Green aviation facility given £7.6m boost by D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership

The University of Nottingham has been awarded £7.6 million by the D2N2 LEP towards the development of the £16.8 million UK Electrification of Aerospace Propulsion Facility (UKEAPF).

Hosted within the new Power Electronics and Electrical Machines Centre at the University of Nottingham, the facility will support the Midlands vision to be the world’s foremost location for low carbon aerospace innovation.

The facility will accelerate the development of new electrical machines and drive systems required for the greening of aviation through extensive test and validation equipment.

It will rapidly stimulate economic activity through the development of a new generation of aerospace electrification industrial technologies and manufacturing processes co-created with local industrial partners, and create new opportunities for the region’s business base supporting new jobs.

By March 2024, it is estimated that £140 million worth of industrial work aligned with this facility will be undertaken, creating 300 new jobs and 150 new learners by 2025.

At a national level, UKEAPF will support the government’s target of raising research and development investment and contribute to the Government’s ten-point plan for green industrial revolution by supporting increased decarbonisation in a key sector.

Elizabeth Fagan CBE, Chair of D2N2 said:

UKEAPF will accelerate the green recovery and growth for the UK aerospace industry, ensuring the East Midlands remains the world’s foremost location for aerospace innovation unlocking investment, creating new jobs and protecting the aerospace supply-chain jobs in the region.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, Professor Shearer West said:

The University’s global research programme has a well-deserved reputation for supporting a more sustainable planet and solving global problems. This exciting investment demonstrates a commitment to world-leading discovery, with Nottingham at the forefront of increasingly important research into greener, cleaner aviation globally.

The fusion of the region’s industrial capability together with the University’s research expertise will offer unparalleled opportunities to realise a net-zero carbon ambition for the aerospace industry.

Chris Gerada, Professor of Electrical Machines at the University of Nottingham said:

This project will exploit the University’s expertise in Power Electronics and Electrical Machines by working closely with industrial partners in this new facility to develop next-generation products, helping to deliver aviation’s net-zero commitments.

The investment will reinforce the UK’s and the East Midlands’ reputation as the go-to place for the development of electrification technologies for future aerospace platforms.

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