WMG News - Latest news from WMG

Commenting on the UK-India trade deal, Professor Robin ClarkLink opens in a new window, Dean of WMG, said:

“The UK trade deal with India is very good news for UK manufacturing. The significantly reduced tariffs for advanced manufacturing, automotive and clean energy are particularly welcome, giving UK companies the opportunity to support India's sustainable economic growth, while creating jobs and investment at home.

“WMG, at the University of Warwick, has deep expertise in supporting innovation in the UK and India, with long-standing partnerships with CIILink opens in a new window and major investors such as TataLink opens in a new window and TVS across sectors including automotive, energy and steel, alongside innovation and education collaborations with leading Indian Business and education institutions, delivering positive impact for our regional and national economy. While further details will be announced, we look forward to building on our experience to help firms identify the growth opportunities that will develop as the UK and India work more closely together.”

WMG was pleased to welcome Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, and representatives from the Department of Transport and the logistics industry, on to campus to hear more about its Last Mile Logistics Project.

The Last Mile Logistics Project is a partnership between WMG and Transport for West MidlandsLink opens in a new window (TfWM), and is funded by the West Midlands Innovation AcceleratorLink opens in a new window.

As part of the project, the University of Warwick campus is being used as a testbed for a small fleet of low-speed electric delivery vehicles to demonstrate how they can help the UK reach Net Zero, while cutting congestion and improving air quality.

Two WMG researchers, Mert GülçürLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window and Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new windowDerya Kaya Özdemir have received MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships from Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie ActionsLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window. MSCALink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window are the EU’s flagship funding programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training, supporting career development, whilst fostering excellence in research.

WMG, at The University of Warwick (UK), and Binghamton University (USA) have entered an agreement to explore collaboration in the fields of science, technology and education with the aim of fueling vital battery manufacturing capability in both countries. The new five-year memorandum of understanding sets the foundation to encourage the sharing of academic, scientific and cultural experiences between the two institutions, both pioneers in the battery field.

Battery research and educational materials for training will be a key element of the collaboration, which will explore access to shared facilities and equipment to maximize the capabilities of both institutions.

WMG at the University of Warwick proudly hosted the Thermo Fisher Scientific Clean Energy Forum and extends its gratitude to all distinguished speakers and attendees.

WMG was pleased to be part of an incredible array of speakers from both industry and academia, participating in the exchange of knowledge about groundbreaking work underway to benefit the battery industry.

The event provided an excellent platform to highlight WMG’s state-of-the-art pilot line facilities and advanced characterisation capabilities, including microscopy, operando techniques, and in-line metrology, which are pivotal for pioneering battery projects in collaboration with industry partners.
 

WMG’s Professor of Battery Innovation, Louis Piper, explained: “The Clean Energy Forum provided an exceptional platform for fostering collaboration and dialogue between academic experts and industry leaders across Europe. We are excited about our collaboration with Thermo Fisher in the areas of in-line metrology and characterisation for battery prototyping and scale up."

Engineers and students at WMG at The University of Warwick are working on a hydrogen-powered car fuelled by sewage, in a project entitled Waste2Race. The hydrogen is a byproduct of water treatment technology, from Wastewater Fuels, being trialled at Severn Trent Water, and with it the team at the University are hoping to break records for hydrogen fuelled cars.

WMG at the University of Warwick, Innovate UK (IUK) and advanced recycler of plastics Mura Technology are to continue their collaboration on sustainability with a new IUK funded, two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP).

WMG will develop operational sustainability models for Mura’s Hydro-PRT advanced plastic recycling technology to identify opportunities for further improvements to the already sector-leading environmental performance of the process. Mura has already identified an annual carbon emissions saving of 40,000 tonnes at the first Hydro-PRT site in Wilton, Teesside, due to commence operations in 2024.

Mura Technology is an advanced recycler of waste plastics, producing fossil-equivalent oils from post-use, mixed, multi-layered flexible and rigid plastics for the petrochemicals industry to create virgin-grade plastics, such as for use in food packaging. Mura's patented, innovative next generation processing technology, Hydro-PRT, produces high quality chemicals and oils with sector-leading sustainability attributes, creating a low carbon and circular model for a range of stakeholders working with polymers.

The company's first commercial scale plant, at Wilton, Teesside, will become the world's largest advanced recycling plant when it commences operations later this year, with two further plants being built under licence with partners in South Korea and Japan, expected to come online by the end of 2024. Driven by increasing regulation on plastic waste, Mura has a global growth ambition for more than 1.5 million tonnes of recycling capacity in operation or development by 2032.

WMG will create a modelling platform that will operationalise sustainability at all future Mura project sites, including Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), to demonstrate transparently how Hydro-PRT meets environmental requirements. The platform will be used to educate and inform stakeholders including global regulators, policy makers and the plastics value chain on the low carbon potential of
Hydro-PRT.

The KTP is the continuation of the IUK Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging research partnership, where Reader of Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing at WMG, University of Warwick, Dr Stuart Coles successfully developed and published Life Cycle Analysis models, independent of Mura, for the Hydro-PRT process and the UK waste plastic recycling ecosystem. Dr Coles will also be the academic lead on this project.

Simon Broome Innovation Manager at WMG, University of Warwick, who co-wrote the application for the project, said: “I was blown away by the potential of this project to transform the process for recycling contaminated waste plastic. The team are highly committed and have already demonstrated impressive growth on their journey to make real sustainability gains in this important material sector.”

Mura’s Head of Sustainability and R&D, Dr Geoff Brighty, said: “Continuing the collaboration with WMG is critically important to bring this new science into our core business operation. Hydro-PRT has sector leading sustainability credentials, but every prospective site will be unique, influenced by the local energy grid, plant configurations as well as its material supply chain. The KTP project models will inform options appraisals and decision making, ensuring sustainability is at the heart of our global growth programme.”

For more information on developing a Knowledge Transfer Partnership application with WMG, contact wmgsme@warwick.ac.uk

For more information on WMG’s research in Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing visit: Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Group (warwick.ac.uk)

‘Personalised’ hip replacement surgery might be just what the doctor ordered for people with hip arthritis – according to new research. Using advanced technology from other industries such as automotive and manufacturing, researchers are driving medical advancement.

The result is tailored hip replacements, as each person moves their hips in slightly different ways. At the moment, replacements are based on a ‘normal’ hip rather than being specifically designed for the patient.

In the study by WMG at The University of Warwick, in collaboration with University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust and Corin Group, researchers revealed this pioneering approach to hip replacements could improve patient outcomes and surgery success rates.

More than 100,000 people in the UK undergo hip replacements each year, according to the NHS – commonly due to arthritis, a disease of the joints which causes significant pain.

The new study analysed longstanding problems in hip replacement surgery: on the specific range of motion needed in a replacement and how the value of the personalised surgery could be calculated before any operation.

In the study, Lead Researcher Dr Arnab Palit, Assistant Professor at WMG at The University of Warwick, and his team combined real-life and computer models to compare simulated and real hip motions.

This demonstrated that certain hip motions can be easily and accurately calculated using state-of-the-art computer simulations based on CT scans of the patient’s hip joint, closely mirroring real hip motions.

This advancement could enable surgeons to plan hip surgeries based on patient-specific target hip motions, rather than relying on population norms or arbitrary 'normal' values. This personalised approach is particularly valuable for patients who do not fall within these average values, ensuring that pre-surgical planning is truly individualised and likely to be more effective.

Using these tailor-made hip replacements could improve the success of operations, making them ‘right at the first time’. Surgeons may be able to put the artificial hip in just the right spot based on the pre-operatively calculated personified target hip motion.

This could reduce the chances of any clinical problems later on, minimising the risk of revision surgery. This will also help to improve the recovery time of patients, while also reducing additional costs and labour to the NHS.

Dr Palit said: “This research shows a big step forward in hip replacement planning. By using computer simulations based on a patient's hip shape from CT scans, we can predict certain hip movements accurately. During surgery, these predicted movements can guide them to place implants in the best positions for each patient.

“So, instead of using average measurements, we're customising the surgery to fit each person perfectly, leading better surgery. Further research will be necessary to fully explore its potential to utilise it for NHS patients.”

Professor Richard King, Clinical Orthopaedic Surgeon at UHCW and the clinical lead of the project, commented: “The hip replacement has been called ‘the operation of the century’.

“As surgeons, we are constantly looking to make it better and more reliable. This work we have done with WMG could help us to do exactly this, by showing us how to tailor the operation precisely for each individual patient.”

Dr Christopher Plaskos, Vice President, Global Clinical Innovation at Corin Group added: “Corin is proud to support this research aimed at predicting the true range of clinical motion of a hip joint from pre-operative CT and hip motion simulation. It’s research like this that will shape the future of hip planning, leading to truly personalised hip replacement.”

Find out more about WMG’s scanning capabilities here: Metrology and 3D Imaging (warwick.ac.uk)

WMG at the University of Warwick is proud to be an active partner in Coventry City Council’s pioneering digital recycling scheme, the #CovConnects Device Bank.

The project, which is part of the Council’s Digital Inclusion programme and supported by the Cities Climate Change Strategy, was launched on principles of circular economy by reusing and repairing end of corporate life devices which are then distributed to local communities.

The Council was awarded the funding following a successful application to the Time after Time fund. The fund was created and is distributed by Hubbub and Virgin Media O2, and looks to fund projects that help to close the digital divide while reducing electronic waste.

Cllr Richard Brown, Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources at Coventry City Council, said: “Our #CovConnects programme is all about making sure none of our residents are digitally excluded. That’s why I’m delighted we’ve won this funding.

“This money will allow us to expand our efforts and get more of these devices into the hands of the most vulnerable. Having your own device, which you can use every day, is something that has the potential to completely transform your life.

“This project is a true partnership with the NHS, WMG and other partners across the city. Together we can make Coventry truly digitally inclusive.”

Dr Russ Hall, WMG’s Lead for Circular Economy and Sustainable Manufacturing at the University of Warwick, and Chair of the Coventry City Climate Change Board Circular Pathway, added: “It’s really important to be a part of this fantastic scheme. We want to research the reuse, remanufacture and recycling of digital equipment. This is a great example of where sustainable practices like circular economy can address societal issues like digital poverty, and we want to do all we can to help it flourish and grow. It has real environmental benefits as part of the circular economy and can play a vital role in overcoming digital exclusion.”

Digital Recycling is a key element within the Council’s Climate Change Strategy. Dr Russ Hall and Friya Tailor from WMG, are working with colleagues from the Council to evaluate the environmental benefits of the project. The research will in turn be shared nationally enabling other organisations to learn from the scheme.

To find out more about the #CovConnects programme, visit: https://www.coventry.gov.uk/cov-connects

Virgin Media O2 and Hubbub established the Time After Time fund in 2022 in response to the nation’s growing e-waste problem, with the UK producing more electrical waste per person than any other country in the world (except for Norway).

#CovConnects was selected as one of eight winners from more than 120 entries by a panel of judges including TV presenter and environmentalist George Clarke, non-profit, Material Focus, digital inclusion charity, Good Things Foundation, plus Hubbub and Virgin Media O2.

Find out more about Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing research at WMG here: Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Group (warwick.ac.uk)