City invests ¥9m in university's low carbon automotive research

PhD scholarships on offer as UK university in China rolls out major research project to transform a major manufacturing city in China to a low carbon centre of innovation. Full story below…

The City of Ningbo has granted ¥9m (about £1m) in funding to The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) for an ambitious project to produce at least 25 manufacturing research engineers and 25 patents for new technologies over five years.

The funding is the highest amount ever awarded for a single research project to UNNC, which opened its doors as the first UK university awarding British degrees in China eight years ago.

The University’s innovation team will work with at least 50 companies in Ningbo to invent low carbon technologies.

It will develop new business models that reconfigure the manufacturing sector in this city on China’s east coast to make it more profitable, sustainable and environmentally friendly.

PhD scholarships| that include full fees and accommodation and living allowances will be awarded to candidates from around the world on a competitive basis. Successful applicants will work under the supervision of academics at the University’s campuses in the UK and Ningbo, China.

Professor Nabil Gindy, UNNC’s Vice-Provost for Research and its Graduate School dean, will lead the team, which includes a number of top names in engineering, science and business academia who also have extensive practical experience in collaborating with industry.

Professor Gindy, director of the University’s Sustainable Global Manufacturing Centre and founder and organiser of the Sino-UK Low Carbon Manufacturing Consortium, is responsible for the development of at least nine patents.

He has made a significant contribution to global engineering knowledge, publishing at least 170 papers in top journals and playing a key role in international research backed by major funders.

The details of the innovation team research grant were confirmed this month.

Professor Sam Shen, Registrar at UNNC, said: “This project is vitally important for the economy of Ningbo and China in general. The government has prioritised green technologies in its latest five-year plan.

“The city of Ningbo, which is a key industrial area in China, wants to take the lead in scientific and technological innovation that helps deliver on national goals to reduce carbon emissions and at the same time generate further economic growth.

“The project’s funders and leaders also have international aspirations. Our innovation team will play an important role in developing scientists in China who can create world-leading technologies and make valuable contributions to international scholarly research,” he said.

Professor Gindy said: “This project isn’t just about research; it is about talent-building. The concept is to create a number of researchers with critical mass to work in areas that the Chinese government considers important. The emphasis will be on nurturing young scientists.”

The development of new technologies and processes in manufacturing will be important, with team members tasked to identify more profitable ways to recycle materials like plastics and reduce energy consumption, he noted.

A major theme will be developing new business models in conjunction with current players and finding business opportunities for new entrants or companies that would ordinarily become redundant as new technologies are adapted.

“We will be working closely with businesses to look at how companies can make money, and quite possibly even more money than ever, but reduce the environmental impact of what they do,” said Gindy, who is the University’s Professor of Advanced Manufacturing Technology.

“This project is about job creation and improved productivity as much as it is about advances in science and technology,” he said.

Professor Gindy noted that much of the team’s focus will be on the automotive industry in Ningbo. The city, with more than 3,000 companies involved in the sector, is one of the biggest production centres for autoparts in China.

“China is committed to reducing carbon intensity by almost half by 2020. It is the world’s biggest car producer and one of its largest car components manufacturers.

“The automotive industry is the top priority industry and one of the 10 key industry clusters supported by the city of Ningbo’s 12^th five-year plan, which is very much linked to China’s national five-year plan,” he said.

Finding and advancing energy technologies so that they are more efficient and sustainable is an urgent national priority, given China’s insatiable demand for energy to fuel its growth, said Professor Gindy.

The innovation team’s main projects will include:

• Developing new business models for the automotive sector in Ningbo;
• A scientific evaluation for all life-cycle phases of a product and contributing to the establishment of best practices and international standards in China’s manufacturing sector;
• Environmentally friendly design of dies and moulds, for the automotive industry as well as developing generic solutions for industrial sectors;
• Developing clean production processes and equipment; and
• New technologies and processes for recycling plastics.

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Issued by The University of Nottingham Ningbo China

For more information, please contact Professor Nabil Gindy, Vice-Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, lily.cai@nottingham.edu.cn|; or  Jackie Hadland, Communications Officer, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China on +86 (0) 574 8818 0940, +86-134 2935 5876, jackie.HADLAND@nottingham.edu.cn|.

 

Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘the world’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, a league table of the world’s most environmentally-friendly higher education institutions.

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The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.

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