NEWS n www.drivesncontrols.com June 2024 11 THE UK GOVERNMENT is backing a manufacturing research hub that will use robots, automation and AI to create a sustainable circular manufacturing ecosystem. The £34.6m Manufacturing Research Hub in Robotics, Automation & Smart Machine Enabled Sustainable Circular Manufacturing & Materials (RESCu-M2) will be backed by £11m of funding from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and £23.6m (cash and in-kind) from partner organisations, over a seven-year period. These organisations include five universities, two local authorities and the Manufacturing Technology Centre. The manufacturing hub is one of five new hubs aimed to addressing the commercialisation of early-stage research in key areas of manufacturing, such as semiconductors and medicines. ESPRC is investing a total of £55m in the hubs, with partner contributions bringing the total support to £99.3m. The manufacturing hub, based at the University of Birmingham, will focus on the sustainable use of critical materials, and improving the productivity of Re-X (re-use, repurpose, repair, remanufacture and recycle) manufacturing processes. The goal is to enhance the way we re-use and refurbish technologies such as electric motors, batteries and medical devices. The aim is to increase the re-use of critical components by at least 75%, and to reclaim at least 50% more components. For example, increasing the re-use of rareearth materials from magnets by just 30% could secure the UK’s supply of these critical materials, which come mainly from politically unstable regions including China, and whose production is often environmentally damaging. Re-X processes are currently much more labour-intensive than traditional manufacturing, resulting in many materials being disposed of via landfill or incineration. However, it is estimated that businesses could save up to £23bn per year by making low- or no-cost improvements. The Hub’s director is Professor Samia NeftiMeziani, who is also director of the Birmingham Robotics Institute. “We need to adopt radical new approaches in manufacturing that move away from a focus on producing new products, and then disposing of them when they reach their end of life,” she says. “Instead, we should be focusing on processes that prolong the useful life of products – particularly those including critical materials such as rare-earth elements.” The Hub will bring together an interdisciplinary team, including experts in manufacturing, robotics, AI, automation, materials, chemistry, economics and lifecycle assessments. It will focus initially in four areas: energy, medical devices, electric drives, and large structures. “Manufacturing accounts for almost a tenth of the UK’s economic output,”says science minister, Andrew Griffith, “but for the sector to keep growing and sustaining jobs nationwide, it has to tackle challenges ranging from reducing emissions, to cutting production costs. “These new hubs will support UK researchers with the cutting-edge facilities they need, to help our manufacturers seize the benefits of technologies such as robotics and AI. Harnessing these innovations will cement the UK's position as a global leader in sustainable manufacturing.” £34m manufacturing R&D hub will target sustainability JAPAN’S NIDEC corporation has brought together two of its drives-making subsidiaries – Wales-based Control Techniques and US-based KB Electronics – under a new Nidec Drives brand. The change will not affect any of the products or services offered by CT or KB, which will continue to be sold under their existing brands. There will be some changes to branding on social media, product labels and brochures, but customers are not expected to see other differences. Control Techniques says that the new branding will allow it and KB to harness Nidec’s strength and resources. The rebranding is part of a larger initiative which will see all businesses in Nidec’s $2.9bn Motion & Energy segment uniting under the Nidec brand. The consolidation of the brands is intended to raise the profile of Nidec locally and internationally. As part of the changes, the generator activities of Nidec’s French motors and generators subsidiary Leroy Somer and its US-based generator and alternator manufacturer Kato Engineering, will come together under the new Nidec Power brand. Nidec’s Motion & Energy business covers areas such as drives, medium and large motors, automation, EV chargers and generators. The business is part of Nidec’s larger Appliance, Commercial & Industrial operation, which accounts for 41% of the group’s activities and last year produced sales worth $6.1bn. Control Techniques and KB adopt Nidec Drives brand The manufacturing research hubs will used advanced automation technologies to help make UK industry more sustainable
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