Project Unity secures government investment

27 Nov 2024

Researchers secure share of multimillion-pound investment from the Department for Business and Trade Research to work towards a net-zero automotive industry

A team of academics lead by Professor Alistair Revell and affiliated to the Faculty’s Modelling and Simulation Centre have successfully secured a share of a multimillion-pound investment from the Department for Business and Trade to work on the development of a digital tool for long term failure prediction within hydrogen engine turbomachinery for off-road freight transport.

The funding competition, coordinated by the Advanced Propulsion Centre, is part of an ongoing commitment to realise a net-zero automotive industry. Technological advances delivered by the selected projects are expected to boost economic growth and reduce CO₂ in the manufacturing and usage of zero-emission vehicles.

Project Unity represents an investment of around £5 million and will be coordinated by the global power leader Cummins, who recently began a strategic partnership with the University.

Work by the University team will focus on the use of computational engineering tools to improve the prediction and mitigation of component failure in novel hydrogen-fuelled powertrain products. Our researchers will develop models to advance our understanding of hydrogen damage, water erosion, and thermal fatigue. The resulting digital twin will provide virtual surrogates of key components to allow rapid testing and selection of materials needed to advance the development of hydrogen engines.

Alistair, Professor of Computational Engineering said: “We’re very proud to have secured this funding, enabling us to continue our work on groundbreaking solutions to real-world challenges. This a tangible example of how the Modelling & Simulation Centre combines latest developments in engineering modelling with advanced computational technology and AI."