The Minister and Mayor praised the transformative work taking place and how it will allow businesses to gain access to university research expertise and use industrial digital technologies such as AI and robotics.
Northern Powerhouse Minister, Jake Berry MP, said: “These three new research centres will boost the reputation of the Northern Powerhouse for being the world-leader in cutting-edge research, innovation and advanced engineering. Each centre will build upon the UK’s scientific research leadership to equip industry in these key priorities of the Government’s Industrial Strategy so that we have a high-skilled, high-tech, high-performance economy which is fit for the future."
I know the opening of these new engineering centres is not just great news for the University, but for the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District, the Sheffield City Region, and the wider Northern Powerhouse."
Dan Jarvis
Mayor of Sheffield
"These cutting-edge facilities will form part of a wider Global Innovation Corridor, linking sites across our region that excel in research, engineering and advanced manufacturing. Firmly rooted in our existing strengths, this corridor will be a global magnet for people, industry and innovators and a huge contributor to our nation’s prosperity.
"I'm proud to work closely with the University of Sheffield and applaud the standard of research, of ambition and of innovation that has made these new engineering centres a reality."
Working with companies to help develop new technologies, the centres will use the transformational power of research to cut costs and lead times which will revolutionise industrial processes.
The centres - the Royce Translational Centre (RTC), the Laboratory for Verification and Validation (LVV), and the Integrated Civil and Infrastructure Research Centre (ICAIR) - are located within the heart of the Sheffield City Region’s Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District, a key element of the emerging Global Innovation Corridor that stretches across the Sheffield City Region.
Professor Mike Hounslow, Vice-President and Head of the Faculty of Engineering, said: “At the University of Sheffield we deliver pioneering interdisciplinary research and find solutions to global challenges. The three centres launched today build on this established expertise and firmly place us as a key partner for industry.
"The capabilities of the centres will enable us to test and operate on an industrial scale, translating theory into application to improve productivity, cost efficiencies and innovation across a broad range of sectors.”
The three world-leading translational research facilities are each housed in custom-designed prestigious new buildings, creating 3,000 sq.m of high-technology facilities at an investment of £47m part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the University of Sheffield.
Each one builds upon the UK’s scientific research leadership to equip industry in these key priorities of the government’s Industrial Strategy.
At the University of Sheffield we deliver pioneering interdisciplinary research and find solutions to global challenges. The three centres launched today build on this established expertise and firmly place us as a key partner for industry.
Professor Mike Hounslow
Vice-President and Head of the Faculty of Engineering
The site is already home to the University of Sheffield’s world-leading Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) Factory 2050 - the UK’s first state of the art factory, entirely dedicated to conducting collaborative research into reconfigurable digitally assisted assembly, component manufacturing and machining technologies, as well as Boeing Sheffield, the aerospace giant’s new fabrication facility.
As part of his visit, the Minister was given a tour of the new centres by Professor Mike Hounslow, who highlighted some of the successful partnerships between the Centres and local businesses.
ICAIR have worked with Sheffield’s Environmental Monitoring Solutions (EMS) to manage the increased risk of urban flooding caused by climate change. The artificial intelligence-based technology called CENTAUR™ means that sewer flow control systems can be managed at a local level, providing better protection using the same infrastructure.
Metron Advanced Equipment Limited, based in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, is working with the RTC to produce parts for aerospace and automotive applications, such as jet engine components and turbochargers, from Titanium Aluminides (TiAl) using Additive Manufacturing (or 3D printing). Using advanced alloys with new technologies will enable the production of more complex parts with greater efficiency, providing the potential to exploit new commercial opportunities.
LVV’s partnership with Sheffield-based Magnomatics, through the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Dynamics Research Group (DRG), focuses on testing the vibration performance of their magnetic gear components. They will now be able to use the environmental chambers at the LVV to test under extreme conditions such as temperatures of plus and minus 50 degrees, one of an extremely limited number of facilities worldwide where they would be able to carry out testing of this type.
The work taking place at the three new centres builds on the experience and expertise of the nearby University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre which works with partners such as Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Airbus as well as local SMEs to help improve productivity, de-risk investment decisions, and accelerate the early adoption of industrial digital technologies to improve performance and quality.
The new advanced engineering centres are part-funded by ERDF, which is administered via the Ministry for Houses, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and UKRI from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
More about the centres:
Royce Translational Centre (RTC)
The University of Sheffield is one of the founding partners of the Henry Royce Institute, the UK National Centre for Research and Innovation of Advanced Materials.
The Henry Royce Institute is a key driving force of the Northern Powerhouse and the investment of £235m is addressing the new-materials requirement of the Industrial Strategy
The Royce Translational Centre is home to Royce@Sheffield and the metals research group of AMRC, the National Metals Technology Centre (NAMTEC)
Royce@Sheffield is one of the ‘spokes’ of the Henry Royce Institute and its work at the RTC is accelerating the benefits to industry in the field of Advanced Metal Processing including: net shape aerospace components and lightweight solutions for transport
Laboratory for Verification and Validation (LVV)
This world-leading facility will enable research into the optimal design and operation of advanced engineering structures when exposed to real-world vibration and environmental conditions. The facilities allow testing of both full structures (such as automobiles) and substantial substructures and components of aircraft and wind turbines.
Funding for LVV was announced (on 29 July 2015) by then Prime Minister David Cameron during a Northern Powerhouse trade mission to Malaysia and Singapore.
Experimental data, computer modelling and machine learning will allow industry to produce lighter, safer designs for a range of industrial sectors, including energy, aerospace and automotive.
Supports the government’s Industrial Strategy drive for faster accessibility of these benefits for industry.
Integrated Civil and Infrastructure Research Centre (ICAIR)
Unique experimental facilities for investigating both underground and above ground constructed infrastructure.
Brings the power of optimisation, data, AI, robotics and advanced manufacturing techniques to the field of infrastructure to increase productivity in this sector, a key target of the Industrial Strategy.
Hosts the National Distributed Water Infrastructure Facility, part of the ‘UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure & Cities’ (UKCRIC), understanding how to make the nation’s infrastructure more resilient to extreme events and more adaptable to changing circumstances. ICAIR has been part-funded by the UKCRIC programme.
Additional information
The University of Sheffield
With almost 29,000 of the brightest students from over 140 countries, learning alongside over 1,200 of the best academics from across the globe, the University of Sheffield is one of the world’s leading universities.
A member of the UK’s prestigious Russell Group of leading research-led institutions, Sheffield offers world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines.
Unified by the power of discovery and understanding, staff and students at the university are committed to finding new ways to transform the world we live in.
Sheffield is the only university to feature in The Sunday Times 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For 2018 and for the last eight years has been ranked in the top five UK universities for Student Satisfaction by Times Higher Education.
Sheffield has six Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and its alumni go on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence all over the world, making significant contributions in their chosen fields.
Global research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Unilever, AstraZeneca, Glaxo SmithKline, Siemens and Airbus, as well as the many UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations.
European Regional Development Fund
The projects are receiving funding from the European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for the European Regional Development Fund.
Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.