Ten new research projects that will advance the UK's manufacturing capability, develop new and exciting functional materials, and accelerate the translation of the science of functional materials through to application were announced today by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The projects will include:
- - developing thin-film materials and novel manufacturing methods for wearable technology ;
- improving the mass production of carbon nanotube materials ;
- advanced manufacturing of nanoparticles for healthcare applications
- revolutionising the manufacture and use of specialised glass (chalcogenides);
- exploiting the potential of flexible perovskite photovoltaics that will reduce costs and improve performance of solar cell technology;
- developing the materials needed for the new class of photonic integrated circuits for use in communications, sensors, imaging and lighting;
- developing advanced fabrication processes for Gallium Nitride and related materials, for the UK's emerging manufacturing industries
Developed in response to the Manufacturing Advanced Functional Materials (MAFuMa) call issued by EPSRC in February 2014, the projects include research programmes and strategic equipment and will be led by the universities of Bath, Cambridge, Oxford, Leeds, Southampton, UCL (University College London) and Bangor University.
Overall seventeen universities are involved and, combined with universities' contributions and those from industry partners, the total value of these projects is £32.1 million.
Welcoming the announcement Business Secretary, Vince Cable, said: "Working with academia and industry to support game-changing manufacturing projects like these is at the heart of the Government's industrial strategy. By supporting the jump from the manufacturing lab to the market place, we are driving innovation, creating valuable new jobs and delivering economic growth that will secure the UK's global leadership for decades to come."
Professor Philip Nelson, EPSRC's CEO, said: "These grants for Functional Materials research will take advantage of the excellent capability that exists across the UK. The level of partnership between universities and industry means they are well positioned to advance the exploitation of the knowledge and discoveries of our pioneering scientists and engineers. These are really exciting projects that can add to the long term prosperity of our country."
Notes for Editors:
Details of successful Manufacturing Advanced Functional Materials (MAFuMa) projects:
Project Title:Novel manufacturing methods for functional electronic textiles
Principal Investigator:Professor Stephen Beeby
Lead Organisation:University of Southampton
Co-Investigator Organisations: Southampton; Nottingham Trent
Industrial Partners: Centre for Process Innovation; Plessey, BSN Medical; International Automotive Components, Stretchline, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine; Speedo; Medicity; Urgo Ltd; DSTL
Total FEC Value:£2.8m
Project Title: Wearable and flexible technologies enabled by advanced thin-film manufacture and metrology
Principal Investigator :Professor Harish Bhaskaran
Lead Organisation:University of Oxford
Co-Investigator Organisations:University of Exeter; University of Southampton; University of Oxford
Industrial Partners: Sharp Labs; Creaphys; Kurt Lesker Co Ltd; DSTL;Oxford Instruments; BASF; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology; University of Pennsylvania
Total FEC Value: £3.1m
Project Title: Advanced Nanotube Application and Manufacturing Initiative (ANAM initiative)
Principal Investigator:Professor Norman Fleck
Lead Organisation:University of Cambridge
Co-Investigator Organisations:University of Cambridge; University of Ulster
Industrial Partners: Alphasense, Thin Film Solutions, Sheilding, Ricardo, Q-Flo, Johnson Matthey, Goodyear, Dyson, Eaton, Bombardier, BAE Systems, Hexcel, Integrated Materials Technology
Total FEC Value: £3.6m
Project Title: Advanced Flow Technology for Healthcare Materials Manufacturing
Principal Investigator:Professor Asterios Gavriilidis
Lead Organisation:UCL
Co-Investigator Organisations:UCL; Brunel
BB international; CMAC; Centre for Process Innovation; KTN; NPL; Resonant Circuits, MICA Biosystems ltd
Total FEC Value:£3.2m
Project Title: Manufacturing and Application of Next Generation Chalcogenides
Principal Investigator:Professor Daniel Hewak
Lead Organisation:University of Southampton
Southampton; Exeter; Cambridge; Heriot-Watt; Oxford
Industrial Partners: Fibrecore; Glass Technology Services; Lenton; M-Squared Lasers; Samsung Electronics; Plastic Logic; SEPNET; Oxford Instruments; Gooch & Housgo; National Instruments Corp (UK); Chell Instruments; NPL; Ilika; Qioptiq; Seagate technology; DSTL.
Total FEC Value: £3.1m
Project Title :Self-assembling Perovskite Absorbers - Cells Engineered into Modules (SPACE-Modules)
Principal Investigator:Professor Peter Holliman
Lead Organisation:Bangor University
Co-Investigator Organisations:Swansea, Oxford
G24 Power Ltd; BIPVCo.
Total FEC Value: £3.2m
Project Title: Ultrafast Laser Plasma Implantation- Seamless Integration of Functional Materials for Advanced Photonics (SeaMatics)
Principal Investigator:Professor Gin Jose
Lead Organisation:University of Leeds
Leeds; Cambridge; York; Sheffield
Industrial Partners: Xyratex Technology Ltd; Glucosense Diagnostics; Product Evolution Ltd; Dow Corning LTd; DSTL; Glass Technology Services Ltd; Gooch and Housego;PVD products; Semtech Corporation; Compound Semiconductor Tech Global Ltd; IQE Silicon Compounds Ltd.
Total FEC Value: £3.1m
Project Title : Manufacturing of nano-engineered III-nitride semiconductors
Principal Investigator:Dr Philip Shields
Lead Organisation:University of Bath
Co-Investigator Organisations:Bath; Sheffield; Bristol; Strathclyde
Industrial Partners: Plessey; Seren Photonics; Lumerical Solutions;CNRS-CRHEA; NuNano; CIP Technologies; Tyndall National Institute; LayTec UK Ltd; Compound Semiconductor Tech Global Ltd; NMI; EV Group
Total FEC Value: £3.0m
Strategic Equipment Project Title: Pilot Manufacturing with Ultrafast Laser Plasma Implantation (ULPI)
Principal Investigator: Professor Gin Jose
Organisation:University of Leeds
Total Full Economic Cost value: £1.3 million
Strategic Equipment Project Title: Manufacturing of nano-engineered III-N semiconductors
Principal Investigator: Dr Philip Shields
Organisation: University of Bath
Total Full Economic Cost value: £ 0.5 million
For further information please contact the EPSRC Press Office on 0173 444 404 or email pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and physical sciences. EPSRC invests around £800m a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK.
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