addition, not only will the battery cells be assessed, but the charge controllers, outer jackets, and other components. Reuse of these products contributes to the recycling targets, but also supports improved material recovery routes through better material separation. The project brings together partners across the supply chain, developing new EoL testing techniques, and in creating a UK-based EoL supply chain. The project is not only supported by the supply chain but also an industry-wide OEM support represented in a guiding advisory group."

The use of additive manufactured (AM) components is increasing rapidly throughout key global industries. Many industrial applications for Additive Manufacturing have been developed over the last five years or so. Industries such as aerospace, automotive and medical are embracing the advantages of AM and implementing the technology successfully. AM projected value, including products and services, is valued at £5 billion in 2015 are forecasted to be £13 billion by 2021. Despite the huge potential that additive manufacturing offers, it is currently limited due to inaccuracy in manufacturing of parts,varying shape and different materials. Slow processing time and cost of post processing hinders the wider adoption of Additive Manufacturing for various industrial sectors including aviation. ADD-CAD will offer a software/Add-on solution for laser blown deposition additive manufacturing that will ultimately improve the design accuracy by 90% and will reduce the post machining and processing time and will help to prevent material waste, save up to 8% on materials costs, energy use and carbon emissions, preventing product recalls for manufacturers, facilitating market growth and generate new AM manufacturing sector jobs. ADD-CAD will be created through a powerful supply chain of 1 key AM systems and service provider SME, 2 innovative product manufacturer SMEs and 2 research organisations.

Over 55 million tyres (over 500,000 tonnes) are disposed of annually in the UK and enter the waste stream. Only 32% of End-of-Life (EoL) tyres are currently turned into crumb or powder, with 25% being burnt to produce energy. The current mechanical grinding processes used cannot separate the rubber from steel and fabric leading to lower grade crumb not suitable for tyre manufacture and the rubber can only be used in lower value applications. This project, "WATER" focusses on a novel recyling technology, currently at a lab scale, to use Ultra High Pressure Water to break down and separate tyre materials into 3 distinct resources - high grade rubber crumb, steel and fabric. It seeks to develop it into a cost-effective production ready process and put the rubber crumb back into the top of the value stream in the manufacture of new tyres. Rubber represents over 30% of the cost of a tyre, putting the rubber back into the supply chain will greatly reduce material costs, generate revenue for tyre recyclers and create a closed-loop.

The DYNAMO project is a Ford led collaborative research and development project that aims to significantly improve the fuel efficiency of two high volume passenger vehicle powertrains. The research will be conducted with six other UK based partners, who will help develop and mature new and upgraded advanced engine technology ready for commercialisation. During the project the team aims to revolutionise the process and methodology currently used to design and develop complex powertrains. It will demonstrate an analytical approach which enables multiple engine systems to be optimised to multiple objectives in parallel and under transient conditions to improve legislated and real world fuel economy, whilst drastically reducing development time and costs. The new approach will form the basis of a Virtual Product Development capability that aims to half the cost and time taken to get new powertrains to market.

This industry-led project will focus on proving out a highly innovative fuel cell range extender system in order to showcase the feasibility of a novel fuel cell stack as an alternative to conventional systems, which will drastically 1) reduce the cost of the system, 2) reduce the weight per power output, and 3) reduce the size of the system with increased flexibility with regards to form factor. The project consortium will work towards the commercialisation of UK IP in the area of fuel cell technology and manufacturing. The project output will be the showcasing of this novel technology in a retrofitted Renault-Kangoo ZE-HE by Symbio with a replaced UK developed and manufactured fuel cell range extender system. The 15-month project will be used to prove the feasibility of using this technology in a vehicle and demonstrate its economic and ecological advantages. The consortium members encompass the whole supply chain including end user representation as well as an academic partner who developed the technology IP in previous projects. The project is expected to significantly reduce system cost, decrease the CO2 emissions of Light Commercial Vehicles and will potentially create jobs in the UK supply chain.

This project will build on the prototype technology and processes that Unto this Last have built to enable CNC rapid manufacturing technology to be utilised to produce furniture on the High Street, at mass production prices. Unto This Last have developed and tested a business model of production at the point of demand, with a production unit at the shop location in the city centre. The CNC manufacturing technology is utilised to enable flexible digital manufacturing, using software to manufacture customised furniture to order at a competitive cost. This project will develop these prototypes to enable the Distributed Factory, a flexible manufacturing model with manufacturing units co-located with retail on the high street. Each unit would have the flexibility to manufacture the whole range of products, and if there is variable demand the flexibility to deliver orders placed at another location. The project will develop the IoT connected hardware, and the control software and processes that will enable this model to scale. We will demonstrate this working across three locations in the timeframe of the project. The project brings together a team that can develop this prototype to enable the business model to scale: Siemens (manufacturing / smart city), AT Kearney (lean manufacturing design, business process), HSSMI (technology integration) and Unto-This-Last who will exploit the commercial opportunity as a business.

The London Taxi Corporation (LTC) is embarking on a wider project to deliver a series of light-weight, zero-emission capable, range extending vehicles. The new vehicle design, with improved driver ergonomics, will be configured to meet onerous duty-cycle needs. The initial market will be the UK, to meet targets for de-carbonising transport operations (e.g. TFL), Europe & globally thereafter. The key part of the project is to develop the hybrid supply chain within the UK. LTC will work with SMEs and the RTO HSSMI to develop the supply chain capability such that more value added operations can be re-shored to the UK. LTC will host an LTC-supplier co-development space in which LTC and partners will develop the capabilities for low carbon hybrid powertrains. The project aims to support the involved SMEs to become capable of not only selling to LTC but to export to other OEMs nationally and internationally.”

The HyFES (Hybrid Fusion Energy System) is a business led, collaborative project to further improve the benefits (lower fuel costs, reduced emissions) marine vessels gain from switching to a hybrid propulsion systems. HyFES is at the hub of an intelligent sensor network incorporating propulsion batteries, hotel/standby batteries and through the installation of Dynamic Resource Monitor (DRM) sensors, any other electrical equipment including engines and generators. HyFES will fuse together model and data based prognostic algorithms with algorithms designed to ensure optimal operation of system assets to ensure vessels make operational decisions based on through life costs of assets rather than focusing solely on fuel saving. The project brings together a consortium that spans the complete supply chain including Heriot-Watt and Southampton Universities, the High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute (HSSMI), Custom and Contract Power Solutions (CCPS), Denchi Power, FM and MBNA Thames Clippers.

The project centres on the exploration of a new commercial model for the Microcab hydrogen Fuel cell vehicle whereby the vehicle is not sold out right to customers, but offered through a car club scheme for members to hire. Microcab will retain ownership of the vehicle, and implement a remanufacturing model to ensure that the vehicle’s value is recovered back to an original or upgraded condition, resulting in the extension of the vehicles life in service. This project will bring together 3 disruptive business models - circular economy, low carbon vehicles, and mobility as a service - into one complimentary commercial model which will provide benefits for multiple stakeholders.The 3 main deliverables of the feasibility study will be: 1) a full business plan which details the commercial models and provides rigorous evaluation of the most potentially prosperous business model analysed during the project, 2) a series of peer-reviewed white papers that will be made available for the general public, and 3) a pilot plan for demonstrating the model in the form of a business roadmap and technical implementation plan

This feasibility study looks at how new digital value chains arising from interconnected managed smart energy clusters in rural areas can stimulate economic development and commercial diversification. This includes incentives for supply and demand side efficiencies. Innovation comes from new cross-industry services stimulated by a combination of local energy assets and rural “interconnectedness” which can support new highly disruptive supply chains.

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.

This business-led collaborative project brings together a consortium to develop novel manufacturing capabilities for PCB based fuel cells (FFC). This innovative technology, has been previously funded by the EPSRC and the Carbon Trust during early stage research, The technology has the potential to reduce the cost of fuel cells by up to 48%, reduce significantly the weight and volume and allow any form factor which can be built from two dimensional layers. The main innovation is a) the patented technology behind this novel fuel cell, b) the integration of the manufacturing processes into existing PCB manufacturing which allows rapid up-scaling, reduction of life cycle cost and utilisation of capabilities and c) flexibility and cost competitiveness to serve multiple markets such as automotive and consumer products. The project brings together a consortium of all relevant supply chain partners supported by world leading Universities (University College London and Imperial College London) and the High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute. The project partners will aim to reach MRL4 and parts of MRL5 within the project.

The proposed project aims at generating new knowledge in establishing how Hydrogen Fuel cell systems (HFC) in Fuel Cell Electric vehicles (FCEVs) can be recovered once they reach the end of their life (i.e. are worn out/have failed) so that their optimal value can be recuperated and their life in service can be kept in circulation to ensure sustainability. As part of the automotive industry's on going efforts to lower CO2 emissions by 80% before 2050, many vehicle manufacturers, such as Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda have started to turn their attentions towards the development of zero carbon emitting FCEVs. It is anticipated that by 2030 there will be in excess of 1.3milion FCEVs on UK roads, and by 2050, will account for up to 30% of the total vehicles on UK roads. When these vehicles reach the end of their life, the automotive industry and producers of the fuel cells will become accountable for the responsible collection, recovery and disposal of them under the ELV directive. At present, little research has sought to establish how to do this. This project is focused on the development of new product, process and business designs to enable fuel cell recovery.

The project focuses on the development of a novel augmented manufacturing reality, which will enable the automation of the design, configuration, re-configuration and use of manufacturing automation systems. The aim is to overlay and integrate digital data (e.g. CAD, Scans, video) and physical data acquired from sensors (e.g. power usage, temperature) into a virtual reality environment. The main objectives of the project to a) create a generic toolkit to enhance servicing and maintenance of automation systems b) combine digital data and physical data to include feedback from the use phase into the design and simulation stages, c) optimise production efficiency and d) decrease set-up times and maintenance downtime. The project consortium consists of a major end user (Ford Motor company), three innovative SME as technology providers for the virtual environment (FDS), distributed sensor integration (i.e. InotecUK) and specialist engineering knowledge (DBR Associates), a major technology provider of CAD and digital data systems (Autodesk) and two major research organisations with extensive experience in manufacturing research, automation systems and virtual reality (High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute and WMG).

Awaiting Public Project Summary

Awaiting Public Project Summary