WMG at the University of Warwick are delighted to be part of a £19.4m project to support the development of next-generation electric vehicle batteries in the UK, funded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC UK Ltd).

The funding will support leading edge manufacturing research focussed around Nissan's Sunderland battery manufacturing plant - the largest full scale automotive Li-ion battery manufacturing facility in Europe. WMG researchers will play a key role in helping Nissan take forward this opportunity and will receive £1m for the research.

The consortium led by Nissan with WMG at the University of Warwick, Hyperdrive, Newcastle University, and Zero Carbon Futures (ZCF), will bring together engineers, researchers, new technology and existing facilities, assets and knowledge to create and prove new and improved manufacturing processes for the next generation of automotive batteries.

WMG has particular skills around battery chemistry and the manufacturing processes used to scale this up to high volume production. WMG role in the project will be to investigate potential improvements to battery chemistry and increasing manufacturing yield, and to optimise automated manufacturing processes to enable Nissan to remain at the forefront of electric vehicle technology.

The continued success and growth of WMG, at the University of Warwick, now means that it is seeking to hire 120 new recruits over the next 100 days.

WMG is a leading centre for world class education and applied research in many sectors including: automotive, aerospace and defence, business, construction, energy and utilities, IT, security and rail. They have recently won funding for several major research projects and partnerships that builds on our large array of collaborations with new and established partners.

WMG’s Chairman Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya said:

As we continue to grow and expand we are seeking individuals who thrive on a challenge and who aren’t afraid to defy conventional thinking. We are investing in, and creating, several new world-leading facilities to support these new projects. So we also need to invest in more talented people to take these projects forward and we will intend to recruit 120 of those people in the next 100 days.”

Some of the most recent developments, at WMG include a new £13.5 million Energy Innovation Centre and the £150 million National Automotive Innovation Centre.

WMG, at the University of Warwick and Kulim Technology Park have signed a memorandum of understanding for research and education.

The initial focus will be on developing and delivering an educational programme, with a workshop in May to identify skills required for designing and development for manufacuturing processes. There will also be a scoping exercise around potential research projects with the companies who are situated within the technology hub.

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya and Dato Annuar Mohd Saffar, Chairman and Preseident of KTPC signed the MOU, which was witnessed by Dato Sabrina Noor, Kedah State Executive Councillor for Science and technology, IT, telecommunication and high-technology.

Birmingham based Thermotec Plastics Ltd and WMG at the University of Warwick have worked on a project together to develop a new product offering for the automotive and aerospace markets that is worth £1.5 million in new turnover for the business.

Thermotec Plastics, an innovative and bespoke supplier of engineered solutions in vacuum forming and polyurethane mouldings created a new composite material with impressive lightweight properties and WMG undertook a testing programme that validated the product for market.

The collaboration developed when David Rose, managing director of Thermotec was asked for performance related data for the new composite material by a key automotive client. Thermotec was unable to produce the data in-house as the testing equipment required was investment prohibitive. He therefore approached WMG’s SME Team at the International Institute for Product and Service Innovation who were able to undertake the testing through their funded Innovation Programme for West Midlands SMEs.

Battery experts at WMG, University of Warwick have helped The One Show test AA batteries to determine which last the longest.

More used to testing batteries for transport, including cars, trains and motorsport as it’s Christmas experts were more than happy to help reporter, Anita Rani with a scientific test to understand how a range of different AA batteries available on the high street might perform. The tests were carried out in WMG’s Energy Innovation Centre using the battery characterisation laboratory and part of the £13m Battery Materials Scale-Up Pilot Line.

Mark Amor-Segan, Principal Engineer and Shane Beattie, Technical Manager, for the Battery Scale-up Facility, conducted blind scientific tests on 16 different AA batteries. The batteries came from three different battery chemistry families: i) zinc-chloride, ii) alkaline and iii) lithium. All 16 batteries were tested at a constant current of 500 mA down to 1.1 V. The voltage profile was recorded using a highly accurate battery cycler. All batteries were kept at 20 degrees using a thermal chamber to provide a controlled test environment. For The One Show viewers Anita came armed with 16 toy puppies and fitted each with the 16 different types of batteries. Keeping the puppies in a 20 degree room, the same temperature used to test the batteries, and watched over by a researcher, they were set off to see which would last the longest.

Leading West Midlands SMEs were at WMG, University of Warwick, for an awards night which recognised Impact and Innovation.

The Innovation Feast took place over two days on the 10th and 11th December with a number of practical workshops and speeches delivered by leading industry figures including the chairman of the Midlands Assembly Network and managing director of PP Electrical Systems Ltd Tony Hague, manufacturing expert Will Stirling, managing director of Coventry based Sprue Safety Products Ltd Nick Rutter, innovation specialist at WMG Dr David Bott and customer engagement pioneers Rant & Rave Ltd. In total 14 companies and six interns were also celebrated for their contribution to economic growth in the West Midlands.

Birmingham based Barkley Plastics won the Impact award having increased turnover by over £1 million through their collaboration with WMG. The company’s former technical director Maurice Cassidy also won a special recognition award for his contribution to innovation in the West Midlands.

The Manufacturing Excellence Awards (MX), run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), were held at the University of Warwick on 30th September. Ahead of the ceremony, Professor Lord Bhattacharyya hosted a drinks reception for the nominees and guests in WMG's International Digital Laboratory.

Guests were welcomed by Lord Bhattacharyya and Colin Brown, Engineering Director at the IMechE, and given private tours of WMG's materials research and Energy Innovation Centre.

MX is a business improvement and awards programme that supports and promotes manufacturers in the UK ensuring industry productivity and worldwide competitiveness within SMEs, Mid-Caps and OEMs. WMG has been a partner of the MX Awards for many years and Professor Lord Bhattacharyya said:

The MX awards show the very best of British manufacturing, and I’m delighted to congratulate every company and every innovator who has had a part to play in the success stories being highlighted this evening"

On Wednesday 24^th September, WMG was pleased to host a visit from Janice Munday CBE, Director of Advanced Manufacturing and Services at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Meeting with Lord Bhattacharyya, Ms Munday was keen to hear how WMG develops partnerships with a range of industrial organisations and the significant economic benefits of such partnerships. She was also interested to understand the breadth of research undertaken by WMG, as the leading university centre for advanced manufacturing, towards development of innovation in manufacturing and the work in low carbon mobility delivered through the WMG centre High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

Ms Munday also had the opportunity to take a tour of WMG’s impressive manufacturing R&D facilities including: the Battery Materials Pilot Line and the Vehicle Energy Facility within the Energy Innovation Centre, materials lightweighting projects in the International Manufacturing Centre, and the new polymer processing facilities within the International Institute for Nanocomposites Manufacturing. Ms Munday also had an opportunity to see the site of the National Automotive Innovation Centre, due to open in 2016.

After two years’ development and two weeks of racing, engineering students from the University of Warwick were awarded 2nd in UK and 4th place overall at the European International Submarine Race (eISR) event in Gosport, Hampshire.

The team of Warwick engineering students raced a human-powered submarine around an underwater course measuring 175m. This one-man craft was piloted by a student in scuba gear lying down and peddling to drive rear propellers while steering via a joystick at the front. Speed and agility were crucial as any interactions with course markers incurred penalties; the sub with the fewest penalties and fastest time won.

The competition itself is recognised globally as an opportunity for some of the best students, from a host of universities, to demonstrate their knowledge and passion for engineering,

A new initiative to provide business leadership training for 20 senior managers from fast growing SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) has just been launched by WMG, at the University of Warwick, in partnership with Santander.

The postgraduate award programme has received £40,000 of support from Santander, which will significantly reduce the cost of the programme that will give senior SME managers the opportunity to boost their ability to lead and embed innovation in their organisations. The scheme was launched, at WMG, at an event attended by a number of leading SMEs in the region as well senior figures from Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, the EEF and Tata Motors.

Dr Mark Swift Head of SME Programmes at WMG said:

The new programme blends WMG’s longstanding experience of delivering executive education and cutting edge research with a suite of additional support from Santander’s SME Breakthrough Scheme, networking opportunities and innovative product and service technology.”

The emphasis of the programme is to equip the leaders of today and tomorrow with the very best tools to encourage and embed a culture of innovation. We will teach participants about the latest modes of management as well as offering hands on experience of using new technology to grow and develop a business.”