Although British science is frequently lauded as being second only to the US in capability, the gap between the research carried out in academia and its successful application commercially has vexed successive governments.
As part of the last Labour administration, Lord Mandelson entrusted Dr Hermann Hauser with carrying out a review of how the UK could solve this problem. The coalition government proved willing to proceed with Hauser’s recommendations, and the result has been the development of the Technology and Innovation Centres, or Catapult Centres as they are now known. Hauser compared Britain’s record on taking university research to industry unfavourably with the performance of the Fraunhofer institutes in Germany. He noted in his report that we “fall short on translating scientific leads into leading positions in new industries”.
Hauser added: “This is in part down to a critical gap between research findings and their subsequent development into commercial propositions that can attract venture capital investment or be licensed. This gap can only be closed by making new technologies investment ready. Therefore, if the UK is serious about creating a knowledge economy, we must continue to invest in, and support, research excellence.”
Many scientists feared the worst when the coalition came to power with an agenda to slash public spending. Some thought the science budget could face cuts of up to 25%, but in the end universities minister David Willetts froze it until 2014, although in real terms that is a cut. There have been winners and losers, but the Catapult Centres have emerged unscathed from the axe-wielding, with the Tories perhaps also heeding the advice of Sir James Dyson, from whom they had commissioned their own review on science and engineering.
One Catapult Centre, researching high-value manufacturing, is already open. The Technology Strategy Board is establishing six other centres in these areas: offshore renewable energy; cell therapy; transport systems – with automotive consultancy Mira and Coventry University, among others; satellite applications; connected digital economy; and future cities. All Catapults are expected to be fully operational in 2013. As well as receiving funding from the Technology Strategy Board, direct contracts with UK business will form a significant part of the overall funding for the Catapults – as happens in Germany with the Fraunhofer institutes, where money from industry provides the bulk of funding. The board says the centres will also be well-positioned to secure money from competitive R&D grants, including EU funding.
They will generate their funding from three sources: competitively won business-funded R&D contracts; applied R&D projects funded jointly by the public and private sector again won competitively; and core public funding for investment in each centre’s capabilities, know-how, expertise, skills and capital assets.
This is not to say, of course, that universities aren’t already engaged in substantial collaborative work with industry. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is backing the University of Bath and Cummins Turbo Technologies (CTT) as they work together on developing turbocharger technology.
“The reason for the research grant is to encourage knowledge transfer,” says Dr Chris Brace, deputy director of the powertrain and vehicle research centre at the university. “Some might think that means knowledge transfer from universities into industry. In reality, it’s a two-way thing. It’s got to be.”
CTT director of technology Stuart Kitson says the extra engineering expertise applied to turbocharger design and test is welcome. “Engine systems are becoming more and more complicated,” he says. “Obviously there’s the emissions legislation. If you look at a Euro 1 compared to a Euro 6 engine, the later engine is much more complicated. You need to be able to understand how all the different components including the turbocharger interact.
“That’s the key. You could have the best turbocharger but, if it doesn’t match the engine that you’re working on, it can be a disaster.”
At Bath, Brace’s team of researchers – who are also working on projects with Jaguar Land Rover and Ford – are looking at improving analytical tools used in the design process for turbochargers right through to those used to assess how they perform in an engine. For example, the team has access to simulation software and test rigs that can determine the way in which a turbocharger will run under different conditions, all the way from real-world driving through to tests to meet emissions legislation.
Brace says: “There’s an analytical side in terms of how you can improve the modelling tools to represent those conditions better. There are techniques for doing that already, and I think the project is really aiming to refine and demonstrate those in an industrial context, which you can then take and use in the industry, rather than in a research lab. We’re applying existing pieces of research to topical industrial problems. The aim is to get these tools being used more in the industry.”
Michael Cummings, manager of technology development at CTT, says: “Part of the benefit we get from this is a thorough analysis of how the turbochargers operate in real-world situations.
“For example, there may be different inlets for the compressor that are aerodynamically sub-optimal, but are forced on you because of space constraints. It’s all about compromise, as ever in engineering, but this type of project takes us slightly outside our customer base and we can see some new areas.
“One of the big benefits could be simulation that we can trust more in design, or in test. Ultimately it can mean designs that work first time, rather than having to go through expensive and time-consuming iterations.”
Brace says turbochargers are likely to be in increased demand in the next three to five years as they are fitted in gasoline engines, where the desire to downsize while boosting performance requires turbocharger technology.
“It’s certainly an exciting time to be working on turbocharging engines,” he says.
The project with Cummins will run for 18 months but it is uncertain where future funding to develop it would come from. Brace says: “It’s not clear what the opportunities are going to be for knowledge transfer funding. But we are talking about development of the partnership.
“It would be nice to bring in people with direct ownership of the analytical tools, because the work that we do here needs to be established in the companies that we are working with if it’s to be of maximum benefit.”
Kitson says Cummins will keep an eye on developments in the passenger car market while ensuring the main emphasis remains on heavy-duty and commercial vehicles. “From a turbocharger perspective, dealing with increasingly complex systems is the key,” he says.
“We’re trying to use our expertise for turbocharger design, but also utilise other areas within Cummins where we have mechanical, electrical and engine knowledge.
“There’s a lot of opportunities – if you’re a strong organisation technically. With tightening restrictions on emissions, it’s a complicated and difficult subject – and that’s what makes the job extremely interesting.”
The collaboration with Bath University, you sense, might be something of which Hermann Hauser himself would approve.