Results and submissions : REF 2021

Advancements in flexographic printing technology for graphic image printing and functional ...

Submitting institution: Swansea University / Prifysgol Abertawe
Unit of assessment: 12 - Engineering
Summary impact type: Technological
Is this case study continued from a case study submitted in 2014?: No

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1. Summary of the impact

Swansea University (SU) has worked extensively with the entire supply chain in the flexographic printing industry with the strategic aim of improving print quality and achieving waste reduction. This has been achieved by translating fundamental research into delivery processes and technologies to enhance the sector. Based on SU research, new metrological tools by Troika Systems were developed, leading to demonstrable production cost savings of GBP428,000,000 per year and a 15% decrease in material waste that resulted in a cost saving of GBP90,000,000 per year. Ink transfer mechanism studies supported new photopolymer plate products for Asahi Photoproducts resulting in a 30% decrease in run time and a 20% increase in their global plate sales. SU research also informed a strategic R&D investment of EUR20,000,000 by leading press makers UTECO. SU produced a best practice guide for the sector, which was endorsed by the Flexographic Technical Association Europe (FTA Europe). By delivering Continual Professional Development (CPD), process quality and competitiveness has increased making flexography the dominant process for printing packaging which in 2017 had a total output value of EUR77,000,000,000 of which flexography captured a 54% market share representing EUR40,200,000,000.

2. Underpinning research

The flexographic printing supply chain comprises, in addition to substrate and ink, business sectors that include anilox rolls that have engraved surfaces to meter ink, photopolymer plates to transfer the printed image and presses. The underpinning research conducted at SU’s Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating (WCPC) has been directed to address the challenges of equipment design and/or process application faced by each of these business sectors. Furthermore, it has been documented and translated by the FTA Europe to provide training and upskilling. Overall, this has made the quality of flexographic printed material equivalent to that of offset lithography as its nearest competitor printing process.

Photopolymer image carriers either comprise a pattern of conical frustum where the top diameter has dimensions measured in µm or remain without a pattern where solid coverage is required and where ink release from either surface type determines image quality. Our work, [R1] and [R2][G1], has addressed the underpinning knowledge that is needed in the processing of photopolymer image carriers to improve image quality. The early work described in [R1] explores the deformation of the frustum during printing engagement and provided, for the first time, a detailed understanding of how this contributes to ‘dot gain’, where the printed dot diameter is different from that on the image carrier. The work in [R2] provides the first detailed exploration of how both the profile on the frustum top and plate surface chemistry (water- or solvent-washable) impacts print quality. Through complementary exposure and laser machining technologies, the frustum top can be profiled to be flat, convex or concave. Micropatterning can be added to the frustum top as well as solid coverage areas with the aim of increasing the volume of ink transfer and improving print quality through uniformity. Our research in [R2] has shown that, contrary to vendor claims, dot profiling has very marginal benefit on print colour quality. Additionally, for solid coverage, our work showed that for low viscosity water-based inks, the frequency of Saffman-Taylor instability can be influenced by surface chemistry with higher frequency improving the uniformity of solid coverage areas.

Our underpinning work, [R3][G2] and [R4][G2] has focused on developing the precise volume measurement of engraved cells and ink release from these cells. This is critical to the determination of the ink supply within the flexographic printing process and impacts directly on print quality. Engraved cells are typically 10 µm deep and surrounded by a surface that is rough. Precise volume measurement must account for the surrounding surface roughness, and our work in [R3] develops a novel waterfall algorithm to determine the cell brim location and hence the cell volume in a fully automated manner. Ink release from the engraved cell requires consideration of filamentation and how the filament foot interacts with the cell. Our work published in [R4] proposes a model for ink extensional flow coupled with filament tracking that, for the first time, accounts for dynamic response of the contact point at its foot. The proposed method was developed within a level-set framework by modelling forced capillary flows, and the approach relaxed constraints imposed by previous attempts by allowing the system to define its own dynamic contact angle and its own contact line dynamics.

Flexography has been identified as a leading candidate process for the high-volume printing of functional devices. Our work on printing of conducting tracks and fine features initially exemplified in [R5][G3], focuses on image transfer in the printing of conducting tracks that is a fundamental feature in a wide range of functional devices such as sensors and solar cells. Our work showed in detail how image design and process setting influenced feature dimension and functional performance. To address challenges in commercialisation, we have explored rapid ink curing using near infrared (NIR), as shown in [R6], where we were the first to have demonstrated a 100-fold reduction in cure time and hence a commensurate reduction in dryer length. This work has been developed further recently through application in printed antennas [G4]. We were able to demonstrate the ability to print antennas that were sufficiently accurate that they would function ‘as printed’ without the need for further tuning and associated processing steps.

3. References to the research

The outputs below include four peer-reviewed journals, one PhD Thesis, and one peer-reviewed conference paper at a well-established international conference. Most of the journal articles are supported by funders including: EPSRC, WDA, ERDF, Tata, FP7 European Commission, and other industrial partners. Four grants (majority of which are competitively won) support the body of work totalling GBP1,758,262. This research has made important contributions to the discipline internationally and contributes important knowledge to the field likely to have a lasting influence.

[R1] Bould, D.C., Claypole, T.C., & Bohan, M.F.J. (2004). An investigation into plate deformation in flexographic printing. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B, 218 (11), 1499-1511. doi.org/10.1243/0954405042418428

[R2] Hamblyn, A. (2015). Effect of Plate Characteristics on Ink Transfer in Flexographic Printing. PhD Thesis, Supervised by Gethin, D.T. and Claypole, T.C. Swansea University. https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42827

[R3] Deganello, D., Claypole, T.C., & Gethin, D.T. (2007). Analysis of interferometric data to obtain accurate geometric characterisation of engraved cells. IARIGAI 2007 Proceedings: Advances in Printing and Media Technology, 34, 77-84. http://jpmtr.org/Advances\-Vol\-34\(2007\)\_online.pdf

[R4] Deganello, D., Williams, A.J., Croft, T.N., Lubansky, A.S., Gethin, D.T., & Claypole, T.C. (2010). Numerical simulation of dynamic contact angle embodied through a force based formulation. Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics, 166 (16), 900-907. doi.org/10.1016/j.jnnfm.2011.04.008

[R5] Deganello, D., Cherry, J.A., Gethin, D.T., & Claypole, T.C. (2010). Patterning of micro-scale conductive networks using reel-to-reel flexographic printing. Thin Solid Films, 518 (21), 6113-6116. doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2010.05.125

[R6] Cherrington, M., Claypole, T.C., Deganello, D., Mabbett, I., Watson, T., & Worsley, D. (2011). Ultrafast near-infrared sintering of a slot-die coated nano-silver conducting ink. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 21, 7562-7564. doi.org/10.1039/C1JM10630A

Grants

[G1] Claypole, T.C. [Principal Investigator]. (2010-2014). Image Transfer Mechanism in Printing. KESS PhD. [ESF 2007-20134/CASE ID: 80300]. European Social Fund. Welsh Government. GBP59,970.

[G2] Claypole, T.C. [Principal Investigator]. (2004-2008). DIPLE Digital, Industrial, Packaging, Lean & Environmental. [55051]. ERDF. Welsh European Funding Office. GBP1,104,492.

[G3] Gethin, D.T. [Principal Investigator]. (2008-2011). FAST2LIGHT: High-Throughput, Large Area and Cost- Effective OLED Production Technologies. [216641]. FP7 Programme, European Commission. GBP480,749.

[G4] Deganello, D. [Principal Investigator]. (2015-2016). HarFEst. [102154]. Innovate UK. GBP113,051.

4. Details of the impact

In 2017, the European packaging and label printing industry had a value of EUR77,000,000,000 and a compound annual growth rate of 2%, with flexographic printers capturing 54% (EUR40,200,000,000 per year) of this business. Similar values apply in America and Asia. Our research has underpinned process technology that is central to image transfer in flexography. The results of our research have been used by printing businesses to develop their technology, provide an independent benchmark, and provide the underpinning knowledge that has been used to promote and market their products. Our research has impacted Troika Systems, Asahi Photoproducts and UTECO, each of which are suppliers to flexographic printers on a global scale. We have engaged more broadly with the sector through the Flexographic Technical Association through the writing of good practice guides that are being used globally.

Troika Systems

Troika Systems are world leaders in the design and development of the state-of-the-art AniCAM^TM 3D analysis system, which is a key tool in quality control in the printing industry. The development of this system’s accuracy has been informed by our research on cell metrology [R4] that included analysis protocols and the development of a reference measurement set that has been used to validate the AniCAM^TM system, covering the full range of engraving specifications. Following a global competitor benchmarking study, it was established that the Troika Systems, AniCAM^TM was the best in class showing operator independence and superior accuracy when compared with a competitor product based on white light interferometer principles [C1].

“Using the SU research we were able to evolve our AniCAM^TM system to give accurate measurement of cell volume. Furthermore SU were able to ratify the ‘accurate’ volumetric measurement of engraved cells using both the WCPC protocols and the Troika Systems method, and knowing they correlate, has allowed us to emphasise the accuracy of our systems to the flexographic printing sector.” Sales Director, Troika [C1].

Within the printing industry and following the release of their validated AniCAM^TM system in late 2013, Troika Systems are now recognised as world leaders in measurement and analysis of engraved anilox rolls and have extended their technology to include relief profiles on the image carrier plates in flexographic printing and the engraving of cylinders for gravure printing. The impact for Troika and the flexographic printing industry is significant.

“The result is that since 2014, Troika’s client base has grown from 600 to 1500 installations, increasing our workforce from 8 to 16 and growing our business turnover from £900k to £2,000,000”. Sales Director, Troika [C1].

In addition, wider, significant, direct commercial and environmental benefits have been enjoyed by Troika’s customers (secondary beneficiaries) by implementing Swansea University’s research backed improvements [R3]. Based on the 1,500 flexographic printer installations Troika has found that most printers are recovering at least one hour of production time per press per day. This is attributed to changeover between different print jobs where there is a need to match the image with the ink supply that is controlled by the anilox. Through implementation of lean manufacturing, the AniCAM^TM system allows a match to be achieved efficiently resulting in time saving and reduced material waste. These process improvements are especially important considering market trends see print runs of typically 2 to 3 hours. Many of their customers operate at least 3 presses and for just 3 presses the benefit from a time recovery of one hour per press, per day leads to annual savings in excess of GBP225,000 per year. The hour saved leads to a productivity increase of 4%, and material waste at the start of a press run is reduced by 15%. The overall benefits are highlighted by Troika’s Sales Director:

“On application across the 1,500 installations, the production time savings corresponds to £428m per annum and the material waste a value of £90m per annum” Sales Director, Troika [C1].

Asahi Photoproducts

Asahi Photoproducts are a world-leading supplier of photopolymer plates to the flexographic printing industry where the global area of imaged plates is 8,000,000m², presenting a value of USD1,370,000,000 per year in 2020. Our underpinning research [R1, R2] on the effect of frustum deformation, patterning and surface chemistry on image transfer and hence print quality has contributed to the development of Asahi’s ground-breaking innovation on image carrier technology.

“The underpinning research conducted at Swansea University has established our fundamental understanding of image transfer in a new water washable plate technology (AWP) branded CleanPrint, and has provided both commercial and environmental benefits to Asahi and our customers” Technical Marketing Manager, Asahi Photoproducts [C2].

Most recently, our work [R2] has supported the development of Asahi’s AWP ‘CleanPrint’ plate by providing underpinning knowledge and validation of its enhanced performance, eliminating the need for washout solvents and reducing management and disposal of chemicals that are toxic to workers and harmful to the environment. Within the REF period (between 2014 and 2020), adopting the CleanPrint plate resulted in a decrease in print run duration of 30%, accompanied by a similar reduction in energy consumption and improved productivity gains in excess of 30% [C2]. Indirectly, the quality improvement offered by the AWP plate has enabled the capture of new business from competitor high volume printing processes. The direct benefit is seen in Asahi’s sales, where following its launch in late 2013, CleanPrint now represents 20% of Asahi’s annual sales volume where they have been successful in capturing a “….10% share of the flexo plate global market 2020” [C2].

UTECO

UTECO is a worldwide leading manufacturer and supplier of flexible packaging equipment, particularly flexographic presses. Our original work on printing fine conducting lines using flexography [R5] and innovative application of rapid curing [R6] has been critical in influencing UTECO’s company strategy and has led to collaboration for the development of flexographic based RFID antennas, with demonstrators showcased by UTECO at the world-premiere industry trade fair, DRUPA 2016.

“Fundamental research conducted by Swansea University (SU) on the advancement of flexography, has had a pivotal role in the sector development over the last decade and in the strategic planning and operations of UTECO within this REF period the holistic and scientific approach to printing and associated technological improvement developed and promoted by Swansea has been critical in enhancing our position over the competition resulting in UTECO’s company growth from a turnover of approximately EUR95,000,000 in 2013 to EUR118,000,000 in 2018.” CEO, UTECO [C3].

“SU’s research has informed our strategic decisions to investigate roll-to-roll printing for advanced functional and printed electronic applications and supported an overall R&D investment in new technologies within the company valued at approximately EUR20,000,000.” CEO, UTECO [C3].

Flexographic Technical Association Europe (FTA Europe)

FTA Europe was established to represent the common interests of the European flexographic printing industry and currently has 7 members. These are the national trade associations of Spain, Italy, France, Benelux, Sweden, Denmark and the UK, of which over 424 flexographic companies are members. Beyond this, FTA partners span the globe, including the Americas, Middle East and Asia.

Our pioneering research completed between 2000 and 2020 has led printing to be a manufacturing process that is now guided by scientific principles:

“Education and up-skilling form a key part of FTA Europe’s activity and, in 2017, we embarked on the development of best practice guides as a CPD provision for our members and the wider flexo community. The project brought together flexo experts from across Europe –including Swansea University [Prof Tim Claypole as a co-author] who contributed their pioneering research to the development of flexo printing best practices.

The resulting product was published as an eBook on sale on Apple Books and iTunes: the ‘FTA Europe Flexo Best Practice Toolbox’.” President, FTA Europe [C4].

The Toolbox was published in 2019, using state of the art knowledge, providing a unique product for the flexo printing industry. It is designed for trained users to refresh their knowledge and ensure predictable results on the flexo press each time. Not only does the Toolbox bring together the latest expert advice, but the combination of videos, images and multi-language versions means it is truly accessible and easy to use. After the recent publication of an Italian translation, further translations will be made to include French, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese. To date, 103 businesses have downloaded the best practice guide and it has been used in training new and upskilling existing employees. The sector benefit is set out in the endorsement letter from the FTA where they state:

“FTA Europe recognises the research conducted by the Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating at Swansea University to be world leading and having contributed to the development of the European flexo industry, which in 2019 had an output valued at €40.2 billion. The University continues to have significant impact on the growth of the flexographic printing sector and is a highly valued partner of FTA Europe.” President, FTA Europe [C4].

Buildings as power stations: the novel integration of new green technologies to transform ...

Submitting institution: Swansea University / Prifysgol Abertawe
Unit of assessment: 12 - Engineering
Summary impact type: Technological
Is this case study continued from a case study submitted in 2014?: No

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1. Summary of the impact

“Buildings as power stations” (BAPS) is a revolutionary concept by which buildings go beyond self-sufficiency and integrate into local and national energy infrastructure to share energy loading and become net contributors to national energy demands. The underpinning research conducted at Swansea University (SU) resulted in the construction and operation of energy-positive buildings (the Active Classroom and Active Office), leading to the generation of 1MWh p.a. of green energy. Direct economic impact was achieved off the back of these buildings resulting in a GBP36,000,000 EPSRC investment into the national delivery of energy positive buildings which created the Active Building Centre (ABC), a new and independent Research and Technology Organisation (RTO). An additional economic impact was achieved with GBP5,000,000 of private sector investment into the commercial development of BAPS technology. The BAPS principles have also been applied to 12 social housing dwellings, removing 12 families from fuel poverty and invoking Welsh Government policy debate on the future of all new build homes in Wales being powered by clean energy. International social impact through technology transfer to India has also been achieved, improving the health and wellbeing of communities within this developing nation through improved energy security.

2. Underpinning research

The BAPS concept is a result of SU’s extensive underpinning research in novel functional coatings. The concept is based on the premise that smart materials and integrated systems built into the fabric of the building are able to harvest, store and use zero carbon energy such that the building becomes a net contributor, as opposed to a net burden, to the national power grid. This vision has been championed by the EPSRC, Innovate UK and the Welsh Government, which enabled the creation of the Sustainable Product Engineering Centre for Innovative Functional Industrial Coatings (SPECIFIC) Innovation Knowledge Centre (IKC) at Swansea in 2011. SPECIFIC contains 10 academic staff and over 50 postdoctoral and postgraduate researchers, who undertake a wide breadth of research to enable the BAPS vision, ranging from fundamental photochemistry and large area photovoltaic (PV) design to thermal modelling and monitoring of buildings.

Pre-painted steel building facades can be subject to UV paint degradation and steel corrosion, limiting their life and suitability as solar energy harvesting surfaces. Our research on understanding the relationship between the paint spectral absorption characteristics [R1], paint binder and pigment photochemical stability [R2] and cut edge corrosion of zinc-coated steel [R3] has resulted in functionalization of the building structure. Our research has enabled and demonstrated energy absorbing photo-stable full façade transpired solar collectors (TSC) which act as both a protective skin on a building and a source of 60°C hot air for building heating or thermal storage.

In order to address the temporal mismatch between the high supply of hot air from the TSC in the summer and the high demand in winter, thermal storage solutions were investigated by Swansea. The hydration of salts was identified as a suitable thermochemical storage mechanism, appropriate to temperatures achievable directly from the building envelope. This research was critical for the implementation of the active buildings concept [R4].

In parallel with thermal capture, our research has enabled innovation in electrical harvesting, storage and use. Based on our fundamental material and device research into scalable manufacturing of perovskite photovoltaics, we have developed a process for the production of the world’s largest low-cost (<GBP0.05/KWh) printable PV modules [R5], using low-energy manufacturing methods. Our research on binder / solvent formulation, carbon type and processing conditions of conductive carbon pastes has enabled thermal uplift through low voltage underfloor heating which is localised and controlled at individual tile “pixel” level [R6], for highly localized workspace heating from any stored excess PV power. This marries well to heat release from thermochemical storage to provide individual workspace comfort.

In reference to everything above, SU’s research was amalgamated into a functioning system. A variety of novel electrical and thermal energy harvesting, energy storage and consumption technologies were integrated into the building fabric and building management system for the first time. Each fully instrumented building delivers unique human-building interaction metrics to test the novel technologies. These buildings are functioning with normal occupancy rates and are providing net energy contributions to the grid. Our research was critical in enabling a substantial body of work that dictated the design and build of the Active Office and Active Classroom. These innovations were recognised by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Wales in shortlisting the buildings for multiple awards and winning two, the “Sustainable Building of the Year in 2017” award and subsequently a “Design through Innovation 2018” award.

3. References to the research

The outputs below represent six peer-reviewed journal papers, five of which are published in Q1 journals with one in a Q2 journal (JCR).  Three have industrial collaborations on the paper (Tata and Corus Colors). All papers were supported by funding from EPSRC and also one other source such as Welsh Government, Tata, or ESF.  Eight competitively won grants support the body of work totalling GBP80,642,543. This research has made important contributions to the discipline internationally and contributes important knowledge to the field likely to have a lasting influence.

[R1] Mabbett, I., Elvins, J., Gowenlock, C., Glover, C., Jones, P., Williams, G., & Worsley, D. (2014). Addition of carbon black NIR absorber to galvanised steel primer systems: Influence on NIR cure of polyester melamine topcoats and corrosion protection characteristics. Progress in Organic Coatings 77 (2), 494-501. doi:10.1016/j.porgcoat.2013.11.015

[R2] James, S., Robinson, A., Arnold, J., & Worsley, D. (2013). The effects of humidity on photodegradation of poly(vinyl chloride) and polyethylene as measured by the CO₂ evolution rate. Polymer Degradation and Stability, 98 (2), 508-513. doi:10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2012.12.007

[R3] Elvins, J., Spittle, J., Sullivan, J., & Worsley, D. (2008). The effect of magnesium additions on the microstructure and cut edge corrosion resistance of zinc aluminium alloy galvanised steel. Corrosion Science, 50 (6), 1650-1658. doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2008.02.005

[R4] Sutton, R., Jewell, E., Searle, J., & Elvins, J. (2018). Discharge performance of blended salt in matrix materials for low enthalpy thermochemical storage. Applied Thermal Engineering, 145, 483-493. doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2018.09.052

[R5] De Rossi, F., Baker, J.A., Beynon, D., Hooper, K. E. A., Meroni, S. M. P., Williams, D., Wei, Z., Yasin, A., Charbonneau, C., Jewell, E. H., & Watson, T. M. (2018). All printable perovskite solar modules with 198 cm² active area and over 6% efficiency. Advanced Materials Technologies, 1800156. doi:10.1002/admt.201800156

[R6] Philip, B., Jewell, E., Greenwood, P., & Weirman, C. (2016). Material and process optimization screen printing carbon graphite pastes for mass production of heating elements. Journal of Manufacturing Processes, 22, 185-191. doi:10.1016/j.jmapro.2016.03.001

Grants

[G1] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator]. (Sept 2018- May 2020). The Active Building Centre (ABC). [EP/S016627/1]. EPSRC. GBP35,947,427.

[G2] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator]. (2019 – 2020). FRED (Flexibly Responsive Energy Delivery). BEIS. GBP85,000.

[G3] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator], & Jewell, E. [Co-Investigator]. (Apr 2016-Mar 2021). SPECIFIC IKC Phase 2. [EP/N020863/1]. EPSRC. GBP1,998,339.

[G4] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator]. (Oct 2017–Dec 2021). SUNRISE. [EP/P032591/1]. EPSRC. GBP6,580,123.

[G5] Jewell, E. [Principal Investigator]. (Apr 2016–Jan 2019). Hi-Prospects. [EP/N509905/1]. EPSRC. GBP300,702.

[G6] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator]. (May 2013–Jun 2016). SPECIFIC Tranche 2: Heat, Water, PV and Bio-inspiration. [EP/L010372/1]. EPSRC. GBP1,626,979.

[G7] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator]. (Jul 2012 – Jun 2016), SPECIFIC. [80892]. WEFO. GBP26,300,000.

[G8] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator]. (Jul 2012–Jun 2016). SPECIFIC Tranche 1: Buildings as Power Stations. [EP/K000292/1]. EPSRC. GBP2,791,868.

[G9] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator]. (Apr 2011–Jul 2016). Sustainable Product Engineering Centre for Innovative Functional Industrial Coatings – SPECIFIC. [EP/I019278/1]. EPSRC. GBP5,012,105.

4. Details of the impact

Utilising the underpinning research strands outlined above, SPECIFIC IKC have taken these siloed green technologies and combined them into a fully integrated system for the first time. This culminated in the delivery of real buildings that address both the practical implementation and the technical challenges of BAPS.

Ground-breaking scalable research on the system control, material properties and reactor design have enabled the first scale-up from laboratory reactor to a 5-tonne calcium chloride thermal storage reactor. The storage reactor was deployed in a factory-size building which was retrofitted with a TSC as a thermal source, and the building has operated for 3 years without fossil fuels achieving storage densities of 56kWh/m³.

On the Swansea University Bay Campus over 4 annual cycles (between 2017 and 2020) under full occupancy, the Active Classroom (186m2) has delivered a net positive energy generation of 400kWh per annum. In addition, in its first year of operation (between July 2018 and 2019) the Active Office (376m2) reduced its net energy consumption by 99% (4 kWh/m² per annum), compared to an industry standard of 300 kWh/m² per annum for a conventional office. By the end of June 2020, optimization led to a net positive 600 kWh per annum energy production, making it the UK’s first energy-positive office space. Six electric vehicle charging points on the buildings have also provided 29,000km of fossil fuel-free motoring. Since construction, these buildings had a direct positive environmental impact by removing reliance on fossil fuels, reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 70 tonnes of CO₂ (compared to an office built to current national standards) as well as providing green energy back into the national grid at times of peak demand.

Economic impact has been derived from the research. The buildings have been critical in creating the case for large national and international collaborations on BAPS. A GBP36,000,000 EPSRC investment was made into the new independent Active Building Centre (ABC) Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) [C1]. The creation of the ABC RTO was reliant upon Swansea’s research, as affirmed by the CEO of ABC:

“…the demonstration buildings designed, specified and delivered on the University campus were a catalyst for change that inspired the investment to create the ABC.” [C1].

The technology used in the buildings has since been transferred to the industrial mass market through the new ABC RTO via best practice guidelines, and has invoked industrial support with collaboration across the building value chain, from 21 leading industry bodies who are committed to meet the governmental initiative to make all new buildings 100% zero carbon by 2030 [C2].

Companies such as Wernick Buildings within the construction sector and Naked Energy, a Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) that develops photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors, have both directly benefited from Swansea’s active building projects. Build partner Wernick states:

“The process of developing the Active Office was a significant technical advance for the company, opening new commercial possibilities in architecturally inspired buildings.” Deputy Managing Director, Wernick Buildings Ltd [C3].

In addition, Naked Energy’s ground-breaking PVT installation on the vertical facia of the Active Office allowed the company’s first quantifiable demonstration, which resulted in them securing a GBP5,000,000 private investment into scaling manufacture of their PVT products for the construction industry [C4].

Direct social impact has also been affected through the design and construction of energy-positive social housing in the Active Homes 12-dwelling estate in Neath, South Wales, which represents a multi-partner collaboration with social housing provider. The CEO of The Active Building Centre emphasises the health and wellbeing benefit of these homes:

“We are particularly pleased that the 12 Active Homes in Neath will be occupied in the late summer of 2020 and that these 12 novel homes will provide heat and power to occupants who would otherwise be in fuel poverty.” [C1].

The benefits derived from this concept have also influenced Welsh Government Policy debate, invoking a consultation (as a preliminary to legislative policy) that all Welsh new-build homes must be powered from clean energy sources by 2025 [C5 & C6].

Beyond the UK, Swansea’s active building research is having impact within developing nations such as India, where energy security is one of many significant societal issues due to limited and unreliable supply. The SUNRISE project (2020 winner of the Times Higher Education Award for International Collaboration), which aims to address global energy poverty by implementing next generation TSCs and large area low cost PV technologies, has used sustainable building principles generated from our research to provide secure energy supplies to community schools and health centres in rural India. Through our delivery partner The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, impacts on learning and participation have been derived from the 1.92kW microgrid and battery installation at Panchaya Union School in Tirupur, Tamilnadu, which has benefitted the school and its pupils by providing lighting for an additional 3 hours of learning time per day. In addition, a 5.12kW microgrid was installed in the Primary Health Centre in Dharwad, Karnataka, benefiting the wellbeing and health of the local community through a new stable, green electrical supply [C7]. This energy security intervention allowed the health centre to maintain its services and function effectively without the risk of power loss. Impact on energy poverty in Africa is evidenced by Solar Powered classroom/play area in Mutende Orphange, Chingola, Zambia (installed 2016) and an independent school power supply in Siavonga, Zambia (installed 2019).

Our research has also formed the basis for Continued Professional Development (CPD) training, where our technology advances and best practices in BAPS have been widely disseminated throughout industry. National recognition of SPECIFIC’s leadership in this area resulted in our CPD content being used to formulate a national framework to influence building standards, new design guidelines and codes of practice. The Royal Institute of British Architects CPD programme, which was begun in 2019, now includes the SPECIFIC Active Building workshops which have educated and inspired 271 professionals (to end of Jan 2020) from a wide range of industries including the MoD and the NHS and is a continuous ongoing activity [C8].

Enabling building integrated photovoltaics for solar energy generation using functional ...

Submitting institution: Swansea University / Prifysgol Abertawe
Unit of assessment: 12 - Engineering
Summary impact type: Technological
Is this case study continued from a case study submitted in 2014?: No

Download case study PDF

1. Summary of the impact

A building-integrated photovoltaics (PV) business, BIPVCo, has resulted from collaborative research on functional coatings at Swansea University (SU). The underpinning research and development of a low-cost, lightweight, and flexible metal-mounted PV coating was the fundamental aspect of creating the company. BIPVCo is now a manufacturing organisation that has a production capability per annum that equates to 20 megawatts (MW). BIPVCo received GBP5,000,000 in private sector investment in 2017 and moved to full scale manufacturing in Newport (2018), gaining full TUV (Technischer Überwachungsverin) and MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) approval. BIPVCo’s increase in manufacturing capability created 30 new jobs and is supporting an innovation pipeline for steel building materials through continued collaborative research with Tata Steel and SU. In addition to the key impacts Swansea’s research has had upon BIPVCo, the concepts and products derived from Swansea’s research have influenced the shaping of the construction strategy for the UKs largest steel manufacturer, Tata Steel to include Active Building products.

2. Underpinning research

Conventional solar panels, based on silicon technology sandwiched between glass coverings, are now widely deployed and are one of the cheapest renewable energy sources worldwide. However, the manufacturing processes are complex and require ultra-clean manufacturing environments. Solar panel modules can be mounted on top of a roof or wall structure, however there are emerging opportunities for solar technologies to be integrated into the building fabric. So-called ‘building-integrated photovoltaics’ (BIPV) as an alternative to traditional silicon panels, offer the opportunity for the whole roof of a building to generate power. It also offers an opportunity to make the material more lightweight and flexible to allow for curved surfaces. An additional challenge for silicon PV is that the high capital costs of manufacturing plants and very high-energy consumption is centring the manufacturing in Asia and thus is not supporting local manufacturing supply chains.

Direct integration of the photovoltaic material with steel roofing is an attractive opportunity, given the current production of 100,000,000m² of coated steel for buildings that is manufactured by Tata Steel in the UK annually. Approximately 60% of this output is used in the UK, providing a significant opportunity to produce more sustainable energy at scale.

Since 2007 SU materials scientists [G1], Worsley’s team, tackled these issues to develop an inexpensive, ambient printable photovoltaic device that could be integrated directly into the fabric of the building at large scale. This work was initially funded by the EPSRC “Metal substrate mounted flexible dye sensitised semiconductor solar cells” project, which became one of the forerunners to the SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) [G2, G3]. SPECIFIC now covers work on PV manufacturing and electrical storage, thermal generation and storage, and building integration and design in support of the transition to solar powered buildings.

Initial research published in 2011 [R1] led to the development of a prototype metal-mounted dye-sensitized solar cell in collaboration with Tata Steel, and this work highlighted the potential for building-integrated PV on sheet steel roofing materials. A number of key technical breakthroughs were made in lightweight flexible metal mounted PV at Swansea during this pre-commercial, early adoption period, which underpinned the initial technology demonstration of the BIPV concept on steel products supported by collaborative research grants alongside the IKC core team.

In 2011, Watson’s research team at Swansea produced the world’s first dye-sensitized solar cell deposited directly onto a steel substrate, a critical enabler to large-scale roll-to-roll manufacture [G1, R1]. In particular, the work probed the influence of direct integration of the PV device stack through multi-layer deposition onto a pre-painted construction substrate. The method was based around chemically isolating the underlying substrate using a dual high temperature-stable organic coating combined with an electrically conductive metal layer. Though the work illustrated the issues of substrate expansion during long-term high-temperature processing, it paved the way for the development of post-processed layers rather than direct deposition.

A major bottleneck in the manufacture of low-cost solution-processable PV is the time required to manufacture the device which prior to our research was known to be 30 minutes. The Swansea team has developed alternative heating and curing methods using near-infrared radiation and photonic techniques that can achieve the same result in just 12.5 seconds [G2, G4]. When these technologies are applied to the dye-sensitized solar cell, such as those developed in [R1], the manufacturing time is reduced from many hours to under 2 minutes. This means that the manufacturing process shifts from being a costly batch process to a higher volume, cheaper and continuous process. In 2014, Carnie and Charbonneau sought to understand the influences of short process times on the performance of PV devices and found that rapid processing could be undertaken without detriment to material behaviour or performance [R2, P1]. Despite the dye-sensitized technology forming only the pre-commercial prototype, the work provided a benchmark for the evolution from slow and expensive batch processes to continuous fabrication.

To enable the translation of conventional glass-mounted, solution-deposited solar cells onto a flexible but opaque surface such as steel, a transparent top electrode is required. Under normal circumstances, this would be applied via a low volume, costly vacuum process. In 2015 [G3, G4], the team developed a, low-cost and transparent laminate electrode, requiring only finger pressure for application, that not only performs comparably to vacuum-evaporated metallic contacts but also provides mechanical adhesion that the evaporated material does not [R3], [P2, P3]. This product was developed for solution-processed PV technology and acted as the forerunner for the incumbent commercially-deployed CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenium) product.

In 2015 members of the Tata Steel research team at Shotton established BIPVCo as a spinout in partnership with Swansea Innovations (the university commercialisation team). The team helped BIPVCo with both the legal structuring for the creation of the separate entity, negotiations, and support to gain private sector investment. The SPECIFIC IKC team worked closely to help scope and design the manufacturing unit, establish local lab testing facilities, and support key aspects of the work on adhesion and lifetime prediction required to integrate photovoltaic (CIGS) foils into premium steel coated roofing products co-developed with Tata. Once established the Tata team took on permanent roles with BIPVCo to drive it forward leaving their positions in Tata but continuing to operate on the Shotton site.

In order to develop greater understanding of in-service performance and provide evidence that the commercial product can be deployed successfully in demanding environments, the research team at SPECIFIC, analysed the performance of the first trial production BIPVCo mounted product applied to an Active Classroom building located at SU’s Bay Campus [G3, G5], [R4]. Using data collected during a twelve-month period on SU’s Active Classroom (a purpose-built showcase for several solar-based technologies), the research showed that, in the oceanic climate of SU, which is defined by a narrow annual temperature range and a high level of precipitation, there is significant fluctuation in PV performance of the BIPVCo product throughout the year. This evolved into an understanding of the link between the Active Classroom battery system and the point at which the PV power output drops to the base load of the building when the battery is full. The work fed data back to BIPVCo and illustrated the product stability and performance variation over the twelve-month period. Recommendations on how to link the product with smart control algorithms to optimise future PV-battery systems were made.

Durrant and Watson has also established a weathering and stability capability at SU [G3, G6] which allows extensive monitoring of PV devices both at lab-scale (in the development phase) and in-service on our fully monitored active buildings [R5]. These capabilities support product development by enabling standardised test conditions to be run on both developmental prototypes and complete products. This work builds on our historical experience in monitoring the stability of organic coatings and enables more accurate projections of product lifetimes from laboratory experiments. The BIPVCo materials are also part of the international exposure testing programme with Tata group and five Indian Institutes of Technology in the SUNRISE programme [G7].

3. References to the research

The outputs below include five peer reviewed journal papers, two in Q1 and two in Q2 journals (JCR). One has national academic collaboration with Oxford University, and another has industrial collaboration with industry (CPI Ltd). Three of the outputs were supported by funding from EPSRC, one of which also acknowledges Welsh Government and ESF funding. Seven competitively won grants from EPSRC support the body of work totalling GBP18,039,725. This research has made important contributions to the discipline internationally and contributes important knowledge to the field likely to have a lasting influence.

[R1] Watson, T., Reynolds, G., & Worsley, D. (2011). Painted steel mounted dye sensitised solar cells: Titanium metallisation using magnetron sputtering. Ironmaking and Steelmaking, 38 (3), 168–172 . doi.org/10.1179/1743281210Y.0000000003

[R2] Carnie, M., Charbonneau, C., Barnes, P., Davies, M., Mabbett, I., Watson, T., O’Regan, B., & Worsley, D. (2013). Ultra-fast sintered TiO₂ films in dye-sensitized solar cells: phase variation, electron transport and recombination. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 1 (5), 2225–2230. doi.org/10.1039/C2TA01005D

[R3] Bryant, D., Greenwood, P., Troughton, J., Wijdekop, M., Carnie, M., Davies, M., Wojciechowski, K., Snaith, H.J., Watson, T., & Worsley, D. (2014). A Transparent Conductive Adhesive Laminate Electrode for High-Efficiency Organic-Inorganic Lead Halide Perovskite Solar Cells. Advanced Materials, 26 (44), 7499–7504. doi.org/10.1002/adma.201403939

[R4] Brennan, D.A., White, C., Barclay, M., Griffiths, T., & Lewis, R.P. (2019). Performance Characterisation and Optimisation of a Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) System in a Maritime Climate. Future Cities and Environment, 5 (1), 8. doi.org/10.5334/fce.62

[R5] Wilderspin, T., De Rossi, F., & Watson, T. (2016). A simple method to evaluate the effectiveness of encapsulation materials for perovskite solar cells. Solar Energy, 139, 426–432. doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2016.09.038

Grants

[G1] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator]. (2007-2010). Metal substrate mounted flexible dye sensitised semiconductor solar cells. [EP/E035205/1]. EPSRC. GBP307,934.

[G2] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator]. (2011-2016). **Sustainable Product Engineering Centre for Innovative Functional Industrial Coatings – SPECIFIC. [**EP/I019278/1]. EPSRC. GBP5,012,105.

[G3] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator]. Durrant, J., Watson, T., Carnie, M., Davies, M., & Charbonneau, C. [Co-Investigators]. (2016-2021). SPECIFIC IKC Phase 2. [EP/N020863/1]. EPSRC. GBP1,998,339.

[G4] Worsley, D., & Watson, T. [Co-Investigators]. (2014-2018). Photovoltaic Technology based on Earth Abundant Materials – PVTEAM. [EP/L017792/1]. EPSRC. GBP2,012,697.

[G5] Watson, T. [Co-Investigator]. (2016-2019). HI-PROSPECTS - HIgh resolution PRinting Of Solar Photovoltaic EleCTrode Structures. [EP/N509905/1]. EPSRC. GBP300,702.

[G6] Watson, T., & Worsley, D. [Co-Investigators]. (2017-2020). Self-assembling Perovskite Absorbers - Cells Engineered into Modules (SPACE-Modules). [EP/M015254/2]. EPSRC. GBP1,827,825.

[G7] Worsley, D. [Principal Investigator]. Watson, T., Durrant, J., Carnie, M., Davies, M., & Charbonneau, C. [Co-Investigators]. Strategic University Network to Revolutionise Indian Solar Energy (SUNRISE). [EP-P032591]. GCRF EPSRC. GBP6,580,123.

Patents

[P1] Watson, T., & Worsley, D. (Published 2010). Method for the manufacture of a photovoltaic device. [WO2010/115584].

[P2] McGettrick, J., & Bryant, D.T.J. (Published 2014). An opto-electronic device and method for manufacturing the same. [WO2014/095060].

[P3] Bryant, D. (Published 2015). An opto-electronic device and method for manufacturing the same. [WO2015/033088].

4. Details of the impact

Swansea University research into steel mounted building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), its manufacture, lifetime stability and encapsulation methods and real-world performance of precommercial products has contributed to the creation of a new strip steel PV product, the creation and growth of a spin-out company, GBP5,000,000 of private investment and the creation of 30 jobs through the expansion of manufacturing capability. In addition, the research and critical customer engagement through two award winning demonstration buildings has influenced the shaping of the construction strategy for the UKs largest steel manufacturer to include Active Building products.

The journey to creating BIPVCo began in 2008 as a research project initiated by Tata Steel in collaboration with Worsley and Watson at SU and Durrant then at Imperial College London. The project sought to explore new opportunities to functionalise the steel roofing sector following successful research collaborations to produce extremely long-term guarantees on pre-painted steels by creating new-to-market products, with a unique opportunity for a truly building-integrated solar roof offering. The technology agnostic approach of the team at SU towards the particular PV technology has been key with research work focussed on the manufacturing challenges and key roadblocks, lifetime and stability issues as well as proof of concept buildings to showcase and demonstrate beyond doubt the capability of the new technologies. Throughout, staff from Tata Steel and SU have co-developed the technologies [P1-P3] supported by SPECIFIC IKC [G2 & G3], with particular developments on different PV technologies covered by allied research grants Dye sensitised solar cells [G1], perovskite [G5 & G6] and broader inorganic absorbers [G4] latterly with international collaborations on multiple PV technologies in India [G7]. Through this approach the team have provided underpinning research on the technologies of dye sensitised solar cells which were the first demonstration of steel integrated BIPV [R1], new materials [R3], processing methods [R2] and encapsulation techniques [R4] which can be applied to multiple BIPV systems with the first of a kind second generation CIGS steel integrated PV incorporating learnings from all of these studies trialled using the award winning Swansea Active Classroom [R5].

BIPVCo is a new company founded in 2015 on the underpinning research performed by SU into functional coatings for solar energy generation applied to steel-based construction material substrates. BIPVCo produces unique flexible, building-integrated and lightweight PV products that form part of the building envelope. Through incorporation into steel roofing, these PV systems can form a portion, or even the entirety, of the roof structure without the need for additional strength in the roofing frame [R5], [G2 & G3]. In 2016 and, in conjunction with SPECIFIC, BIPVCo’s Metektron product was first trialled using a 17kWp roof installed on the pioneering Swansea Bay Campus Active Classroom. The research from SU not only enabled BIPVCo to first showcase their integrated PV product but also (with help from SPECIFIC), led to them securing initial private sector investment of GBP1,000,000, which has subsequently increased by a further GBP4,000,000 to establish the full-scale manufacturing capability [C1].

BIPVCo started with two staff, has grown and now employs >30 skilled staff. In the Spring of 2017 after a successful twelve-month trial at Swansea’s Active Classroom, BIPVCo achieved another milestone in its development and were granted TUV accreditation and MCS certification, which represent industry lifetime standards. This accreditation and Swansea’s research to demonstrator pathway was critical to launching a credible product into the highly competitive solar marketplace [C1]. The CEO of BIPVCo states:

“The support of Swansea University and the photovoltaics research was absolutely crucial in the setup phase as a spin-out company from the University and the continued support of the research team is critical in making our new Metektron product and indeed the company [is] unique within the solar market place” [C1].

In 2018, BIPVCo moved to larger manufacturing facilities in Newport in South Wales where the company now has a production capability equivalent to 20MW per annum. Within the same year an additional 22kWp of curved PV was installed on Swansea’s Active Office, a larger building with higher energy demands, providing a total PV area of over 300m². This subsequently contributed to a reduction in carbon footprint compared to similar buildings without the integrated technology and showcased the architectural flexibility of the product without any loss in performance. The Active Office received an EPC rating of A+ recognising that in an annual cycle it was predicted to be energy positive. The BIPVCo roof is the main energy source providing 78% of the power use on an annual cycle (generating 18MWh in 2020). This represents a carbon saving of 5.5 tonnes (based on the average grid intensity for carbon of 306 g/kWh in 2020). The design of the building supports a low energy consumption of 61 kWh/m² compared to a typical office 220 kWh/m².

The Metektron product has now been adopted by several developers and installed on approximately 200 buildings including private and social housing, hospitals and commercial buildings internationally [C1 & C3], where a lightweight, flexible and non-reflective PV solution is desirable. In a supporting letter, the CEO of BIPVCo states:

“The research to demonstrator pathway developed at Swansea University has been a success for BIPVCo, leading us to a commercially viable product, and subsequently a relocation to larger premises in Newport where we have expanded our facilities and production capability” [C1].

This is further reinforced by the Managing Director of Tata Steel Strip Products UK who states:

“…the commercial development of BIPVCo was only possible with the support of the [Swansea] university and we are very proud to have supported our own staff to transition in setting up this new business” [C2].

Tata supply the pre-painted coated steel (co-developed with SU) and the back-to-back warranties of 30-40 years with the BIPVCo PV integration and so remain a key element of the BIPVCo development story. In addition to the key impacts Swansea’s research has had upon BIPVCo, the concepts and products have also influenced the shaping of the construction strategy for the UKs largest steel manufacturer to include Active Building products. This change in strategy has enabled Tata Steel to offer and provide sustainable building solutions to meet the increasing demand on the construction industry to develop the UK’s low carbon infrastructure into the future. The impact on Tata Steel’s construction strategy is noted in a letter of support by the Managing Director Tata Steel Strip Products UK:

“The demonstration of the first and second generation products [BIPV] on the Active Classroom and Office by the Swansea University team has also been extremely important in shaping our own construction strategy with Active Buildings now being a major theme with some of our biggest clients” [C2].

Gas turbine engines –structural materials solutions supporting a reduced carbon ...

Submitting institution: Swansea University / Prifysgol Abertawe
Unit of assessment: 12 - Engineering
Summary impact type: Technological
Is this case study continued from a case study submitted in 2014?: No

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1. Summary of the impact

Ongoing research in structural materials characterisation at Swansea University has enhanced the understanding of the mechanical behaviour of proprietary gas turbine engine components. Internationally recognised expertise has allowed for progression of new materials towards service and extended safe operation of in-service components. Swansea research has attracted GBP4,600,000 of direct investment from Rolls-Royce and has delivered critical technological solutions towards the manufacture of efficient and robust engines. Significant savings exceeding GBP3,500,000,000 has been achieved by Rolls-Royce through reduction of component costs and safe life extension of critical rotating components. Research performed by our team at Swansea University, as part of a larger collaborative effort, contributed to a 1% reduction in specific fuel consumption of Rolls-Royce engines, leading to significant reduction in aerospace CO₂ emissions and enabling Rolls-Royce to maintain a minimum 50% share in the global civil aviation market.

2. Underpinning research

Reduction of carbon emissions from gas turbine engines is mainly achieved through reduction in weight or increases in operating temperature that increase thermal efficiency. Development of materials for these arduous operating conditions can only be validated through mechanical characterisation which allows for the declaration of safe operating lives of components. Swansea University is a University Technology Partner (UTP) within the framework of Rolls-Royce University Technology Centres (UTC) that aims to support the company through a network of leading institutions. Examples of Swansea University’s ongoing expertise in this area, which contribute to impact for Rolls-Royce are detailed below.

i) Titanium alloys

Swansea University is a leader in the study of “cold dwell sensitivity” in near-α titanium alloys, where extended periods under stress at low temperatures can cause premature fatigue failures. Cold dwell sensitivity was first acknowledged from the in-service failure of Rolls-Royce RB211 fan discs in the 1970s. Research undertaken at Swansea (Prof Bache) determined that the combination of anisotropic crystal plasticity and stress redistribution was attributed as the pre-requisite for quasi-cleavage facet formation and dwell-induced failures. A series of seminal academic papers [R1] and keynote presentations at international conferences resulted.

The application of electron backscattered diffraction for measuring fracture surface crystal orientation and facet inclination was pioneered at Swansea and further developed for industry in 2010. The “Evans-Bache” model which describes quasi-cleavage facet formation, has been applied since 2000 to a range of alloys and has underpinned the exchange of coarse-grained alloys (e.g. Ti685, Ti829) as compressor disc materials for alternatives (Ti6-4, Ti834, Ti6246). As Swansea’s University Technology Partnership (UTP) Director, both Prof Bache and Prof Evans have provided independent, confidential scrutiny for titanium technologies including fan blade manufacture, stress concentration features in compressor discs and interpretation of fatigue crack initiation and growth in titanium metal matrix composites.

Research conducted under an EPSRC grant [G1] along with private venture (PV) funding [G2] married fundamental materials knowledge to non-linear, strain-based life prediction modelling procedures applied to Ti6-4 fan disc material and Ti6246 compressor disc material. Similar PV-funded studies, led by Prof Bache, focused on the Ti6246 compressor disc alloy [G3]. Two major collaborative EPSRC projects [G4, G5] assessed the processing/texture/property relationship and benefits of laser shock peening, respectively for the titanium alloy Ti6-4. Parallel postgraduate programmes in 2011 characterised the fatigue behaviour of novel titanium alloys (Ti-639, Ti575) for civil engine fan systems [R2].

ii) Component design and safety

Unrivalled testing facilities, in terms of scale and capability, to characterise constitutive behaviour and damage tolerance have underpinned advanced algorithms used to declare safe operational lives for Class “A” safety critical components. Such life prediction techniques encompassed intimate knowledge of creep-fatigue-environmental interactions.

Longstanding expertise in creep has been extended, superseding the “Theta” creep models with the “Wilshire Equations” after 2005. Prof Whittaker has applied the latter to various titanium, nickel, steel and intermetallic alloys, improving predictive capability in each case, specifically through extrapolation of limited data sets to extended conditions [R3]. As core partners in the EPSRC Strategic Partnership in Structural Metals for Gas Turbine Applications [G6], Prof Whittaker, Dr Lancaster and Prof Bache extended modelling of creep behaviour to include thermo-mechanical fatigue regimes and high-temperature dwell crack growth [R4], also incorporating novel work on thermo-mechanical fatigue crack growth [R5]. Additionally, a suite of unique experimental facilities for the characterisation of hot corrosion informed compressor and turbine disc life prediction methodologies after in-service sulphidation pitting (Dr Perkins). Parallel research (between 2005 and 2020) into a range of service critical issues was funded by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)/Technology Strategy Board (TSB)/Innovate UK (IUK)/Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) contracts exceeding GBP6,000,000 in value. Much of this research was directed towards nickel superalloys, especially RR1000 [R5], feeding proprietary codes used to design recent engine variants, such as Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000/XWB.

iii) Novel materials

Early creep and fatigue research (Prof Bache) into ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), encompassing silicon nitride, silicon carbide and alumina-based systems, has been conducted with the aim to develop commercially viable CMC aero-engine components. Notable projects include a study to establish a UK processing capability for oxide-oxide CMCs [G7], evaluation of fatigue and thermo-mechanical fatigue of silicon carbide fibre/silicon carbide matrix CMCs [G8]. Additionally, influential research on the processing and properties of additive structures (titanium, steel and nickel variants) spawned international expertise in the field of miniaturized test techniques and joining of high-performance materials. More specifically research into solid state welding processes for bladed disk (blisk) applications through has been implemented for titanium-based alloys for compressor disc applications (Dr Jeffs) [R6].

3. References to the research

The outputs below represent five peer-reviewed journal papers all published in either Q1 or Q2 journals and one PhD Thesis. Three have industrial collaboration on the paper (TIMET and Rolls Royce). Four papers were supported by external funding sources including Welsh Government, EPSRC, and Rolls Royce. Eight competitively won grants support the body of work totalling GBP4,658,929. This research has made important contributions to the discipline internationally and contributes important knowledge to the field likely to have a lasting influence.

[R1] Bache, M.R., & Evans, W.J. (2003). Dwell sensitive fatigue response of titanium alloys for power plant applications. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, 125 (1), 241-245. doi.org/10.1115/2001-GT-0424

[R2] Hewitt, J.S., Davies, P.D., Thomas, M.J., Garratt, P., & Bache, M.R. (2014). Titanium alloy developments for aeroengine fan systems. Materials Science and Technology, 30 (15), 1919-1924. doi.org/10.1179/1743284714Y.0000000669

[R3] Wilshire, B., & Whittaker, M.T. (2009). The role of grain boundaries in creep strain accumulation. Acta Materialia, 57 (14), 4115-4124. doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2009.05.009

[R4] Bache, M.R., Jones, J.P., Drew, G.L., Hardy, M.C., & Fox, N. (2009). Environment and time dependent effects on the fatigue response of an advanced nickel based superalloy. International Journal of Fatigue, 31 (11–12), 1719–1723. doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2009.02.039

[R5] Pretty, C.J., Whittaker, M.T., & Williams, S.J. (2017). Thermo-Mechanical Fatigue Crack Growth of RR1000. Materials, 10 (1), 34. doi.org/10.3390/ma10010034

[R6] Jeffs, S. (2014). On cooling properties and microstructure studies of Ti-6Al-4V. PhD Thesis, Swansea University.

Grants

[G1] Evans, W.J. [Principal Investigator]. (1/1/03-31/12/05). High Temperature Fatigue/Creep/Environment Interactions at Notches in Titanium and Nickel Disc Alloys [GR/R80926/01]. EPSRC. GBP362,764.

[G2] Evans, W.J., & Whittaker, M.T. [Principal Investigator]. (01/08/05-31/07/09). Characterisation of the Titanium Alloy Ti6-4 [RR PV JSF]. Rolls Royce. GBP420,000.

[G3] Bache, M.R. [Principal Investigator]. (01/12/09-30/11/11). Strategic Affordable Manufacturing in the UK through Leading Environmental Technologies [SAMULET]. Rolls Royce. GBP180,000.

[G4] Bache, M.R. [Principal Investigator]. (01/10/07-30/09/10). Effective Structural Unit Size in Polycrystals: Formation, Quantification and Micromechanical Behaviour [EP/E043917/1]. EPSRC. GBP281,517.

[G5] Bache, M.R. [Principal Investigator]. (01/04/09-30/09/11). Structural Integrity of Components with Deep Compressive Residual Stresses [EP/F028830/1]. EPSRC. GBP230,993.

[G6] Bache, M.R. [Principal Investigator]. (01/10/09- 0/09/14). Structural Metallic Systems for Advanced Gas Turbine Applications [EP/H500383/1]. EPSRC. GBP1,791,426.

[G7] Bache, M.R. [Principal Investigator]. (01/10/08-30/09/12). Advanced ceramic matrix composites for energy generating gas turbine applications [TS/G000484/1]. EPSRC. GBP254,217.

[G8] Bache, M.R., Whittaker, M.T., & Perkins, K.M. [Principal Investigator]. (01/01/14-21/12/16). Strategic Investment in Low Carbon Engine Technology [SILOET 2 WP19 CMCs]. Technology Strategy Board. GBP1,138,012.

4. Details of the impact

As one of three major international manufacturers with an underlying revenue exceeding GBP15,000,000,000 (as of 2018), Rolls-Royce supplies approximately 50% of the global large civil aeroengine market. Over 4,000 Trent engines are currently in service (including the 900/1000/7000/XWB engines) and this number is projected to increase to around 7,500 by 2030. Swansea’s research into the mechanical characterisation of metallic alloys and ceramics provided significant and tangible impact, enabling the definition of safe operational envelopes for various titanium and nickel alloys utilised in fan, compressor and turbine applications across the Trent fleet.

Swansea academics contribute to confidential, non-advocate company reviews. ‘Red-Top’ investigations are used to assess issues relating to the processing and safe operation of engine components. Within the REF period (between 2014 and 2020), as an expert non-advocate reviewer Prof Bache supported a major review between 2016 and 2019 into cold dwell related in-service experience, life prediction models and laboratory validations and scrutinised the implementation of academic understanding of hot corrosion into company protocols. In particular, the review of cold dwell led to a revised processing route for the disc alloy Ti834 in 2014, which had commercial impact through the increased competitiveness of disc components. The work by Bache was also referenced in the 2020 Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses (BEA) Accident Report of an AIRBUS A380-861 (https://www.bea.aero/fileadmin/uploads/tx\_elydbrapports/BEA2017\-0568.en.pdf\) [C1].

Swansea’s expertise has led to Rolls-Royce’s direct investment between 2014 and 2020 exceeding GBP4,600,000 and involvement as a core member in the second phase of the EPSRC Rolls-Royce Strategic Partnership in Structural Metallic Systems for Gas Turbines (between 2014 and 2019). This programme was set up with the clear aim that, through fundamental research, it would provide the foundation for next-generation aero-engines that, running hotter or faster than current designs, deliver significant improvements in engine efficiency and environmental impact Furthermore, Swansea’s research has led to a spin out company, Swansea Materials Research & Testing Ltd (SMaRT), incorporated in 2009 [C2], which greatly increased experimental capacity (approximately three fold in terms of test frames) for the research team at Swansea. This expansion proved to be a major factor in facilitating much of the impact described below.

Through the development of this unique partnership between Swansea University and Rolls-Royce, Swansea’s research has been transferred to Rolls-Royce and their key supply chain companies. Critical research undertaken at Swansea has led to technological contributions to the manufacture of efficient and safe gas turbines, which include the following examples:

Swansea’s research into thermo-mechanical fatigue crack growth [R5], contributed to the safe life extension of disc materials. As described by the Project Manager for Universities within Rolls-Royce:

“*Life extension has allowed for revision of disc service intervals from 3,600 cycles to 4,000 cycles. Over the lifetime of the engine this leads to a reduction in overhauls from 10 to 9 (around £1M in spares and labour costs per overhaul). The number of Trent 900/1000/XWB engines delivered in the REF period (since 2013) exceeds 3,500, therefore providing an approximate £3.5b ongoing cost avoidance over the lifetime of these engines.*” [C3].

Swansea has also worked closely with Rolls-Royce strategic suppliers on the fundamental understanding of new titanium alloys [R2]. The research supports the wider application of titanium alloys for life cycle cost reduction and component optimisation. To quote a Rolls-Royce titanium specialist:

“*A new alloy has been implemented in 2017 as part of an improved fan system, realising a cost reduction of ~£25k per engine.*” [C4].

Investigations into solid-state welding processes for bladed disks (blisks) [R6] led to a cost avoidance of GBP250,000 per blisk component from 2014 due to refined safety tolerances in assessing weld process data concessions [C5].

It is recognised that the combined University Technology Centre (UTC) portfolio has had significant impact on gas turbine emissions .

“The research conducted directly by Swansea on industrially related programmes combined with the UTC UK portfolio has enabled Rolls-Royce to deliver over 1% reduction in specific fuel consumption (SFC). This 1% reduction has translated into reductions in the millions of tonnes of CO₂ being emitted into the atmosphere.” Head of Capability Acquisition – Materials, Rolls Royce [C6].

This represents significant environmental and economic impact given that the aviation sector accounts for 9% of UK energy consumption and Rolls-Royce supplies approximately 50% of the global large civil engine market. Since the ongoing goals of the industry are to improve efficiency and reduce emissions through higher operating temperatures, Swansea’s input through all stages of the engine manufacturing process has contributed to the volumes of sulphur- and nitrogen-based emissions being progressively reduced, meeting objectives set by international government agencies (such as ACARE 2020/FLIGHTPATH 2050).

The Trent 7000 model features a decrease of 10% in SFC compared to the Trent 700. However, the increased temperatures required to improve thermal efficiency places significant demands on existing alloys, as they are expected to operate beyond their original design limits. A detailed understanding of the role of microstructure on fatigue has allowed rationalisation amongst modelling procedures allowing for safe life extension through reduction of overly conservative safety factors. Swansea has underpinned novel alloy development (i.e., RR1000) [R4] by characterising mechanical behaviour at continually increasing temperatures and subsequently evaluating in-service findings, both of which allow the company to manufacture fuel efficient engines and remain competitive in terms of engine sales, by using this alloy, which is currently employed in over 4,000 in-service Trent engines [C6].

Improved modelling capability for aerospace and other industries through application ...

Submitting institution: Swansea University / Prifysgol Abertawe
Unit of assessment: 12 - Engineering
Summary impact type: Technological
Is this case study continued from a case study submitted in 2014?: No

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1. Summary of the impact

FLITE, a computational aerodynamics design system developed by Swansea University (SU) researchers, has been of significant economic benefit to the aerospace and other industries. Significant enhancements to the computational fidelity and robustness of the system, coupled with its High Performance Computing (HPC) platform implementation, enabled its use for highly complex modern industrial aerospace configurations. The various modules of the FLITE system have been utilised by several international organisations and companies, including Airbus, the Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC; Singapore) and WebSim Ltd. generating tens of millions of UK pounds of economic impact. Its use in the design of the BLOODHOUND Supersonic Car (SSC) has also contributed to significant public engagement in science and engineering through a large-scale education programme with which over 6,000 schools have engaged.

2. Underpinning research

In the last two decades, computer modelling has become an integral part of industrial design. The use of unstructured grid technology has enabled the use of finite element and finite volume techniques for the flow and structural analysis of realistic complex industrial geometries. This advancement in computer modelling required the development of robust unstructured 3D mesh generation techniques capable of creating appropriate grids for an accurate simulation.

The successful Swansea University unstructured grid system, FLITE, was initially developed to model compressible aerodynamic flows. The system contains an automatic mesh generation capability for arbitrary geometries. The basic mesh generator, representing a significant advance in this area, was based upon Delaunay isotropic triangulation, with automatic point creation. The international significance of this work led to further mesh generator enhancements, undertaken in a series of EU, EPSRC and industry-funded research projects [G1, G2, G3, G4], providing improved functionality, robustness and efficiency for real aerodynamic geometries. This included the ability to generate highly anisotropic hybrid meshes in the vicinity of solid walls, to capture the severe boundary layer gradients at high Reynolds number, enabling the simulation of Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models on industrial geometries [R1]. A metric-based, anisotropic Delaunay triangulation was also developed to ensure that the generated meshes could be tailored to geometric features and could use adaptivity to efficiently capture important flow features [R2].

These enhancements were later implemented within the Airbus meshing suite that is used within their aircraft design cycle. Also incorporated within the Airbus meshing tools were parallel implementations of the FLITE meshing process and a process of the mesh adaptivity for unsteady flows with moving boundary components [R3, R4]. A number of these techniques were later integrated in the Solar CFD (computational fluid dynamics) System

(https://www.ara.co.uk/services/computational\-aerodynamics/cfd\-software\-code\-development/\), developed by the Aircraft Research Association (ARA), and used by BAE Systems, for the modelling of complex aerodynamic geometries of industrial interest. The complete meshing system was recently adopted by a Swansea University spin out company, WebSim, specialising in developing an on-demand online modelling simulation environment.

The computational performance of the basic FLITE system has also been further improved. The addition of an artificial compressibility approach, with an implicit dual time stepping scheme, enabled the simulation of incompressible flows. The computational performance was enhanced by the incorporation of multigrid acceleration and by parallelization of the solution algorithm [R1]. The simulation of general time dependent turbulent flows, involving geometries that change in time, was facilitated by the introduction of a capability that ensured geometric conservation on hybrid meshes [R5].

The SU advanced meshing research and system, together with the above-mentioned added functionalities formed the basis of the software that was adopted by the IHPC in Singapore in 2008 and it is now the workhorse in their Fluid Dynamics Unit [G5].

EPSRC funding [G6] led to further enhancement of the FLITE system, enabling the simulation of a supersonic vehicle moving over soft ground. These improvements included the incorporation of a more sophisticated two-equation turbulent flow model, the ability to simulate rotating flow and a staggered technique to model spray drag. As wind tunnel testing cannot accurately model the interaction between a moving vehicle and the ground, the aerodynamic design of the BLOODHOUND Supersonic Car (SSC), a vehicle intended to achieve speeds beyond 1,000 mph, was undertaken using this enhanced FLITE computational aerodynamics system. The computational model developed was validated in November 2019 by comparing FLITE predictions with results obtained during initial testing of the SSC on the Kalahari Desert. In this testing, the vehicle safely achieved a speed of 635 mph [R6].

3. References to the research

The outputs below include five peer-reviewed journals (all of which are in JCR Q1 or Q2), and one peer-reviewed conference paper at a well-established international conference. Three of the papers were written with industrial collaborators such as EADS, MathWorks and the Bloodhound Project. Funders including EPSRC, and the EU support two of the journal articles. Six grants (majority of which are competitively won) support the body of work totalling GBP2,153,405. This research has made important contributions to the discipline internationally and contributes important knowledge to the field likely to have a lasting influence.

[R1] Zhang, Z., Gil, A.J., Hassan, O., & Morgan, K. (2008). The simulation of 3D unsteady incompressible flows with moving boundaries on unstructured meshes. Computers & Fluids, 37 (5), 620-631. doi.org/10.1016/j.compfluid.2007.07.013

[R2] Remaki, L., Xie, Z.Q., Hassan, O., & Morgan, K. (2009). A high order finite volume−HLLC solver and anisotropic Delaunay mesh adaptation. 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition 2009, Article number 2009-1498. doi.org/10.2514/6.2009-1498

[R3] Tremel, U., Sørensen, K.A., Hitzel, S., Rieger, H., Hassan, O., & Weatherill, N.P. (2003). Parallel remeshing of unstructured volume grids for CFD applications. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 53 (8), 1361-1379. doi.org/10.1002/fld.1195

[R4] Larwood, B.G., Weatherill, N.P., Hassan, O., & Morgan, K. (2003). Domain decomposition approach for parallel unstructured mesh generation. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 58 (2), 177-188. doi.org/10.1002/nme.769

[R5] Hassan, O., Sørensen, K., Morgan, K., & Weatherill, N.P. (2007). A method for time accurate turbulent compressible fluid flow simulation with moving boundary components employing local remeshing. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 53 (8), 1243-1266. doi.org/10.1002/fld.1255

[R6] Evans, B., Morton, T., Sheridan, L., Hassan, O., Morgan, K., Jones, J., Chapman, M., Ayers, R., & Niven, I. (2013). Design optimisation using computational fluid dynamics applied to a land-based supersonic vehicle, the BLOODHOUND SSC. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 47, 301-316. doi.org/10.1007/s00158-012-0826-0

Grants

[G1] Hassan, O. [Co-Investigator]. (2001-2004). Technology Development for Aeroelastic Simulation on Unstructured Grids TAURUS. [G4RD-CT-2001-00403]. FP5-GROWTH. European Commission. GBP180,000.

[G2] Hassan, O. [Principal Investigator]. (2006-2011). Platform Grant: Advances in Mesh Generation. [EP/D074258/1]. EPSRC. GBP803,405.

[G3] Hassan, O. [Principal Investigator]. (2005-2007). Collaborative Aerodynamics Simulation Toolset 2. [TP/2/ET/6/S/10264]. Technology Strategy Baord. DTI. GBP130,000.

[G4] Hassan, O. [Principal Investigator]. (2009-2016). Improving the Efficiency of Industrial Mesh Generation Capability. [45276704-616-51/14.DEC.2009]. Airbus Defence & Space. GBP80,000.

[G5] Hassan, O. [Principal Investigator]. (2011-2023). Collaborative Research Agreement with IHPC Singapore. [LT/SW/303/1011/IHPC & JF/RR/615/0116/IHPC]. IHPC. GBP50,000.

[G6] Hassan, O. [Principal Investigator]. (2007-2011). The Development of Unstructured Mesh Technology for Viscous High-Speed Flows. [EP/F032617/1]. EPSRC. GBP910,000.

4. Details of the impact

The FLITE system developed at Swansea University was adopted by Airbus, the Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) in Singapore and computer software developer WebSim Ltd. based in Swansea. In addition, FLITE has been used in the BLOODHOUND SSC project. Details of the impact achieved are discussed below.

Economic Impact:

At Airbus Defence & Space (AD&S) , the unstructured meshes used in their industrial aerodynamic computations are created using the AD&S in-house mesh generator (MESHER), which is primarily based on software and mesh generation principles developed for the FLITE system by Hassan, and Morgan and acquired by AD&S in 2005. The impacts achieved are highlighted by the Group Manager and Department Director, Airbus:

“In the assessment period, the AD&S unstructured mesh generator has been applied to more than 99% of the CFD-computations conducted in the company, successfully generating hundreds of complex unstructured meshes which have formed the basis for several thousand fluid flow computations for the Eurofighter, Tornado, Eurodrone, Talarion, Next Generation Weapon System, Target Drones, as well as demonstrators and new designs. These programs in total have a volume of several hundred million euros per year. Based on its quality and run time efficiency, the mesh generator has also represented a major building block for the AD&S activities in multiple international research projects, conducted at the German, European and NATO level such as numerous Luftfahrtforschungs-Programs (LuFo), Horizon 2020 EU research programs and NATO AVT-STO projects having a total value of several tens of millions of euros. In many large national aerospace research projects, the MESHER software was a substantial pillar for the industrial research undertaken by AD&S. It is believed that the usage of numerical methods, in which the mesh generator plays a crucial role, has incurred savings in the order of several million euros and led to the development of efficient and competitive Airbus products. Based on the success of the methodology and the further enhancement provided by the Swansea team, a considerable extension of the aerodynamic simulations is planned for the near future.” [C1].

The Institute of High-Performance Computing is part of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore. It seeks to promote and spearhead scientific advances and technological innovations through computational modelling and simulation to tackle real-world challenges, further economic growth and improve lives. IHPC acquired FLITE in 2008 as a core capability of its multi-physics simulation framework. The system has been actively developed over this impact period by a team of scientists in IHPC's Department of Fluid Dynamics and has been successfully employed within industrial aerodynamics, biomedical flows, precision engineering and urban environmental flow applications [C2]. The Group Manager and Department Director at IHPC, Singapore states:

"One of the applications with FLITE is the development of a computational fluid dynamic system for urban flow simulations targeting as an evaluation tool for the Green Mark buildings certification in Singapore (http://www.bca.gov.sg/greenmark/green\_mark\_buildings.html\). With FLITE at the technological core, the software platform has been well tested and demonstrated for a wide range of use-cases by various users. The modelling tool is currently being adopted by industries for their building designs and energy sustainability performance evaluations." [C2].

The IHPC developments based on FLITE have attracted research funding from governmental agencies and industrial partners in Singapore over the past decade and has enabled wider collaboration with other research organizations and industries [C2].

WebSim Ltd, is a spinoff company that was started in 2018. The company is developing an on-demand modelling and simulation environment, based on unstructured grid technology, for a wide range of engineering applications. The environment aims at promoting modelling to SMEs and providing a platform for collaborative, multi-disciplinary design. The FLITE meshing system has been tightly integrated within the WebSim environment to provide the mesh generation capability required for any engineering modelling that requires unstructured meshes. The Director of WebSim states:

"The integration of FLITE within WebSim environment has attracted inward investment in tens of thousands of pounds. The environment has been installed at Airbus AD&S in Germany and Spain to make use of its unique capability at providing a common working platform for collaborative design" [C3].

**Impact on Practitioners and Professional Services: **

The BLOODHOUND Project Team requested that the Swansea FLITE system be used to aid in the aerodynamic design process for the BLOODHOUND Super Sonic Car (SSC), a new world land speed record vehicle. Initially, FLITE was used to demonstrate the practical feasibility of designing an aerodynamic shape that was capable of safely achieving 1,000mph.

“Without the crucial and on-going support of Swansea University, in terms of resource, expertise and the FLITE3D simulation technology, the Bloodhound project simply would not be possible. It has been the primary tool used to guide the aerodynamic design of the vehicle and led the project to a successful high speed testing campaign in Oct/Nov 2019. The subsonic and transonic aerodynamic data acquired during this testing has shown excellent agreement with the predictions made by the FLITE CFD code giving confidence in the vehicle’s ability to undertake a record attempt in 2022.

Independent analysis of the media coverage of Bloodhound Land Speed Racing’s (LSR) successful high-speed test programme in the Kalahari Desert, South Africa during October and November 2019, concluded sponsors would have received a 10:1 return on their investment. A 15:1 ROI opportunity is estimated for the World Land Speed Record attempts in 2021.” Bloodhound Engineering Director, Grafton LSR Ltd [C4].

Impact on Understanding Learning and Participation:

A further objective of this project was to inspire a new generation of British engineers to tackle the challenges of the 21st century using science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This resulted in the simultaneous creation of the BLOODHOUND Education Programme. This programme includes school visits for students aged seven upwards, FE roadshows and events, the BLOODHOUND website and e-resources, the BLOODHOUND Education Centres and the BLOODHOUND Ambassadors Programme. These activities, have ensured that public engagement with the project has been a phenomenal success. The programme has increased young people’s understanding of engineering and the importance of STEM subjects. Evidence of the benefit of the Bloodhound Educational Programme is highlighted in testimonials from participating schools:

“The feedback from students about their day has been really positive. The year 10’s have been energised and enthused for their future choices and this has been ignited with your help. It has provided an excellent run in to year 11 where they will be studying really hard to open as many choices as possible for their post 16 education. They have now been given lots of opportunities to research, discover and aim towards…..” Mrs Helen Kimber, Careers Lead, Chosen Hill School [C5].

Within the reporting period over 120 ambassadors delivered more than 600 education events and activities to over 116,000 students [C6]. In addition, 2,500 schools have utilised the BLOODHOUND education e-resources, ensuring that the project reached over 77,000 primary and secondary school students [C6].

The exposure of the education program was further enhanced following the media coverage of the successful 2019 high-speed testing in the Kalahari Desert.

“Media coverage of the high-speed test was monitored by Meltwater, an independent technology platform. They monitored global online and UK broadcast media during the two-month period and identified 2,047 unique pieces of coverage with a potential reach of five billion people. This generated a conservative Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) figure of £46.8 million.” Bloodhound Engineering Director, Grafton LSR Ltd [C4].

Improving microneedle manufacturing efficiency and delivering a new product line ...

Submitting institution: Swansea University / Prifysgol Abertawe
Unit of assessment: 12 - Engineering
Summary impact type: Technological
Is this case study continued from a case study submitted in 2014?: No

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1. Summary of the impact

The research conducted at Swansea University (SU) has been instrumental in the commercial success of Innoture Ltd, a microneedle (MN) company, focussing on their novel anti-aging regime Radara® which utilise microneedle patches. Research conducted by Swansea researchers allowed the company to optimize their MN print manufacturing processes, increasing the number of products produced per day while reducing costs by 50%. This allowed Radara® products to be brought to market one year earlier than planned. As a direct result of SU research, they have generated sales of GBP50,000 in 2020. Swansea-developed microstructure prototypes for transdermal delivery have also allowed Innoture to develop a new product pipeline around analgesics, with Swansea facilitating the first human trials for the company. Critically, Swansea University research has underpinned Innoture’s ability to secure private investment of GBP3,000,000 during the REF period, allowing the company to add 12 staff, an increase of 600% from 2014.

2. Underpinning research

Microneedles (MNs) that penetrate the top layer of the skin have long promised pain-free administration of drugs, but, despite a plethora of research publications, very few have ever approached commercial reality. Scalability of production, drug yield and molecular size/type (solubility) have severely limited MN application. Swansea’s research has effectively solved these issues by providing the underpinning knowledge needed to deliver small molecules and complex biologicals (peptides and cells) at high volume from mass-manufacturable printed patches (Fig. 1). This work represents a step change in MN patch technology that has since seen commercial exploitation via a 7-year collaboration with Innoture Ltd - taking the technology from manufacture to successful human trials.

Since 2011, Guy has been developing a range of MN fabrication technologies for silicon and polymer MNs in collaboration with industry and Imperial College London. Innovations in microneedle design (pitch, length, tip sharpness and material hardness) have enabled facile transdermal injection, leading to a critical process patent for the manufacture of MNs [P1]. A key element was a novel “bevelled tip” hollow MN, which led to new collaborations with Prof. Birchall’s group at Cardiff University. Guy has led EPSRC [G1-G2] and Innovate UK [G3] MN projects with Cardiff developing the MN technology for transdermal delivery of large fluid doses [R1].

Fig.1. Radara® patches (left) and electron micrograph of microneedles (right)

Given Swansea’s leading expertise in MN manufacturing, characterisation and skin-testing research, through Swansea’s Centre for Nanohealth (CNH), Guy initiated a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Innoture in 2013 [G4]. Key research outcomes arising from this KTP were the development of novel MN manufacturing processes for screen-printed polymeric microneedle patches [R2, R3, R4]. SU’s critical input [R2, R3] included the development of screens, ink constitution and viscosity, ink curing and substrate selection which led to MN optimisation. Reference [R2] detailed how a newly developed bend test was an excellent predictor of amount of ink deposited and was far better than traditional assumptions based on squeegee hardness. The printing of microneedles relies on a different philosophy from traditional printing, where excess ink deposition is regarded as wasteful. Microneedle printing is pushing the screen-printing process to the limits of its capabilities in terms of the amount of material deposited.

Reference [R3] visually showed for the first time the separation of the ink filament as the stencil is pulled away from the substrate. This study is of great importance to the functional printing industry as it is the first time that frequently cited and historical models of the ink transfer process in screen printing have been tested and validated experimentally. This allows a direct causal link to be drawn between ink characteristics (elasticity, rheology) and printer settings, and print topography, based on the simultaneous contact between the printing form, ink and substrate. Understanding of printing mechanisms, and the effect of process parameters, is key to ensuring defect free and robust manufacture of printed microneedles as well as maximising ink deposit for faster throughput.

Prof Guy has led research into the testing and development of MNs in association with active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) [R4]. This involved skin testing research and new methods for assessing transdermal delivery of commercially relevant APIs (ibuprofen, aspirin and hydrocortisone, galantamine, selegiline hydrochloride (Sel-HCl), insulin and caffeine **[R4]**). Key characterisation and performance data on Innoture’s MNs (skin penetration and drug permeation efficacy) were acquired, with the study providing critical data on the effect of a molecule’s physiochemical properties on its ability to be delivered transdermally, with and without microneedle application, leading to a critical process patent for the manufacture of MNs [P1]. Enhanced delivery of APIs has been demonstrated (via extended KTP, **[G5]**), with the avoidance of hypodermic needle stick pain during anaesthetic administration into the gums of dental patients.

Prof Guy’s group in CNH has conducted research into materials characterisation, microneedle sensing (including the first mediated MN based biosensor for minimal invasive sensing of lactate in interstitial fluid **[R5]**) and examined the possibility of developing a MN closed loop control system for delivery of precision drugs [R6]. Most recently, this technology has been used in the development of a “vaccine smart patch” prototype – for COVID vaccination and diagnosis of COVID antibodies in response to the vaccine.

3. References to the research

The outputs below represent six peer-reviewed journal papers, of which half are in Q1 journals (JCR). Three have both national and international academic collaborations and one has multiple industrial collaboration. Five papers were supported by external funding sources including Innovate UK, Trelleborg, Welsh Government, NRN, EPSRC and the Italian Research Council. Five competitively won grants support the body of work totalling GBP955,000. This research has made important contributions to the discipline internationally and contributes important knowledge to the field likely to have a lasting influence.

[R1] Gualeni, B., Coulman, S.A., Shah, D., Eng, P.F., Ashraf, H., Vescovo, P., Blayney, G.J., Piveteau, L.D., Guy, O.J., & Birchall, J.C. (2018). Minimally-invasive and targeted therapeutic cell delivery to the skin using microneedle devices. British Journal of Dermatology, 178 (3), 731–739. doi.org/10.1111/bjd.15923

[R2] Phillips, C.O., Beynon, D.G., Hamblyn, S.M., Davies, G.R., Gethin, D.T., & Claypole, T.C. (2014). A study of the abrasion of Squeegees used in screen printing and its effect on performance with application in printed electronic. Coatings, 4 (2), 356-379. doi.org/10.3390/coatings4020356

[R3] Potts, S. J., Phillips, C., Jewell, E., Clifford, B., Lau, Y.C., & Claypole, T. (2020). High-speed imaging the effect of snap-off distance and squeegee speed on the ink transfer mechanism of screen-printed carbon pastes. Journal of Coatings Technology & Research, 17, 447-459. doi.org/10.1007/s11998-019-00291-6

[R4] Rahbari, R., Ichim, I., Bamsey, R., Burridge, J., Guy, O., Bolodeoku, J., & Graz, M. (2020). Characterisation of Drug Delivery Efficacy Using Microstruture-Assisted Application of a Range of APIs. Pharmaceutics, 12 (12), 1213. doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics12121213

[R5] Bollella, P., Sharma, S., Cass, A., & Antiochia, R. (2019). Microneedle-based biosensor for minimally-invasive lactate detection. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 123, 152-159. doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2018.08.010

[R6] Howells, O., Rajendran, N., McIntyre, S., Amini‐Asl, S., Henri, P., Liu, Y., Guy, O., Cass, A.E.G., Morris, M.C., & Sharma, S. (2019). Microneedle Array‐Based Platforms for Future Theranostic Applications. ChemBioChem, 20 (17), 2198-2202. doi.org/10.1002/cbic.201900112

Grants

[G1] Guy, O., [Principal Investigator]. (May 2014 – Nov 2016). Manufacture of silicon microneedles for drug & vaccine delivery. [EP/L020734/1]. EPSRC. GBP564,437.

[G2] Guy, O. [Principal Investigator]. (Oct 2010 – Sept 2012). Ultra-sensitive graphene nano-biosensors. [EP/I00193X/1]. EPSRC. GBP101,163

[G3] Guy, O. [Co-Investigator]. (Sept 2013 – May 2016). Precise cell therapy using minimally invasive microneedle devices. [TS/L001640-1]. Innovate UK. GBP250,000 (GBP75,000 Swansea University).

[G4] Guy, O. Innoture Ltd. (Jan 2014 – Dec 2014). sKTP 1000919. Innovate UK and Welsh Government. GBP64,900.

[G5] Guy, O., Innoture Ltd. (Aug 2016 – Jul 2018). KTP 10473. Innovate UK and Welsh Government. GBP149,500.

Patent

[P1] Liu, Y., & Guy, O.J. (Published 2015). Manufacture of microneedles. [US 20160264408 A1, EP3060290A1, WO2015059437A1]. https://bit.ly/3bBfCEY

4. Details of the impact

Improved manufacturing processes/cost efficiencies

Swansea’s MN research underpinned Innoture’s development of the world’s first cosmetic MN patch product, Radara®, in late 2015 [C1, C2]. Our research on the MN printing process and skin testing of MNs has allowed Innoture to branch into an entirely new business sector (non-surgical cosmetic and therapeutics) through their Radara® products, worth GBP50,000 in 2020. Additionally, advances in ink and polymer development, polymer curing, iterative printing process and tip sharpening allowed the company to develop a super-fast, large volume, screen-printed MN production process for Radara® – establishing a new production line in 2016. Using Swansea’s processes has saved the company over GBP1,000,000 since 2014 compared to using other commercial facilities [C1]. Head of Research at Innoture Ltd states,

“Screen-printing research at Swansea University was key to developing Innoture’s ability to print MNs in large volumes (5,600 Radara patches per day) and at low cost, allowing us to reduce manufacturing costs by 50%” [C1].

SU skin testing research has helped Innoture optimise their Radara® patches, contributing to the launch of the first and second versions of the micro-channelling patches a year ahead of schedule “ which allowed the company to double its turnover from 2018 to 2019” Head of Research, Innoture Ltd, [C1].

A new variation of Radara® for the total eye area is the latest high-performance eye rejuvenation offering from Innoture and has been developed using SU research (MN development and hyaluronic acid permeation characterisation).

“In just two years (2014-2016), we've seen Radara®, our novel anti-ageing regimen using unique micro-channelling patches, go from a technological concept to an award-winning skin care brand (e.g. Best Home Use product of device category, My FaceMy body Awards 2016), only with the input of Swansea University research” Head of Research, Innoture Ltd, [C1], also see [C3] for award example.

New product development

“Prof Guy and his colleagues at Swansea University have led the way in developing MSt [Microstructure] fabrication processes, characterising our MSts, facilitating clinical trials for our products and allowing us to develop a product pipeline incorporating APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients).” Head of Research, Innoture Ltd [C1].

Innoture’s proprietary platform has the capability to deliver small molecules, peptides and complex biologicals though a MN patch (less than 1ml). The ability to deliver large molecules (above 1ml) is a step change in transdermal patch technology. SU research has investigated delivery of some larger molecules, including hyaluronic acid and APIs (ibuprofen, lidocaine) with MNs, starting in 2016.

The foremost pipeline development products are MN pain-relief patches containing ibuprofen and lidocaine. Transdermal drug delivery research performed by SU under the 2016 KTP was critical in developing MN coatings and drug encapsulation processes for delivery of pain relief APIs (lidocaine and ibuprofen) using a MN platform and in validating prototype pain-relief patches. We were given approval by the MHRA to run a clinical investigation in 2018 to assess the performance of Lidocaine with a MN patch. The results showed a significantly enhanced delivery of APIs over current treatments.

SU developed all skin testing protocols and facilities, gaining full ethical approval for research on animal and human skin in 2016. This allowed Innoture’s first successful submission to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (UK) for a clinical evaluation for a pharmaceutical application. The KTP research project with SU also successfully demonstrated a dental product via a clinical trial (trials conducted at Bristol University in 2018, ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03629041).

Swansea’s research has enabled the design and delivery of a new prototype microstructure patch for drug and vaccine delivery, combining diagnostic sensors with vaccines [C5] for viral pathogens such as influenza and COVID-19. This research has attracted GBP290,000 in grant funding [C5, C6]. This new patch will further enhance Innoture’s product pipeline and diversification into vaccine delivery.

Company Impact

SU’s research has directly impacted Innoture’s ability to attract investment, expand Innoture’s workforce and increase Innoture’s share price from GBP8 to GBP20 (2016 to 2019) [C1].

Innoture secured private investment of GBP1,000,000 between 2014 and 2016 and GBP2,000,000 between 2017 and 2020 [C1]. SU data (SEM, ethically approved skin testing, mechanical tests, clinical trials data and regulatory approvals) and optimization of manufacturing processes undertaken by Prof Guy’s group, were critical in securing this investment and in the subsequent scale-up and launch of Innoture’s commercial products.

The Radara® patches have been advertised to a global audience through publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Tatler (see [C4] for example) and is now available through selected retailers, skin care institutes and clinics such as national chain SK:N and Church Pharmacy. Revenues from current Radara® products have risen from GBP10,000 in 2016 to GBP50,000 in 2020 [C1].

Employment

Since 2014, the number of employees at Innoture has increased from 2 to 14.

“We have been able to grow our workforce by 12 since 2014 – an increase of 600% - including employing Swansea University chemistry and engineering graduates, as a direct result of the development of our product pipeline which has grown with Swansea university research input” Head of Research, Innoture Ltd [C1].

The commercial, production and environmental benefits of improved membrane design ...

Submitting institution: Swansea University / Prifysgol Abertawe
Unit of assessment: 12 - Engineering
Summary impact type: Technological
Is this case study continued from a case study submitted in 2014?: No

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1. Summary of the impact

The industrial application of synthetic membranes in separation processes is rapidly expanding. Research at Swansea University, sustained over multiple REF periods (between 2005 and 2020), has contributed significantly to the positive commercial, production and environmental impacts of membrane systems. We have developed new membrane separation processes that have created long-term operating expense savings in healthcare and food industries. The benefits of our research between 2014 and 2020 includes the following:

Commercial impact - optimisation of membrane systems enabling GBP1,000,000 in sales to membrane manufacturer Axium.
Environmental and commercial impacts - improved whey processing for UK Dairy company First Milk, providing energy savings of over GBP3,500,000.
Commercial impact - establishment of commercial electrospinning, a membrane manufacturing technique, for Hybrisan, which resulted in private investment, new products, sales and new job creation, contributing over GBP1,000,000 to the economy.
Commercial and production impact - formation of a spin-out company ProColl, to exploit the novel membrane extraction of collagens at scale securing private investment of GBP450,000 and contracted sales over GBP3,000,000.

2. Underpinning research

Industrial process engineering

Membrane separation processes that remove water and raw materials from aqueous systems play an essential role to the operation of various industries. Synthetic membranes are used extensively for these separation processes to separate or concentrate materials from process streams based on particle/pore size and charge differences of the membrane. However, these membrane separation processes are energy demanding, and in fact are responsible for 7% of all energy consumed globally (AICheE Journal, 2012, 58). The advantage of reducing energy consumption has meant that membrane systems play a crucial role in meeting the 21^st century challenges of membrane separation processes for environmental sustainability.

Prof Hilal and Dr Wright’s research on optimisation of membrane systems by development of new membrane separation processes and the modification of membrane materials to improve process performance is key to their continued success in applications [R1-R4] [P1-P8]. Swansea University’s optimisation procedures are based on stringent theoretical frameworks focussing on ‘ ab initio’ methods that were first developed at Swansea [R1]. This is supported by state-of-the-art characterisation techniques that we pioneered for membrane research, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and its capability to directly measure surface interactions forces, which govern how particles and surfaces in a process stream behave during separation [R2]. By understanding such forces and how they can be altered to improve membrane separation process performance, the polymer content of synthetic membranes can be optimised. Thus, this optimisation has also been supported by a comprehensive polymer membrane fabrication and modification strategy, such as coating membrane surfaces with antimicrobial nanoparticles, or creating membranes with nanofibrous structures using electrospinning [R6].

Membranes have a key process advantage in that they operate at lower temperatures and pressures compared with other separation techniques for water treatment (such as evaporation). Our optimisation research has allowed for reduced energy needs by improving the design of many membrane systems, through either novel modification of the polymer membrane or process plant [R1-R5], [G1] & [P1, P8] . For example, we optimised the combination of membrane separation processes in a hybrid ion exchange-nanofiltration system for desalinating feed water to improve consistency in terms of salt and contaminant concentration.

Healthcare

In healthcare, membranes can be used as dressings or tissue engineering scaffolds, or to separate high value molecules, such as collagen or drugs. Healthcare advances in electrospinning have led to it being economically viable for high-throughput manufacture of membrane materials. We have developed techniques for the electrospinning of novel membranes for air gap membrane distillation and antimicrobial treatment at scale [R4, R6], [G2]. The latter demonstrates the reach of the research, as new methods for controlling biofilms are increasingly being recognised as essential due to antibiotic-resistant strains becoming predominant.

A novel application of membranes that we have been developing since 2015, and which has benefitted from our optimisation procedures, is the extraction of collagen from a range of animal sources at previously unobtainable levels [P2]. This research was funded by Research Councils UK (RCUK) [G3, G4] and by a Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Entrepreneurial Fellowship [G5]. Membranes had not previously been applied for the extraction of collagen as the process conditions were believed to denature the protein.

3. References to the research

The outputs below all appear in Q1 (JCR) peer-reviewed journals. Two papers are written with international collaborators and three acknowledge external funding (e.g. EPSRC). The body of work is supported by competitively won grants totalling GBP1,260,035. This research has made important contributions to the discipline internationally and contributes important knowledge to the field likely to have a lasting influence.

[R1] Ahmed, F., Hashaikeh, R., Diabat, A., & Hilal, N. (2019). Mathematical and optimization modelling in desalination: State-of-the-art and future direction. Desalination, 469, 114092. doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2019.114092

[R2] Powell, L., Hilal, N., & Wright, C.J. (2017). Atomic force microscopy study of the biofouling and mechanical properties of virgin and industrially fouled reverse osmosis membranes. Desalination, 404, 313-321. doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2016.11.010

[R3] Hilal, N., Kochkodan, V., Al Abdulgader, H., Mandale, S., & Al-Jlil, S. (2015). A combined ion exchange–nanofiltration process for water desalination: III. Pilot scale studies. Desalination, 363, 58-63. doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2014.11.030

[R4] Cheng, S., Williams, P.M., Oatley, D., & Wright, C.J. (2011). Positively charged nanofiltration membranes: Review of current fabrication methods and introduction of a novel approach. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 164 (1-2), 12-20. doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2010.12.010

[R5] Cheng, S.Y., Oatley, D.L., Williams, P.M., & Wright, C.J. (2012). Characterisation and application of a novel positively charged nanofiltration membrane for the treatment of textile industry wastewaters. Water Research, 46 (1), 33-42. doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2011.10.011

[R6] Burke, L., Mortimer, C.J., Curtis, D.J., Lewis, A.R., Williams, R., Hawkins, K., Maffeis, T.G.G., & Wright, C.J. (2017). In-situ synthesis of magnetic iron-oxide nanoparticle-nanofibre composites using electrospinning. Materials Science and Engineering C, 70 (1), 512-519. doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2016.09.014

Grants

[G1] Hilal, N., & Mohammad, A.W., [Principal Investigators]. (2017-2022). Towards water sustainability in the Malaysian agriculture industry: Water reclamation and nutrient recovery from palm oil mill biogas reactor effluent using an integrated forward osmosis process. [IC160133]. Royal Society. GBP307,680.

[G2] Wright, C.J., White, J.O., Claypole, T.C., & Gethin, D.T. [Co-Investigators]. (2010-2014). Ambulatory Magneto-Enhancement of Transdermal High Yield Silver Therapy (AMETHYST). [231986]. FP7, European Commission. GBP1,500,000 Total; GBP425,165 Swansea.

[G3] Williams, P.R., Wright, C.J., & Hawkins, K., [Co-Investigators]. (2010-2014). Probing the Mechanical Control of Stem Cell Fate through the Development of Novel, Non-invasive Imaging Technologies. [EP/H045848/1]. EPSRC. GBP1,500,000 Total; GBP437,000 Swansea.

[G4] Wright, C.J. [Principal Investigator]. (2018-2019). Commercialisation Of Procoll Ltd’S Single Alpha Chain Collagen Derived. Commercialisation of Collagen Research. [15-21/ 518470155]. Innovate UK. GBP30,190.

[G5] Wright, C.J., & Widdowson, J. [Principal Investigators]. (2019-2020). Entrepreneurial Fellowship - Commercialisation Of Single Alpha Chain Collagen Technologies. [EF1819\8\74]. Royal Academy of Engineering. GBP60,000.

Patents

[P1] Hilal, N. (2013). Treatment of Produced Water. [Application number GB 1300406]. (filed by Swansea University in UK)

[P2] Widdowson, J., & Wright, C. (2018). Monomeric Collagen. [6067P]. (filed by Swansea University)

[P3] Hashaikeh, R., Lalia, B., & Hilal, N. (2014). Novel In-Situ Membrane Cleaning. [Application number for the USPTO utility 14/169,764]. (filed by Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, USA)

[P4] Atieh, M. A., Rhadfi, T., Fard, A.K., Khraisheh, M.K., & Hilal, N. (2016). MXene as New Adsorbent for Heavy Metals. [QF number: D 2015-0019]. (filed by Qatar Foundation (QF), USA)

[P5] Atieh, M.A., Rhadfi, T., Fard, A.K., Khraisheh, M.K., & Hilal, N. (2015). Removal of Barium with 2D Carbon Nano-Material from Natural and Produced/Co-Produced Waters. [QF number: D2015-0020]. (filed by QF, USA)

[P6] Atieh, M.A., Rhadfi, T., Fard, A.K., Khraisheh, M.K., & Hilal, N. (2015). Total Removal of Strontium from Water using Doped Activated Carbon (DAC). [QF number: D2015-042]. (filed by QF, USA)

[P7] Fard, A.K., Rhadfi, T., Atieh, M.A., Khraisheh, M.K., & Hilal, N. (2017). Total Removal of Oil from Water using Doped Carbon Nanotube (CNT). [QF number: D2015-059]. (filed by QF, USA)

[P8] Liu, Z., Wang, K., Saththasivam, J., El-Masri, D., & Hilal, N. (2018). A New Membrane for Oil/Water Separation. [PCT/QA2017/050002]. (filed by QF, USA)

4. Details of the impact

Swansea University research has focussed on the application of novel membranes to optimise water treatment processes, thereby making it more attractive than other methods, such as evaporation, and applied it to the food and biomaterial industries. The validity of this research for membrane separation process optimisation has been maintained throughout the REF2021 period by initiating significant active industrial engagement. This has ensured that our research is available to the relevant industries. Below, we provide examples of economic, commercial, production and environmental impact in the process industries for water treatment, food and regenerative medicine.

Membrane use in industry

Improved design of membrane systems [R1-5]

Axium Process is a Welsh Small to Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) employing over 50 people and is a major international player in the field of membrane and filtration technologies. It is one of the UK’s leading stainless-steel fabricators specialising in hygienic engineering design, fabrication and system solutions. Axium Process built and deployed membrane systems for water treatment, based on our optimisation research as summarised in [R1], which contributed GBP1,000,000 to the company while generating highly paid and skilled employment opportunities for local manufacturing companies.

In the letter of support Axium Process state:

“In economic terms the work conducted at Swansea University contributed in excess of £1M to the economy while simultaneously generating highly paid and skilled employment opportunities for local manufacturing companies.” Business Development Director, Axium Process Ltd [C1].

Improved food processing [R1-5].

First Milk (a British farmer-owned dairy co-operative) have seen the continuous impact of our research [R4]. Using Swansea research, they adapted their process and replaced evaporators with nanofiltration membrane technology and invested in new whey processing equipment leading to energy savings and related environmental impact. First Milk state:

“…during the period of the research exercise impact assessment window 1st August 2013 to present the membrane research of the College of Engineering has provided over £3.5 million of energy savings to First Milk.” Site Manager, First Milk Cheese Co Ltd [C2].

These process improvements have economic impact for First Milk and have improved the sustainability of the company by reducing the carbon footprint of their operations.

Membrane use for medical applications

Improved antimicrobial materials [R6].

Hybrisan is a Swansea based company specialising in the fabrication and scale-up of membrane manufacturing processes, particularly for electrospinning, which they exploit to prevent and control microbial and viral contamination. Hybrisan have used our membrane research [R6] in the development of membranes with fibres of different sizes and containing antimicrobials in products for aerospace filters and wound dressings. In 2020, they secured external investment from the Development Bank of Wales to achieve this using Swansea University research to enable scale-up of manufacture. Hybrisan state:

“The research of the Biomaterials, Biofouling and Biofilms Engineering Laboratory (B3EL) [Swansea University] on the fabrication and optimisation of membranes alongside its work on biofouling has contributed towards exciting new business opportunities for Hybrisan in terms of new products and sales. In economic terms the research has assisted the company in the generation of in excess £1M to the economy through the creation of 5 new jobs for highly skilled individuals, investment by the company in business opportunities and sales of our products.” Technical Director, Hybrisan Ltd [C3].

Application of membrane optimisation for improved production of collagen [R1-5].

The global collagen market was estimated at USD3,710,000,000 in 2016 and is expected to witness substantial growth by 2025 to USD7,500,000,000, mainly as a result of the growing demand for collagen from key industries including food & beverage, cosmetics, and healthcare. Thus, the impact we have had within this area has substantial depth and reach. Between 2015 and 2018 we extended our membrane optimisation research by developing a new membrane separation process for the extraction of collagens [P2]. The impact of Swansea research allowed ProColl, a spinout company formed in 2018, to increase manufacture from gram (g) to kilogram (kg) scale which was previously unachievable for the types of collagens that are key biomaterials in regenerative medicine and nutraceuticals. This is now being commercially exploited by ProColl. This demonstrates the substantial growth of the spin-out company and is a direct impact of Swansea University research. ProColl state:

“The success of our company has been enabled by adopting the processes that have been developed during the excellent research of the College of Engineering Swansea, we are now able to manufacture novel collagens at scale, this has led to investment, sales and the creation of 4 jobs. *The research of the College of Engineering has significantly contributed to ProColl attracting funding and investment totalling £450K, with ongoing service contracts worth over £3M.*” CEO, ProColl Ltd [C4].

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