£14 million awarded to tasks that harness digital know-how to drive vitality effectivity, productiveness and development throughout key manufacturing industries
tasks embody sustainable 3D printing at scale, digitising century outdated baking strategies and utilizing AI to enhance metal manufacturing effectivity
mixed, the tasks might create 1000 jobs throughout the UK and save 300,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, the identical as taking 65,000 automobiles off our roads
3D printing at record scale, AI to make steelmaking extra productive and utilizing massive knowledge to make century-old baking equipment extra environment friendly are among the tasks awarded a mixed £13.7 million in government funding to assist enhance vitality effectivity, productiveness and sustainability of manufacturing processes.
The Sustainable Smart Factory Competition, led by UKRI, gives funding for tasks that harness digital improvements, reminiscent of AI, massive knowledge and digital actuality, to spice up vitality and carbon effectivity, whereas driving development for producers. The tasks awarded funding goal to optimise the use of supplies, cut back and reuse waste, or decrease vitality consumption to extend sustainability in manufacturing.
Among the 12 tasks awarded funding as we speak as half of the Made Smarter Innovation Challenge are:
Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing for Baking Industry, led by Rakusen Limited – utilizing AI to enhance the consistency of the merchandise produced by their century outdated baking equipment and serving to cut back vitality consumption by 60%
LEAD Factory, led by Photocentric – the primary know-how that may allow merchandise to be 3D printed at scale utilizing recycled supplies
WasteMap, led by Topolytics – utilizing machine studying to develop a visible map of helpful, reusable manufacturing merchandise that may be extracted from our waste system
Reducing Energy Consumption and Material Loss in Steel Production Using Predictive Machine Learning, led by Deep.Meta – utilizing machine studying to spice up sustainability within the manufacturing of metal by predicting the place inefficiencies lie earlier than they occur
INSPIRE by Pragmatic Semiconductor – tackling international semiconductor shortages through the use of AI to optimise manufacturing productiveness and effectivity
Smart People + Smart Process = Smart Factory, led by Raynor Foods Limited – turning sustainability right into a sport at the Raynor Foods sandwich manufacturing facility to allow employees to see and then act on their vitality use and CO2 footprint in actual time
Industry Minister Jackie Doyle-Price stated:
Creating and adopting the newest in digital know-how options can be key to the continued success of our manufacturing sector. It is now crucial that firms in industries as various as baking to superior robotics are maximising their potential utilizing know-how reminiscent of AI and digital actuality.
The tasks awarded funding as we speak will minimize vitality consumption and increase development for companies in areas proper throughout the UK, whereas serving to our world main producers hold tempo with ever rising international competitors.
It is estimated the tasks might create 1,000 jobs within the 3 years after their completion, whereas lowering manufacturing CO2 emissions by 300,000 tonnes a 12 months – the equal to taking almost 65,000 automobiles off our roads.
The profitable mission consortiums vary from 2 to 10 participant organisations every, making a mixed 55 organisations collaborating. These included contributors stretching from Scotland to the South West and from Northern Ireland to East Anglia. They are made up of each SME and giant producers in addition to know-how builders, Universities and Research & Technology organisations.
Chris Needham, Innovation Lead within the Made Smarter Innovation Challenge stated:
Effective digital applied sciences can have a considerable impression on the manufacturing sector, bringing outdated, inefficient and unproductive merchandise and processes up the requirements wanted for a internet zero trade of the longer term. It’s clear from the big selection of purposes we acquired simply how far waste and vitality points lengthen throughout completely different industries.
The profitable candidates clearly demonstrated actual innovation and confirmed simply how the appropriate use of knowledge and know-how could make a major distinction to companies. We now look ahead to working alongside them to ship profitable outcomes.
The £147 million Made Smarter Innovation Challenge helps the transformation of UK manufacturing by pioneering the event and integration of new and present industrial digital applied sciences, together with synthetic intelligence and digital actuality. The problem helps take the danger out of innovation for UK producers and helps the event of applied sciences that may be exploited commercially.
Science Minister Nusrat Ghani stated:
The digital improvements we’re backing as we speak might assist producers of merchandise as various as metal to semiconductors increase development, create prime quality jobs and improve vitality effectivity.
Through collaboration between main UK researchers, know-how corporations and producers, these improvements will guarantee British trade stays internationally aggressive, whereas bringing advantages to companies in areas throughout the UK.
Notes to editors
About the Made Smarter Innovation problem
The Made Smarter Innovation problem (previously referred to as ‘Manufacturing Made Smarter’) focuses on analysis and innovation parts for creating new digital applied sciences inside UK manufacturing, as half of the nationwide Made Smarter motion.
The £147 million funding, matched by a minimal of £147 million from trade, goals to ship a resilient, versatile, extra productive, and environmentally sustainable UK manufacturing sector. The problem will help collaborations between UK manufacturing sectors to create modern digital options. Key digital applied sciences on this problem embody:
synthetic intelligence, machine studying and knowledge analytics
additive manufacturing
robotics and automation
digital actuality and augmented actuality
the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and connectivity (reminiscent of 5G, LPWAN)
The Challenge is funding tasks targeted on the next themes:
sensible linked factories
linked and versatile provide chains
adaptable, versatile manufacturing operations and expertise
new methods to design, take a look at and make merchandise
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/3d-printing-at-record-scale-and-ai-for-steelmaking-among-tech-awarded-share-of-14-million-government-funding
