Transport

THE MIDLANDS TRANSPORT HERITAGE

The Midlands region has a rich heritage in transport-related research and development. We have been making trains for over 200 years and making cars for 120 years.

There are now 20 rail centres of excellence and 16 of the world’s top 20 automotive suppliers located in the region. The Midlands is at the heart of the UKs transport infrastructure and at the centre of its freight network. The Midlands has two international airports – Birmingham International has a flow of over 10 million passengers per year, whilst East Midlands Airport is the UK’s second largest cargo facility handling over 328,000 tonnes of cargo each year. 45% of British rail freight and 33% of heavy road freight goes to or through the Midlands region.

The transport sector is at a time of significant change. The ways in which we move people and goods around whether it be by road, rail or air need to decarbonise. Innovations in autonomy and connectivity mean that the concepts of self-driving, autonomous vehicles are getting closer to being a reality.

Identified as a core strength of the region in the Midlands Engine Science and Innovation Audit, Midlands Innovation universities have significant expertise and world-class facilities in transport and mobility research areas.

MIDLANDS INNOVATION TRANSPORT STRENGTHS

Midlands Innovation is seeking to build new collaborations, projects and partnerships that can help to drive innovation in the transport sector responding to the ever increasing demands that it faces.

Our collective strengths cut-across sectors and we aim to take a cross-sectoral approach to delivering transport innovation that meets the needs of our partners.

Our universities have a strong track record in delivering high-quality research and development in the transport and mobility sector. There is a strong heritage of collaboration between institutions and collectively our partner capabilities are unrivalled. Together we have over 1800 academics working in transport related topics and over 6,600 postgraduate students registered on transport-related research and taught programmes. Our partners host a number of national and international centres of excellence including:

• three Advanced Propulsion Centre spokes (in Power Electronics, Electrical Energy Storage and Digital Engineering and Test)
• two national Aerospace Technology Institute test facilities
• four Rolls-Royce University Technology Centres (in Combustion Aerodynamics Technology, Gas Turbine Transmission Systems, Manufacturing Technology and Performance Engineering)
• the UK Quantum Technology Hub for Sensors and Metrology (which is developing quantum sensors that will help drivers ‘trust’ their autonomous vehicles – be that a car, ship, train or plane)
• The National Centre for Combustion and Aerothermal Technology (NCCAT) which will lead research and technology deployment in low emission aero gas turbines
• a Satellite Applications Catapult Centre of Excellence (which provides a focal point for activity linking the science base with large industry and SMEs)
• Four of our members are involved and leading projects as part of the Faraday Institution set of challenges – these involve battery degradation, multi-scale modelling and recycling and reuse.