A NEW £10-million design and manufacturing centre has been created in partnership between Imperial College London and India’s Tata Steel as part of efforts to develop innovative processes to decarbonise steel production.
The Centre for Innovation in Sustainable Design and Manufacturing is expected to enable the development of sustainable products in the automotive and clean energy industries.
According to Imperial, lighter and stronger types of steel could foster more energy-efficient and affordable vehicles and clean energy generation.
“Drawing on Imperial and Tata Steel’s combined expertise, this new centre will work to reduce the environmental impact in steel production and in key sectors that use steel, like the clean energy sector,” professor Mary Ryan, vice-provost (research and enterprise) at Imperial College London and co-chair of the Governing Council of the centre, said in a statement on Wednesday (13).
“To create a zero-pollution future, it’s vital that we prioritise systematic transformation of industrial systems. By doing this, the new centre will contribute to the creation of a high tech and economically successful steel industry, both in the UK and across the world,” she said.
Imperial, a leading research university, points out that Tata Steel will benefit from the expertise of Imperial academics both in the department of mechanical engineering and across the university.
The centre will also incorporate an accelerator programme designed to support the transfer of new insights to the industry, with Imperial researchers working to develop new technologies.
“This new Centre is a great example of how Imperial’s research can have real-world impact and address a key global challenge,” said professor Nigel Brandon, dean of Imperial’s Faculty of Engineering.
“The Centre for Innovation is a part of Tata Steel’s larger endeavour to build stronger industry-academia partnerships for driving technological advancement and creating strategic advantages,” said T V Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel.
“The centre at Imperial provides a strong academic and research platform with an excellent talent pool. Our goal is to synergise research excellence with industry experience to create cutting-edge technology solutions for a greener future,” he said.
Debashish Bhattacharjee, vice president, technology and R&D, Tata Steel, noted that the new centre will focus on the “design and development of sustainable solutions”.
(PTI)
