Bringing together business
and academia
EPSRC Prosperity Partnerships
Introduction
To drive a sustainable economy and tackle key challenges, such as net zero, we need the world-class expertise of both industry and academia. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Prosperity Partnerships are harnessing the power of collaborative research by empowering relationships between the UK’s world leading research communities and key UK based businesses, from big household names to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
These projects cover a wide range of research domains, from artificial intelligence and quantum technologies to sustainable chemistry and novel materials, and their applications span sectors from aerospace and energy to telecoms and pharmaceuticals.
Prosperity Partnerships aim to enable businesses and academic groups to address key industrial challenges through fundamental research. These projects can lead to potential benefits for the individual businesses such as product and service innovation, as well as more efficient processes. These projects also drive wider economic benefits through improved productivity and sustainability. The knowledge generated can offer unique insights for UK policymakers, with relevance to public policy design and public service efficiency. Many of the emerging outputs are generating interest on a world stage.
The advancement of research and its application for business benefit are key outcomes of Prosperity Partnerships, but in many ways the impact on the people involved is just as important. These projects create the environment for researchers in both academia and industry to collaborate, co-create, and understand each other’s contexts and challenges.
Read on to discover how some of these Prosperity Partnerships are driving social and economic benefits, improving productivity and sustainability, supporting the skills pipeline and informing UK government policy.
Since 2017, when the initiative was launched, 100 Prosperity Partnerships have received a total shared investment from UKRI and our partners of more than £600 million:
Since 2017, when the initiative was launched, 100 Prosperity Partnerships have received a total shared investment from UKRI and our partners of more than £600 million:
. £233 million invested by EPSRC
. £8 million invested by BBSRC/MRC
. £292 million committed by industry partners
. £68 million committed by research organisations
Dr Andrew Bourne, Director of Partnerships, EPSRC
Dr Andrew Bourne, Director of Partnerships, EPSRC
Accelerating new products
and production
A Prosperity Partnership is pioneering the application of digital manufacturing techniques to accelerate product development of fast moving consumer goods.
From shampoos that make hair look glossier to ice cream with the most indulgent taste, innovation is vital in the competitive market of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). But bringing a new formulated product to market has traditionally involved extensive physical experimentation – a costly, time-consuming and resource-heavy process.
The Centre in Advanced Fluid Engineering for Digital Manufacturing (CAFE4DM) – which brings together teams from University of Manchester, University of Cambridge the STFC and consumer goods company Unilever – is pioneering the application of digital manufacturing techniques to fast-track product development from research to supermarket shelf.
“Although there have been impressive strides in engineering models for formulated product manufacture, there are still many exciting challenges ,” explains Professor Chris Hardacre, Principal Investigator for the CAFE4DM. “By developing a new modelling approach, we can gain a detailed understanding of the behaviour of these liquids under process conditions, which will facilitate the decision-making process and accelerate the introduction of new, innovative products to the market.”
The methodologies and data sets emerging from the Partnership are already having an impact on the way Unilever approach the design and scale-up of their products.
Advancing innovation in
new areas
A Prosperity Partnership between tech company Ultraleap and University College London is helping to put the UK at the forefront of interactive touchless technologies with the development of virtual ‘objects’ formed by soundwaves.
Imagine you’re driving a car. Instead of reaching for buttons or dials to change the radio or check the sat-nav, you simply hold out your hand and the controls jump out of a screen, like tactile holograms, to find your fingers. With advances in interactive touchless technologies, this could soon be a reality.
A Prosperity Partnership between Ultraleap, a leader in hand tracking and mid-air haptics solutions, and University College London (UCL) Multi-Sensory Devices group is developing acoustic technology that allows people to ‘feel’ virtual 3D objects and holograms.
In a similar way to feeling the vibrations in your chest at a concert, the technology manipulates sound waves to create a sensation of touch. The technology has a wide range of potential uses including virtual reality training simulators, gaming, and reducing the spread of pathogens when interacting with public touchscreens, such as supermarket self-service tills. The team is even exploring whether speakers that emit ultrasound waves can be embedded into flexible material like clothing.
“The Prosperity Partnership meant we can really push the boundaries of this technology and tackle fundamental challenges to help us continually innovate, and it allows for research at this very low level of technology readiness,” says Tom Carter, CEO of Ultraleap. “Ultimately, the innovations generated by the Partnership should create more jobs, generate more intellectual property, and bring more success to all involved.”
Informing policy
From road maintenance to quantum computing, Prosperity Partnerships are generating relevant and often unique insights into important matters for policymakers.
The unique insights produced by many of the Prosperity Partnerships means there is significant potential to inform policy making and benefit public policy design.
The Digital Roads Prosperity Partnership, for example, is exploring how digital technology and smart materials can be used to make roads safer and greener. The collaboration between construction and engineering company Costain, National Highways and the University of Cambridge is building a digital twin of the road network that can measure road performance, detect damage and automate repairs using smart materials and robotics.
The project has captured the interest of public authorities. “If you drive a road in Britain, it is very likely built or serviced by Costain. So National Highways’ challenges are our challenges. If we improve our digital capabilities, it enhances National Highways,” explains Costain’s Tim Embley. “Prosperity Partnerships has allowed us to work closely with policymakers, and we have been communicating with the scientific advisor to the government.”
Other Partnerships have helped partners develop a reputation for expertise in a specific area, making them an asset for insight and consultation to policymakers. University of Strathclyde’s work in neutral atom computing, for example, has led the way for academic input into BEIS and the National Quantum Computing Centre in the development of quantum computing research roadmaps.
Driving the green economy
A Prosperity Partnership between Queen’s University Belfast and bus manufacturer Wrightbus is accelerating innovation and implementation in green transport systems.
As concerns rise over air quality, congestion and energy security, there is increasing emphasis on the development of sustainable, reliable low- and zero-emissions transport systems. Buses play a vital role in such systems – one double-decker bus can potentially replace 75 cars – and this has resulted in significant investment in new bus technologies.
Rapid growth in this sector represents a substantial business opportunity, and a Prosperity Partnership between Queen’s University Belfast and bus manufacturer Wrightbus aims to reinforce the UK’s presence at the forefront of energy efficient bus technologies.
The Partnership is examining the short- and long-term challenges arising from introducing zero net emissions buses into the public transport sector, including concerns over cost of acquisition and operation, vehicle range, suitability of infrastructure and social acceptance.
The project has created a wide range of new understanding and tools for pushing forward the shift to zero emission transport. It has resulted in a £66 million investment in zero-emission technologies by Northern Ireland public transport operator Translink, as well as upskilling the local transport workforce. The energy system modelling has also attracted interest in further work on zero emission ferries.
“The combination of academic and industrial impact offers significant economic impact to the UK economy,” says Professor Juliana Early, Head of School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast. “Not only through competitive domestic and international sales, but also through high value job creation and security in this emerging sector.”
Commercialising new technology
Spin-out company Oxford PV is working with researchers from the University of Oxford to develop solar cell technology that both increases efficiency of photovoltaic cells and cuts the costs of producing solar energy.
A Prosperity Partnership between University of Oxford and spin-out company Oxford PV is developing the next generation of solar cells.
Silicon is the main material used in existing commercial photovoltaics, but it’s reaching its efficiency limit. Researchers at University of Oxford developed a material called perovskite, which can boost the efficiency of silicon. Their research shows that perovskite can be put on top of silicon to create solar cells that are more efficient.
Oxford PV is currently preparing its perovskite-on-silicon cells for the market while continuing to innovate for higher-efficiency cells. A future step, and the Prosperity Partnership’s aim, is to develop a perovskite-only product.
The Partnership team has been focused on addressing technical challenges to ensure the technology is compatible with industrial and manufacturing processes, and on understanding stability constraints of the material.
The team has so far developed two new products with potential for commercialisation in a market that’s estimated to grow from USD271m in 2024 to USD2,268m in 2028. It has also secured funding for a follow-on project exploring commercial aspects and manufacturing.
“The research centres of most commercial companies can’t afford a dedicated research facility on the scale offered by the University of Oxford,” says Dr Professor Henry Snaith, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Oxford PV and Professor of Renewable Energy in the Physics Department of the University of Oxford. “With access to the university’s research resources, Oxford PV has been able to gain a deeper insight into the technology’s capabilities and build on sound science to accelerate the market readiness of future products.”
Supporting the knowledge
and skills pipeline
A Prosperity Partnership between energy companies and universities is ensuring the pipeline of skills necessary to keep the UK at the forefront of offshore wind energy technology.
The UK is a world leader in offshore wind energy and has more capacity installed than any other country. But to fully exploit the UK’s wind power, the British workforce needs the necessary skills to meet the needs of the fast-growing offshore wind energy industry.
A Prosperity Partnership between University of Sheffield, Durham University, University of Hull, and energy companies Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) and Ørsted is providing an opportunity to advance knowledge and skills relevant to both industrial and academic partners.
The Partnership is resulting in new knowledge being shared on novel wind turbine generator topologies, blade health and wind turbine condition monitoring. Interaction with academic researchers is helping upskill industry engineers and improve industry knowledge, while academic partners are gaining greater insight into longer-term industry research needs.
A legacy of skills is being created with numerous new research positions at the partner universities. It is also providing an extended framework that has allowed SGRE and University of Hull to establish a new MSc apprenticeship scheme, undergraduate and MSc modules in offshore wind and CPD courses for industry.
“The Partnership is helping to focus research into areas that are far more relevant and which have much more immediate, positive impacts,” says Dr Arwyn Thomas, Industrial Principal Investigator from SGRE. “This, in turn, ensures that graduate and post-graduate researchers develop the right skills to enter industry and help meet the current skills shortage.”
Encouraging research
in key areas
Decarbonising air travel is a complex and pressing challenge. A Prosperity Partnership between Rolls-Royce plc and three universities aims to propel innovation in the technologies needed for the transition to all-electric flights.
While some modes of transport are expected to become fully or hybrid electric over the next decade, decarbonising air travel is a more complex challenge. Battery technologies, for example, are not yet able to cover the great distance between charging points on long haul flights.
But there is clear recognition and ambition within the aerospace industry that a transition to all-electric flights is essential if we are to cut carbon emissions and still maintain an ability to travel the globe by plane.
Cornerstone is a Prosperity Partnership between engineering firm Rolls-Royce plc and University of Nottingham, Imperial College London and University of Oxford. It is undertaking research into areas of mechanical engineering that will help the industry move a step closer to electrification.
The mechanical engineering innovations from Cornerstone are expected to fundamentally change the architecture of engines, resulting in new designs that improve efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and noise pollution, and increase machine lifespan and resilience to faults.
“Cornerstone is made especially important by the fact that aero-engine designs are presently going through a period of more radical change than they have done for at least 50 years, with strict targets for improved efficiency, reduced noise and lower weight,” explains Professor Seamus Garvey, University of Nottingham. “The ‘design-by-evolution’ process traditionally adopted by aero-propulsion companies must be replaced with a ‘design-by-revolution’ approach underpinned by fundamental engineering science.”
Building relationships with industry
A Prosperity Partnership between BT and four universities is creating an internet and telecommunications infrastructure of the future – and strengthening working relationships between industry and academia.
As well as fostering new relationships between industry and universities, the Prosperity Partnerships also provide opportunities to develop and strengthen existing collaborations.
The Next Generation Converged Digital Infrastructure (NG-CDI) Partnership, for example, builds on BT’s long-standing research collaborations with four universities: Lancaster University, University of Bristol, University of Cambridge and University of Surrey.
Developments such as 5G, virtual reality and self-driving vehicles require a radical shift in the way networks perform and are maintained. NG-CDI’s aim is to create an agile, resilient network capable of meeting the future needs of our rapidly changing society and ensure that the UK’s digital infrastructure continues to be world leading.
The partnership embraces a holistic and multidisciplinary approach, encompassing a wide range of research fields, including networks, statistics, AI, autonomics and innovation management to enable a radical change in how to build, configure and manage networks.
“The Prosperity Partnership was an opportunity for BT to take what have been smaller-scale endeavours with individual universities and bring them together in a significant endeavour with a very ambitious goal,” explains Stephen Cassidy, Chief Researcher in System Science at BT.
The ‘platform of thinking’ created between BT and the four universities is both laying the basis for longer-term relationships and developing new partnerships. This is demonstrated by the amount of follow-on investment – more than £11m of additional funding from public and private sources – already flowing into the research groups to continue deepening and broadening their collaborative research agendas.
Creating wider environmental or societal benefits
Global shipping is known to create serious noise pollution in oceans, which can be harmful to marine wildlife. A Prosperity Partnership is developing new technologies that will help reduce the impact of underwater noise.
Global shipping is the leading contributor to ocean noise pollution. Evidence suggests that man-made underwater noise can have a detrimental impact on a wide variety of marine life – from whales to fish – affecting their ability to communicate, sense danger from predators, search for food and mate.
Intelligent Structures for Low Noise Environments (ISLNE), a Prosperity Partnership led by BAE Systems Maritime and University of Southampton, together with Lloyd's Register and University of Nottingham, is developing structures and machines that reduce the noise and vibration pollution caused by large ships and offshore industries.
Researchers are investigating how low-frequency noise and vibration control systems can be optimised and integrated into intelligent designs that not only help protect marine life, but also reduce the weight of components, and improve energy efficiency and performance.
Alongside environmental benefits, the research has potential benefits for human crews, as noise pollution from shipping is linked to sleep deprivation, cardiovascular disease and hearing impairment. The technologies could also be extended to other industrial applications, such as the aerospace and automotive sectors.
“The development of Intelligent Structures for Low Noise Environments has the potential for significant impact in a broad range of areas,” says Professor Stephen Daley, Chair in Industrial Active Control at University of Southampton. “Reducing noise or, more importantly, reducing the impacts of noise on humans and the environment will have a positive impact on both the population’s health and the environment.”
Boosting prosperity
Quantum computers could provide a financial benefit to many sectors, including pharmaceuticals, aerospace, transport and finance. A Prosperity Partnership has resulted in the creation of the UK’s first commercial neutral atom quantum computing system.
Quantum computing offers the chance to find better and quicker ways to solve problems, many of which are not possible using standard computers. It means quantum computers have the potential to offer wide economic impact through access to disruptive new solutions, from enhanced drug design to modelling new materials for aerospace, identifying efficient shipping routes to optimising financial services and defence.
Scalable Qubit Arrays for Quantum Computing and Optimisation (SQuAre) brought together the advanced laser systems and quantum system integration expertise of M Squared Lasers with the University of Strathclyde’s expertise in quantum algorithms and neutral atoms. The Partnership resulted in the development of the UK’s first commercial neutral atom quantum computer, ‘Maxwell’, the development of which is recognised as a key UK milestone in progressing commercially viable quantum computing hardware systems.
Ongoing research is exploring application areas where such a system might deliver a practical quantum advantage to real-world problems. While a subsequent £10m Innovate UK programme, DISCOVERY, has enabled the creation of a commercial demonstrator and is focused on developing a UK industrial supply of commercial quantum computing hardware.
“Quantum computation is not simply a faster implementation of conventional computing, but a fundamentally new and more powerful way of processing information – one that will enable myriad new applications,” says Dr Graeme Malcolm OBE, CEO of M Squared.
Where next?
Business and industry leaders have made it clear: discovery research in engineering and physical sciences is a vital – and highly valued – resource.
The Prosperity Partnerships help business access and navigate the research landscape, encouraging co-creation and co-investment. The success of the programme demonstrates how this collaborative approach brings benefits to all involved.
EPSRC is not only continuing with further investment in this flagship scheme, but also translating this approach into other schemes. By fostering strong and long-lasting relationships between industry and academic partners, initiatives such as these can accelerate innovation and commercialisation, delivering economic growth and societal impact.
For further information please contact: prosperitypartnerships@epsrc.ukri.org
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