AMRC and Ricardo to develop low-emission automotive technology

The companies will collaborate on developing low-emission technology including powertrain electrification

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with global engineering company Ricardo to develop products and manufacturing methods for the automotive and vehicle production industry.

The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) aims to increase the ‘capacity, capability and competitiveness’ for UK companies. The group’s longer term goal is to maintain the UK automotive industry as a world leader in advanced low emission powertrain and vehicle production.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) builds on a relationship between the AMRC and Ricardo, which started with Ricardo sponsoring a programme of doctoral students supported by the University of Sheffield’s Faculty of Engineering and AMRC. These studentships are jointly investigating electric motor design and manufacture.

The MoU was signed at the AMRC Factory of the Future on 29 September 2016 and will bring about a 'more comprehensive period of collaboration' to cover joint research and development projects.

The AMRC’s automotive sector lead, Ben Kitcher, said: “A primary theme of this collaboration will be powertrain electrification, which is a key driver of the automotive industry and shall be addressed by Ricardo and the AMRC jointly. This will be alongside the development of motors, batteries and power electronics with cutting edge functional design as well as manufacturability.”

Ricardo chief operating officer Mark Garrett said: “Our collaborations such as this with some of the UK’s leading academic research groups, allows us to leverage both our collective intellectual capital and the investment of Ricardo in advance R&D, in order to bring forward advanced technologies that can help deliver a lower carbon and more sustainable future for transportation.”