EPSRC Future Manufacturing Research Hubs September 2019 CEO’s Foreword “EPSRC wants to make the UK Major EPSRC investments such recognised as the place where as the Manufacturing Hubs play the most creative and talented a key part in helping businesses researchers can deliver world- respond to future opportunities and leading engineering and physical drivers. The Manufacturing Hubs sciences research. A place where complement wider partnership these researchers can work to opportunities funded by EPSRC, accelerate innovation for the benefit forming a suite of interventions of society and the economy. supporting closer partnerships with industry, contributing to a Over half of our portfolio involves prosperous UK. collaboration with business and other non-academic partners, By bringing people together from providing around £1.2 billion of across disciplines, by breaking leverage on our portfolio of £4.6 down intellectual boundaries and billion. Within this collaborative by working closely with private portfolio, EPSRC-supported and public sector partners, our researchers and business and other investments are contributing to stakeholders work in partnership to the nation’s prosperity through solve shared research challenges, productivity, connectivity, health and and build on these breakthroughs to resilience. From the development of deliver transformative technologies. new technologies and materials, to improvements in medical diagnostics The research and innovation and faster and more secure landscape EPSRC operates in communications, our funding is includes our partner councils in changing lives for the better.” UKRI, the research and development base within business, SMEs, Lynn Gladden government departments, charitable Executive Chair of the organisations and international Engineering and Physical Sciences partnerships, all of whom feature as Research Council partners in the Future Manufacturing Research Hub portfolio. 3 Manufacturing the Future Manufacturing is a major contributor industry plays a significant role Our Hubs help connect the to the UK economy; in addition to in shaping the research and is landscape within UK Research and directly contributing 11% of GVA, well placed to take forward the Innovation (UKRI), with contacts a 2018 Oxford Economics study outputs. Our Future Manufacturing within Innovate UK attending Hub showed that 23% of UK GDP is Research Hubs have this aim at meetings to stimulate discussions dependent on the sector. The their heart; they are co-created about industry interactions and UK is currently the ninth largest with business and the research how research will be taken forward manufacturing nation in the world programme is driven by the long- towards commercialisation. We and our manufacturing industries term challenges of industry. Hubs also connect into the Biotechnology must continue to innovate to stay undertake innovative programmes and Biological Sciences Research ahead of their competitors, as well of multidisciplinary research, with Council (BBSRC) through as to attract new investment into a focus throughout on the pathways their co-funding of the Future the UK. to manufacture. This focus supports Biomanufacturing Research Hub. the commercialisation of early-stage The Hubs collaborate closely EPSRC’s Manufacturing the Future research, and faster adoption of new with the Innovate UK funded theme plays a pivotal role in technology and business models Catapults, including the High ensuring the UK remains prosperous by industry. Value Manufacturing Catapult, Cell and our manufacturing industries and Gene Therapy Catapult and are ready to tackle future challenges The scale of the Hubs, £10m of Compound Semiconductor Catapult. and respond to new opportunities. EPSRC investment plus industrial We support cutting-edge research support, and duration of seven years, Our Hubs are an essential and the development of highly skilled sets these investments apart within component of the UK manufacturing people; both crucial to supporting the theme’s portfolio. This scale and landscape and vital to the future manufacturing innovation and longevity enables the Hubs to take success of our manufacturing catalysing growth. We are unique a leadership role in the national industries. in supporting basic manufacturing research and innovation landscape, Katie Daniel research through to the stage where convening the research and business Head of Manufacturing, EPSRC applications can be developed community to collectively identify by companies or Research and new opportunities. They conduct Technology Organisations. outreach activities and influence other stakeholders in the innovation We encourage a richer dialogue chain, such as Innovate UK and between world-leading Catapults, to ensure acceleration manufacturing researchers and of impact. industry partners, to ensure 4 Contents 6 LiME – the Future Liquid Metal Engineering Hub 10 The Future Photonics Hub 14 Future Continuous Manufacturing and Advanced Crystallisation Research Hub (CMAC) 18 Future Composites Hub 21 Future Targeted Healthcare Manufacturing Hub 25 MAPP – Future Manufacturing Hub in Manufacture using Advanced Powder ProcessesFuture 29 Advanced Metrology Hub 33 The Future Compound Semiconductor Hub 37 Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub 41 Future Research Hub in Electrical Machines 45 SUSTAIN – Strategic University Steel Technology And Innovation Network Manufacturing Hub 49 Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research (FVMR) Hub 53 Vax-Hub Future Vaccine Manufacturing Hub 5 LiME – the Future Liquid Metal Engineering Hub Recycling metals to retain properties while reducing energy use. The long-term vision of the Future University London, Uxbridge, “BCAST is the largest metal LiME Hub is full metal circulation, Middlesex. Its ‘academic spoke’ solidification research centre in the in which global demand for metallic partners are Imperial College UK and one of the largest in the materials is met by a full circulation London and the universities of world,” said Dr Mark Jones, LiME of secondary materials, with only Oxford, Leeds and Manchester. Hub Manager. “It incorporates two limited addition of primary metals purpose-built facilities: the Advanced Brunel University London’s legacy each year. It seeks to drive reduced Metal Casting Centre (AMCC), which of relationships with industry – usage and increased reuse, was built with £4 million EPSRC, particularly automotive – was the remanufacture, closed-loop recycling £7M Brunel and £6.5M industrial foundation for BCAST’s designation and effective recovery and refining. investment and opened in 2016; as an EPSRC Centre for Innovative and the Advanced Metal Processing LiME is based at the Brunel Manufacturing in 2010, and as the Centre (AMPC), built with a Centre for Advanced Solidification Future Manufacturing Liquid Metal £15 million award from the Higher Technology (BCAST), which was Engineering Hub in 2017. Education Funding Council for established in 2002 at Brunel 6 England and significant support from durability, workability and behaviour the private sector.” in use. The two centres have facilities to While most research has been in the BCAST is the largest demonstrate laboratory-based crystal growth phase of solidification, advanced technologies at LiME is focused on nucleation – the metal solidification industrial scale. point at which metal crystals begin to form. Improving the fundamental research centre in Areas of focus – nucleation, understanding of these processes the UK and one of the crystallisation will help develop better methods of management and control, leading to largest in the world LiME has special expertise in finer-grained metals with more working with aluminium and predictable and controllable magnesium and their alloys. properties. LiME is concerned with the “Making finer structures in This research is important in the sustainable use of metals in industry. metals requires more nucleation quest to make aluminium and It is researching ways to improve events, which will consequently be magnesium alloys more tolerant to recycling rates, to identify and smaller,” explained Dr Ian Stone, iron, and therefore more recyclable. remove or tolerate impurities and to Co-Investigator and a member of It has been looking at how particles develop “closed-loop” remanufacture the Hub management team. “LiME based on iron nucleate; and has and reuse, which will ultimately is seeking to understand how to been developing techniques, such reduce ‘downcycling’, wastage and enhance the nucleation process as applying high shear forces to disposal rates. Metals are crystalline at an atomic level, and to develop the metal, to enhance the rate of in structure. The crystalline phases techniques that can be used to formation to make them finer, more present and their shape, size and do so.” compact and more disperse. distribution affect properties such as 7 Recent advances “In collaboration with aluminium Recycling material that has already manufacturer Constellium, LiME been used saves nearly 95% of Manufacturers are frequently developed the HSA6 series of the energy used in making virgin challenged to manage the conflict aluminium alloys that combines material. It also produces only 5% of between the strength of alloys to the high strength of 7xxx series the CO2 and reduces manufacturing be used in critical applications, aerospace grades with the costs as well. such as passenger protection and extrudability of medium-strength “While it is relatively easy to recycle crash management systems, and 6xxx series” said