Engineering news
The newly formed Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) awarded the money to the Digital Catapult and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC) today (6 June).
The bodies will work alongside industry partners and small businesses to “transform” the UK manufacturing sector by using advanced digital technologies to deliver greater resource efficiency and energy efficiency (REEE), an HVMC announcement said.
The Made Smarter Innovation Sustainability Accelerator, as the project is known, comes amid growing demand to transition towards net zero and help the industry meet the government’s environmental objectives. The manufacturing sector contributes over 11% to UK gross value added (GVA) but 12% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the government’s 2017 Made Smarter Review into industrial digitalisation set out a 4.5% target reduction of CO2 emissions. A legally binding target of 68% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 was included in the 2021 Net Zero Strategy.
To overcome the difficulties associated with sustainability in manufacturing, five industry partners will work with the Catapults to define two real-world sustainability challenges each. 10 start-ups will then prototype and trial solutions to those challenges, using AI and other digital technologies.
The solutions could improve productivity, cut costs and drive down carbon emissions, the HVMC announcement said.
CEO Katherine Bennett CBE said: “Without doubt, sustainable manufacturing must be the number one priority for the sector, and the development and integration of new and existing industrial digital technologies is critical to this.
“By bringing together industry heavyweights, technology developers and subject matter experts to prove out ideas and develop them rapidly, this programme can find solutions to the biggest challenges facing manufacturers right now. Through this, we can deliver a UK manufacturing sector that is resilient, flexible, productive and – vitally – environmentally sustainable.”
Jeremy Silver, Digital Catapult CEO, said: “The UK’s vibrant tech start-up sector is a deep well of untapped opportunity for manufacturing industries. Resource and energy efficiency gains are examples of the ways in which advanced digital technologies – and the innovative start-ups that use them – support growth and sustainability gains for industry through new products and services that can disrupt traditional approaches.
“Digital Catapult-led programmes such as the Made Smarter Technology Accelerator and the Made Smarter Innovation Digital Supply Chain Hub have already shown how to make smart use of small amounts of public money to drive private investment and create tangible impact in support of both large industrial players and smaller, agile businesses.”
Both Catapults are part of the national Catapult Network of technology and innovation centres, established by Innovate UK. The project is funded by the Made Smarter Innovation Challenge at Innovate UK.
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