In one of the largest funding injections the East Midlands has ever seen, the university has secured more than £70m to establish new world-leading and open-access research facilities and programmes that will decarbonise future transport. 

A £14m award from the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) has been augmented by public and private co-investment, allowing the university to build on its internationally leading capabilities in electrification, hydrogen and manufacturing. 

Chris Gerada, Professor of Electrical Machines and lead for strategic research and innovation initiatives at the University of Nottingham, said: “This is one of the largest funding injections the East Midlands has ever seen, and the opportunities are clear for new research to enable the UK to take an international lead in powering transport. 

“This investment accelerates our shared vision to create world-class facilities, build strategic partnerships with industry, stimulate investments in the UK, and drive economic growth. We’re grateful to UKRPIF and our industry partners for the trust they have put in us.” 

The university hosts the UKRI Driving the Electric Revolution Industrialisation Centre (DER-IC), and this further investment will enable the centre to scale up manufacturing processes it is developing for electrical machines and drives. 

From March 2025, the university will work with industry partners to demonstrate electrical machines and drives manufacturing for a range of propulsion, traction, and generator applications. The manufacturing facilities will also be available for industry co-location to accelerate technology developments to market. 

The university’s co-investment partners span industries across aerospace, power generation, marine and off-highway.

The facilities and programmes will be primarily based at Jubilee Campus and build upon recent investments such as the Power Electronics and Machines Centre (PEMC), the zero carbon innovation centre funded by East Midlands Freeport, as well as previous investments from Driving the Electric Revolution, Research England, EPSRC and D2N2.

Together, they strengthen the university’s position as part of a national network of research, infrastructure, and skills development. 

Professor Tom Rodden, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange at the University of Nottingham, said: “Building on the university’s leading capabilities in zero carbon innovation, our open-access facilities will bring together partnerships at regional, national, and international level.

We’re enabling collaboration with other higher education institutions, ensuring the highest-quality research and maximising academic, industrial and socioeconomic impact.” 

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