The University of Nottingham has opened the Zero Carbon Innovation Centre (ZCIC) in partnership with East Midlands Freeport, Research England and Loughborough University.

The centre will lead research into transport technology, green hydrogen production and power solutions for industry.

The university said the ZCIC will deepen its research and development and manufacturing partnerships with industry across aerospace, automotive, marine, rail, off-highway and energy sectors.

The centre will enable industry partners to benefit from research projects as well as commercially contracted testing and development programmes.

Additionally, they will be able to access the centre to collaborate with researchers and have access to incubator labs and office space.

The university said the ZCIC will offer a range of services including electrical machine manufacturing, robotics, digital twinning and green hydrogen generation.

An electrical machine manufacturing line will enable end-to-end manufacturing, allowing flexible reconfiguration for low volume, high value production of advanced machines with state-of-the-art performance and power.

The university said this will accelerate technology insertion into manufacturing to support production in region and nationally.

“The Zero Carbon Innovation Centre is more than just a facility – it is the innovation gateway for industry partners to access the region’s research strengths and deliver innovation,” said Chris Gerada, professor of electrical machines and lead for strategic research and innovation initiatives at the University of Nottingham. “As a region we are now truly leading the way in giving industry partners high-impact, high-value and much-needed zero carbon solutions.”

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