Automotive Applications Division Conferences & Events

UK Trade and Investment Missions to Events
Deadline for registrations is 14th February

I am pleased to provide details of two forthcoming UK Trade & Investment missions to events taking place in Finland and Taiwan. Details and application forms can be downloaded below.

- Finland Invitation

- Taiwan Invitation

The registration deadline for both missions is 14 March.

Awareness Event
12th February - NAMTEC Swinden House, Rotherham

Due to the success of the Casting Simulation Training Programme (CAST-IT) NAMTEC will be running this training programme again in conjunction with ESI Group.

We will be holding an Awareness Event on Tuesday February 12th 2008 at NAMTEC Swinden House, Rotherham. The Awareness Event will demonstrate the software and benefits that can be obtained from using modelling techniques within the foundry and details of the training programme. For more details please refer to the programme flyer.

Vehicles for the Low Carbon Generation Conference
Thursday 7th February 2009 - 3M, Bracknell

This conference is a successor event to the 2-day Lean Weight Vehicle conference and will be more focussed on issues around sustainability and environmental impact as it affects the transport industry.

From the provisional programme, attached here, you can see the quality and breadth of content of the papers being presented

Attendance at the conference is free of charge and places are limited.

Should you wish to attend please register at http://www.lowcgen.co.uk

TSB to invest £12m in Research and Development of New Materials Technologies for Energy

UK research into materials technologies that will help meet the country’s energy challenges is to be boosted by a £12 million investment by the Technology Strategy Board and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

The two organisations have allocated the money to fund highly innovative industry-led collaborative research and development projects that will enable the UK to rapidly meet the urgent and difficult challenges posed within the global energy sector.
The investment will support the research and development of materials technologies that offer either specific or generic solutions to problems within the sector. The focus of the projects will be on the development of technologies and materials for energy generation (including fossil fuel, nuclear and renewables), energy transmission and distribution (including electrical and liquid gas), energy storage and energy conservation (with a focus on improved insulation materials in the built environment).
The Technology Strategy Board is to invest £10 million into the projects, with a further £2 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Together, they will provide partial investment in winning projects that address one or more of these areas, and which involve businesses working collaboratively with other businesses and/or with research organisations and academic institutions.
The projects, which can last for 2 to 3 years, can range from small, highly focussed basic research projects, aimed at establishing technical feasibility, through to applied research and experimental development projects.
The Materials for Energy competition is part of the Technology Strategy Board's Autumn 2007 call for proposals in a number of innovation and technology areas.
Explaining the background to the competition, Technology Strategy Board Chief Executive Iain Gray said "Energy supply and the control of CO2 emissions represent major environmental and sustainability challenges for the UK. Materials technologies can play an important role in meeting these challenges, within a global context.”
“Energy demand in the UK is set to grow, as the economy expands, but we also have a target to achieve at least a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. To both meet increased demand and minimise environmental impact, the UK will require a balanced energy portfolio, potentially including a mix of fossil, renewable and nuclear energy sources. The UK will need advances in the development and application of materials technologies in order to meet our needs for energy generation, storage and transmission.”

He added "The aim of the Technology Strategy Board is to support the research, development and exploitation of technology for the benefit of the UK economy and to improve the quality of life. We are therefore delighted to invest in research and development in the area of materials for energy.”