Digital Catapult: New Pioneers Make Manufacturing Greener

Digital Catapult, the UK authority on advanced digital technology, has welcomed eight new technology pioneers to its Made Smarter Innovation Sustainability Accelerator. 

The move is designed to improve resource and energy efficiency in UK manufacturing. 

Participating companies will work with industry leaders including BAE Systems and HS2 to co-develop solutions that establish a more sustainable industrial and manufacturing future. 

The new programme will encourage strong collaborations between technological innovators and industrial pioneers to advance sustainable manufacturing initiatives, including the application of digital twin technologies. 

Justin Cross, Director of Innovation Practice at Digital Catapult, further explained the need for the programme.

“With UK manufacturing touted as one of the silver bullets to sustainable economic growth, there is growing demand for manufacturers to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and prove that this commitment yields significant commercial benefit," he says. 

"The UK was the eighth largest global manufacturer last year, so we are in a prime position to show the rest of the world that sustainable innovation and smart manufacturing are key to achieving long-term economic prosperity.

"I’m confident that these innovative solutions will improve energy efficiency and optimise resource use, and I’d like to congratulate the startups for joining this pioneering new programme," Justin concludes. 

The programme will support participants through sustainability masterclasses, technical monitoring, innovation expertise and peer-to-peer support to grow each company’s capabilities.

It will play a vital role in advancing industrial sustainability through the adoption of deep technology and comes alongside announcements that the UK is halfway to net zero, with emissions cut by 53% between 1990 and 2023.

Participating startups and SMEs will each receive £75,000 funding to develop a proof of concept and a further £100,000 will be available for up to four companies to progress to phase two.

The next phase would support the successful companies in the development of pilot prototypes, eventually resulting in an early 2025 showcase to pitch their solutions to investors and industry leaders.

Factories of the future

One of the companies set to work on the project is BAE Systems, which provides some of the world’s most advanced defence, aerospace and security assets. 

It will work with Digica Solutions Ltd to develop a digital twin of its Factory of the Future research centre, a solution set to demonstrate how environmental factors affect manufacturing operations. 

Meanwhile, Quaisr Ltd will combine physics-based models with data-driven machine learning tools to increase operational efficiency, while reducing energy consumption and resource waste.

“BAE Systems Air Sector has a clear set of net-zero drivers we are embedding in our UK manufacturing operations, with researched and applied data science being key to achieving our goals," says Cenk Kafaoglu, Manufacturing Development Engineer at BAE Systems. 

"We have always looked to our strong relationships with the Catapult Network and UK-based SMEs as a way of accelerating early stage technology development ideas. Innovations from these proposals could make a hugely positive impact on the way we do things."

Making HS2 greener

Another featured project is the construction of HS2, a new high-speed railway spanning 140-miles of track, four new state-of-the art stations, two depots, 32 miles of tunnel and 179 bridges across the country.

Infinitive Group Ltd and Material Index are looking to improve the sustainability of this work by optimising the planned deconstruction process of the 350 active construction sites. 

Both startups will develop digital software tools to integrate and analyse deconstruction-related data effectively. This will ensure informed decision making about material recapture and reuse. 

“We are excited to collaborate with these two companies on our data integration challenges and benefit from their innovative approaches," concludes Zoë Edmonds, Senior Innovation Manager at HS2. 

"The sheer scale and complexity of analysing reusable materials in up to 350 temporary worksites requires a truly innovative approach and, if successful, it could represent a significant step change to engage the construction industry in the circular economy.

"Both companies are new to HS2, so Digital Catapult has helped us reach new potential suppliers to explore their fresh ideas."

****** 

Make sure you check out the latest edition of Manufacturing Digital and also sign up to our global conference series - Procurement & Supply Chain 2024 & Sustainability LIVE 2024

******

Manufacturing Digital is a BizClik brand.