The University of Nottingham

A new £18 million national research centre into power electronics, a technology that underpins and is vital to UK industry and the economy, is to be led by academics at The University of Nottingham.

The EPSRC National Centre of Excellence for Power Electronics will have its coordinating hub at Nottingham, led by Professor Mark Johnson in the University’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, but will also involve researchers at the universities of Manchester, Newcastle, Cambridge, Greenwich, Bristol, Sheffield, Strathclyde, Warwick and Imperial College London.

The centre will also be working closely with industrial partners to stimulate knowledge transfer and to take new components and devices from the lab to the marketplace.

Professor Johnson said: “Most people will be unfamiliar with the term ‘power electronics’ but it is a pervasive technology.  Power electronics is at the heart of anything that utilises or manages electrical energy from the smallest handheld mobile devices right up to the largest energy networks and renewable generation.

“Leading this new centre puts Nottingham at the forefront of developing the next generation of power electronics components and devices which are cheaper, smaller, lighter, and more energy efficient and durable.

“Our aim is also to create an environment in which academe-industry collaboration can flourish, with industrial partners ranging from the smallest enterprises to global corporations and the views and opinions of our industrial partners will act as a driver for the strategic direction of our fundamental research.”

Investment in the centre comes from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) which is awarding £18 million as a series of grants, each involving multiple partner universities.

A total of around £5 million will be coming to Nottingham in capital equipment funding, in recognition of its leadership of the hub and to fund its research activities in three out of the four technical programmes associated with the centre — Components, Converters and Drives.

Welcoming the opening ofthe Centre, Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, said: “We have a leading power electronics industry in the UK, but we need to keep investing in research to ensure it remains globally competitive. This National Centre will bring together our excellent universities and businesses to ensure industry has access to the latest science and technology, as well as helping to maintain a supply of skilled people.”

The EPSRC’s Chief Executive, Professor David Delpy, said: “This £18 million investment in a six-year research initiative is part of the EPSRC response to the Government’s 2011 BIS Strategy for Power Electronics in the UK. We will invest an initial tranche of £12 million with a further £6 million being released subject to a future review of progress. Power Electronics was also a priority area in our recent call for new Centres for Doctoral Training.”

The opening of the new Centre comes two months after the launch of the PowerelectronicsUK Forum, which is a network backed by industry, academia and the government that aims to boost the number of people within the Power Electronics industry.

The official launch will take place at The University of Nottingham on Monday July 1, when partners from the new centre will meet to discuss the UK Power Electronics strategy, PowerelectronicsUK, industrial engagement and how the centre will develop skills and training for postgraduate students.