UK hubs aim to reshape manufacturing
Four new Manufacturing Research Hubs awarded £44mln in total through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The hubs will collaborate with industry, academia, local government and the public on different areas of manufacturing with the aim to cut carbon, create jobs and boost regional economies.
Each hub will receive £11mln in funding. £38.8mln of the total comes from direct and indirect contributions from partners.
- The Indigenous Green-steel for Net-zero Innovation, Technology and Enterprise (IGNITE) Hub concentrates on environmental and economic resilience in defence, transport and energy by boosting domestic steel production and supporting low-carbon business models.
- The Co-AIMS: Research Hub on Collaborative AI for Manufacturing Sustainability looks at artificial intelligence-powered systems to reduce waste by aiming to deliver safe, ethical and inclusive technologies for automotive, aerospace, clean energy. and food and drink.
- The EPSRC Manufacturing Research Hub in Sustainable Engineering Plastics aims to improve plastic recycling in cars, buildings and electronics.
- Finally, the Carbon-loop hub will develop microbes that convert waste into high-value, sustainable chemicals and materials. They also hope to launch the UK’s first ‘BioFactor’, a national platform for scaling up bioprocessing innovations.
In addition, the EPSRC is funding six projects with nearly £7.5mln. These include:
- Sustainable separation membranes for green pharmaceutical manufacturing
- Reconfigurable, robotic and responsive reactors for processes through intensified development
- Superconductor prototyping for critical technologies
- Advanced nanoengineered treatment of textiles: PFAS-free amphiphobicity
- Ultra-precision machining for optical substrates and technologies
- Development of next-generation, disruptive, mega-casting technologies for green and sustainable transportation vehicles (MegaCast)
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