Impact case study database

CAVs are a new unregulated technology that offer huge potential benefits, including improved safety, lowered emissions, inclusive mobility and more efficient journey times. However, in order to unlock this potential, it is essential that CAVs are introduced in a safe manner, and are also accepted and used by society. A recent RAND corporation study (doi: 10.7249/RR1478) suggested that CAVs would need to be driven 11 billion miles to prove they are even 20% safer than human drivers. Achieving some form of regulatory approval therefore posed a new challenge, one that could not be solved through distance driven alone.

Research at the University of Warwick addressed this problem by posing alternate methods and standards for autonomous vehicle safety and roadworthiness. The body of research described in this case study has been critical to the development of international standards and regulatory policy for Connected Autonomous Vehicles, and has accelerated the commercial development of driverless pods around the world in addition to increasing societal trust in CAVs.

Impact on Standards: In addition to contributions to 13 national and international standards in total [5.1], Warwick were the lead author on two key standards which allow different CAV stakeholders to speak a singular operational language. The establishment of a common understanding between stakeholders naturally forms a vital catalyst to regulatory uptake (see Impact on Regulation and Policy). These standards arose from the “format” stage of the testing process, where the universal Scenario Description Language (SDL) was first introduced [3.4].

The ‘first of a kind’ international standard for SAE Level 4 automated system – ISO 22737 – was initiated in 2017 through the outcomes of the INTACT project [G2]. A major focus of this standard was detailed test scenarios for low-speed automated driving systems which included tests for occluded targets, driveable area, minimal risk manoeuvres and false positives [5.2]. With support from Japan, USA, South Korea, Germany, China, Australia and Canada, the standard was publicly available (in DIS stage) by July 2020. The standard succeeded in filling a regulatory gap for low speed automated driving (LSAD) vehicles, an area which had been entirely unregulated previously [5.3]. In developing ISO 22737, Warwick has been praised not only for accelerating and creating a functional and practicable standard in under 2 years, but also for overcoming industry scepticism and building consensus between varied stakeholders [5.2].

The second standard details a common taxonomy and description of the Operational Design Domain (ODD). ODD defines the operating conditions of a CAV and its accurate definition is key for safety in order to define capabilities and limitations of the system, i.e., impart informed safety [3.5]. The standard, first published as the UK national standard BSI PAS 1883 in August 2020 [5.4], progressed to an international standard (ISO) ISO 34503 (in development). Publicly available specifications (PAS), which are designed to satisfy urgent business needs, have never progressed to ISO standards in CAV previously. However, this happened for the first time with BSI PAS 1883, which “is an exemplar in showcasing how the (UK) research … has led to the creation of a UK standard and now an international standard – ISO 34503” [5.5].

Impact on Regulation and Policy: Traditionally regulators and policy makers look to international standards to frame their own guidance and regulatory requirements. Over the assessment period, national and international organisations have used Warwick’s research to create a regulatory environment which enables commercial innovation, which has driven investment and created new job opportunities, while also preventing the introduction of unsafe or immature technologies.

Formed in 2015 as a joint policy unit between the Department for Transport and BEIS, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) acts as a point of contact for industry and academia for CAV technologies, coordinating and enhancing UK Government activity in the sector [5.5]. Between 2015 and 2016, CCAV consulted with the research and automotive supply chain communities on requirements for CAV testing. Based on recommendations [text removed for publication] on how best to create and manage a CAV ecosystem in the UK to integrate virtual and real-world testing, CCAV invested GBP100,000,000 to create Zenzic (formerly Meridian) and Testbed UK [5.5]. These offer a range of facilities to safely take and test ideas from concept to deployment both virtually and physically. Following on from this initial collaboration and building on work from INTACT [G2], research on virtual validation of Automated Vehicles [3.2] in the 3xD simulation was pivotal in CCAV launching a GBP15,000,000 programme on CAV simulation in addition to further shaping investment opportunities [5.5]. The Deputy Head of CCAV outlined that “ the development of legal frameworks and regulations to enable safe and secure deployment for CAVs [is] critical for the future of transport in the UK. ” By making a significant contribution in this area, on standards and through input into regulatory discussions, Warwick “ have removed key barriers on the road to smarter mobility by helping [CCAV] increase public trust and confidence in the CAV technology. These advancements have not only led to strong growth in the sector, but have made the UK a leading authority on the development of new standards for CAVs” [5.5].

Since 2018, Warwick have worked with Transport Canada on implementing CAV standards in real-world environments. Following the development of ISO 22737, Transport Canada have thoroughly piloted LSAD technology, performing 17 tests based on the standard in collaboration with driverless shuttle developer EasyMile. These tests transported 670 riders nearly 500km over 10 days in a mix of weather conditions, and “ generated vital insights for industry and Transport Canada to enhance safety, user experience and support continued connected and autonomous vehicle policy research” [5.3]. In terms of investment, in October 2020 the Canadian Federal Government invested [text removed for publication] in Area X.O., an Ottawa based test centre formed from the L5 Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) Facility, with [text removed for publication] being invested directly for equipment needed for the ISO 22737 test scenarios [5.3]. Transport Canada have further strategically allocated resources on advanced vehicle systems covering LSAD shuttles in 2020, including [text removed for publication] to build an intersection at their [text removed for publication] test centre, and a further [text removed for publication] to develop intersection test scenarios based on the success of the ISO 22737 testing [5.3].

On the benefits of the standard, Transport Canada’s Chief of Human Factors & Crash Avoidance explained, “ISO 22737 has accomplished exactly what international standards are designed for – providing a framework of guidance designed by experts which can be applied ubiquitously to its subject area. Simply put, these trials, which are at the forefront of autonomous driving in Canada, would have been fundamentally impossible without ISO 22737 being in place. ISO 22737 provided the means to collect the evidence to help determine if the shuttles were roadworthy” [5.3].

Warwick have further contributed to CAV policy by responding to joint Law Commission consultations, with these commissions being independent bodies who review the law across the UK. In August 2020, Jennings and Khastgir responded to the CCAV Call for Evidence on Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS) [5.5]. Warwick’s responses to this directly fed into and shaped thinking in the Law Commission as a result, as noted in their third consultation paper: “Instead, we (The Law Commission) agree with WMG, University of Warwick. In their response to the Call for Evidence they stated: some ALKS systems may be unable to ‘respond’ to special vehicles and manufacturers may choose to define them out of their ODD. This is a perfectly legitimate thing to do. However, defining special vehicle as out of the system’s ODD, still put the onus on the manufacturer to detect the presence of that attribute, i.e. monitor the ODD” [5.6].

Commercial & Social Impact: With an ongoing race to secure market share, UK-based driverless pod manufacturer Aurrigo wanted their Autonomous Control System (ACS) to be cheaper to produce, with uncertainty around this safety critical technology being a key challenge. Based on a collaboration beginning in 2016 [G2], WMG were able to de-risk and resolve this issue: “ the novel virtual testing environment … Warwick has developed has enabled us to take our self-driving pods to market two years earlier than would otherwise have been possible. [text removed for publication]. ” [5.7]. Through collaboration on ISO 22737 and aligning their products to this prior to its publication, Aurrigo grew their revenues [text removed for publication] in 7 countries by the end of 2020 [5.7]. Additionally, joint work with Warwick has enabled the filing of 3 patents, as well as prestigious trials internationally and with British Airways to test autonomous baggage dollies at Heathrow Airport. On the market advantage gained, Aurrigo’s CTO stated: “ without the ISO 22737 LSAD standard, we would have been unable to unlock the [text removed for publication] market opportunity for [text removed for publication] our vehicles over the next five years”. Expanding further on the University’s ongoing role, their CTO added, “ WMG is critical in enabling the safe deployment of our technology in the real-world” [5.7].

In Japan, Yamaha Motor Corporation – the world-leading motorcycle manufacturer – has collaborated with Warwick since 2017. The development of ISO 22737 removed the need for them to develop an equivalent in-house standard, saving approximately JPY200,000,000 (about GBP1,300,000) in a process which would have taken 2 years at a minimum [5.2]. [text removed for publication]. LSAD vehicles have been crucial for Yamaha’s ART for Human Possibilities initiative, which aims to achieve company growth while finding solutions to social issues. Driverless pods in particular assist people with accessibility needs including the elderly, people with impairments, pregnant women and families with small children [5.2]. Between 2019 and 2020, pilot schemes by Yamaha saw “22,000 members [transported], with a total distance travelled across all vehicles of more than 20,000km”. The company confirmed that by March 2020, LSAD vehicles had been socially implemented in Eiheiji Town in Fukui Prefecture, Chatan Town in Okinawa Prefecture, and Kamikoani Village in Akita Prefecture, where they are being used as a local mobility option for the community [5.2]. Aurrigo have similarly piloted their vehicles in social initiatives, working with the charity Blind Veterans UK to provide mobility for 426 blind veterans, with 21% of individuals having significant mobility issues [5.7]. [text removed for publication].

At the interface of industry and regulation, the World Economic Forum (WEF) – an agenda-setting international NGO – launched the Safe Drive Initiative (SafeDI) for AVs, with community membership from Aurora, Cruise and Microsoft. In November 2020 WEF released a key AV policy framework white paper for SafeDI, linking industrial AV safety expertise with regulators who wish to promote deployment while understanding what can be considered safe for AVs. Downloaded 3,000 times within its first week and adopted by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority, the guidance was founded on Warwick’s research on the ODD based scenario repository, and enables “ seamless incorporation by regulators, such as a national, state, regional or municipal authorities, removing the essential barrier of conceptualising a framework inside the organisation” [5.8].

Forensic science has always been a cornerstone of the criminal justice system. From highlighted evidence in the 2019 Science and Technology Select Committee report (Forensic science and the criminal justice system: a blueprint for change), the benefits of rapid forensic science are “ *the potential to reduce costly police investigative time through early identification of offenders or the exoneration of innocent suspects; earlier arrests can lead to a lower financial impact of prolific offenders who are otherwise free to re-offend; and of course compelling, high quality forensic science can lead to earlier guilty pleas, quicker trials and a resultant reduction in expensive court time.*” At the same time, the report warned of what could come from an underdeveloped capacity for – and leadership in – UK forensic science: “ Crimes may go unsolved and the number of miscarriages of justice may increase” [5.1a].

Representing a first for such an inquiry, the University of Warwick and West Midlands Police (WMP) submitted joint evidence to the same 2019 Select Committee report [5.1b] based on an ongoing and productive collaboration which started in 2014 at the forefront of police forensics [5.2]. Submission of this evidence led to a roundtable meeting in July 2019, facilitated by the Home Office and chaired by the Forensic Science Regulator (Dr Gillian Tully), where the new Forensic Centre for Digital Scanning and 3D Printing (founded in 2019 between Warwick and the WMP) was heralded as best practice – in particular for “ demonstrating the value that can be leveraged from University research to provide evidence for forensic investigations” [5.2]. With national reach, the Centre provides access to the forensic capabilities at Warwick to police forces across the UK and in overseas territories [5.3]. Stand-out examples of impact between Warwick and the WMP – on criminal cases, practitioner training, cost savings to police forces nationwide and on the development of forensic standard operating procedures (SOPs) – are detailed below:

Benefits of micro-Computerised Tomography (micro-CT) and 3D printing in forensics: As a complementary technique to existing post-mortem procedures, micro-CT grants a number of distinct advantages in criminal investigations. In addition, preparation of 3D printed models for use in the court room aids with prosecution of serious crimes. Just as production enhancements can result in efficiencies in manufacturing, so too can micro-CT and 3D printing constitute analogous process improvements in the criminal justice system:

• Forensic methodological advancements. In cases of strangulation, factures in the laryngeal skeleton were often too subtle to detect in conventional autopsy techniques. By scanning at a spatial resolution of 40μm, micro-CT allows for detailed examination of these delicate structures – with subsequent research [3.7] differentiating between accidental death and murder. This has been used directly to rule out foul play and well as in multiple convictions, with the former highlighted in the following section. On advancing national understanding the Assistant Director of Forensic Services at WMP expanded: “ This research is truly ground-breaking and has helped change our understanding of the impact of the use of force on the body during numerous modes of strangulation” [5.2].

• Non-invasive, non-destructive analysis. As with analogous Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) scans, micro-CT similarly leaves forensic samples untouched. A Home Office registered Consultant Forensic Pathologist in the Forensic Pathology Services (FPS) outlined that this offers “ significant value to forensic analysis at the front end of an investigation” before complementary, destructive analysis (e.g. histology) is deployed [5.4]. Where samples themselves are delicate – a burnt shoulder bone [5.5] – the non-destructive nature of micro-CT allows for structural interrogation while leaving this crucial forensic evidence intact [5.3].

• Cost and time savings. Analysis has shown that in three separate criminal cases GBP10,000 was saved for each, with Mark Payne (Assistant Chief Constable of WMP) further qualifying that this saving extends to around a third of all investigations where micro-CT has been applied. By extrapolation, at least GBP500,000 had been saved up to mid-2020 – with Mark Payne adding, “ Technology and research at Warwick has therefore significantly improved our investigative processes and outcomes” [5.3]. Any savings and efficiencies gained in policing correspond directly to a saving for the taxpayer.

• Presentation of sensitive evidence. Using 3D printed artefacts as well as interactive presentations of micro-CT scans in court reduces the distress of both the jury and family members who are present [5.3], and otherwise assists in the jury’s understanding of a very complicated pathological picture [5.6]. This expert witness evidence has been used in a number of convictions, with key examples detailed below.

Micro-CT and 3D printing in criminal investigations: Between 2014 and 2020 micro-CT was used in 171 criminal cases in 18 police forces, in addition to facilitating multiple convictions and with Warwick forensic services remaining available during COVID-19 lockdown [5.3]. Overall, this prolific usage is a testament to the broad applicability of micro-CT in forensics and indicates extensive national uptake. Below are but a few notable investigations where Warwick technology made a vital contribution:

• In a case of complex dismemberment, Warwick researchers delivered one of the first examples of micro-CT technology as a forensic radiological method in a UK courtroom. Asked to examine a charred piece of evidence thought to contain human bone, researchers discovered it was a perfect jigsaw fit to another piece of bone found elsewhere, and were able to show the tool marks on both pieces in micro scale (20 microns). This provided a crucial link between the site where the body had been disposed of and the home of the murder suspect – leading in part to a murder conviction [5.5]. In recognition, Prof Williams was awarded a Chief Constable's Award for his work on Operation Sanderling: “ You worked closely with the investigation team with ground breaking 3D printing and scanning technology. Not only did this result in the crucial identification of a missing shoulder bone, but your subsequent assistance with the pathology and trial processes assisted the jury with their understanding of the case and eventual positive outcome” [5.7].

• Following the detection of several injuries to an 18-month-old infant, micro-CT scanning was conducted at WMG. The right femur (thigh bone) showed a grossly displaced fracture with a large amount of callus forming around it, indicating that healing processes had begun without proper medical attention and the ribcage displayed 20 individual fractures in different stages of healing. The [text removed for publication] of the Crown Prosecution Service indicated that this “ evidence was instrumental in establishing the circumstances and causation of injury and death.” Further, [text removed for publication] elaborated that this “ was distinctly advantageous both from an evidential review and prosecution presentation perspective”, as with no witnesses to the crime establishing the sequence of events leading to the death by alternative means is critical [5.6]. The trial resulted in a manslaughter conviction.

• Beyond securing convictions, research at Warwick has also been crucial in ruling out foul play in suspicious circumstances. In the post-mortem examination of an elderly male, skull fractures were revealed to be only a few centimetres apart, which is not consistent with a fall and so murder was impossible to initially rule out. In working with a forensic scientist, modelling by the University revealed that in this instance the deceased had fallen backwards and injured himself on a door latch [5.3]. Similarly, in a separate instance that drew on techniques linked to the published research [3.7], 3D scans of neck structures revealed a death to have been caused by accidental asphyxiation rather than strangulation as was initially suspected. On the subject of ruling out foul play, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Payne says: “ The ability to provide the families of the deceased with clarity earlier in the investigation has been invaluable and is one of the key benefits of the project” [5.3].

Wider uptake – CPD training and standard operating procedures (SOPs): Through the foundation of the Forensic Centre for Digital Scanning and 3D Printing in 2019 between Warwick and the WMP [G3], an ongoing and lasting practitioner impact has been felt by UK police forces and forensic science experts. The Centre was founded expressly to make Warwick technology available throughout the UK, enabling the innovation to be exploited and disseminated nationally [5.2]. The Centre goes hand-in-hand with training delivered by the University, with over 140 specialist practitioners receiving CPD on image processing methods and 3D visualisation techniques to uncover evidence in homicide investigations [5.3].

In addition, standard operating procedures (SOPs) for micro-CT have been developed by Warwick and WMP. These SOPs cover all aspects of forensic analysis of samples by micro-CT, including transportation, storage and calibration of the machines [5.2]. As a result, since 2016 referrals of suspicious child deaths and strangulation to Warwick for post-mortem examination have become national practice through use of these SOPs [5.4]. This establishes innovations from Warwick as an important part of the overall investigative arsenal available in UK policing.

In terms of broader engagement nationally a talk presented by Prof Williams and Assistant Chief Constable Mark Payne at the British Science Festival (BSF) was attended by 150 students from multiple schools, helping to further spark interest in UK forensic science. At the 2019 BSF talk Payne observed that through science “ it’s increasingly difficult to get away with murder” which, ultimately, is “ good news for everyone” [5.5].

To exploit patented innovations from both Warwick and Cambridge, Cambridge CMOS Sensors (CCS) was founded by Julian Gardner (Warwick) along with Florin Udrea and Bill Milne (Cambridge) in August 2008 with seed investment from the University of Cambridge and Cambridge Angels. A shareholding was released for Warwick through transfer of its IP (patents [3.2-3.3], among others) into the new spin-out. From its inception in 2008, CCS grew to be one of the most successful physical sciences spin-offs in Cambridge University’s history [A2], producing a range of novel gas sensing solutions:

Impact on technology and innovation: from big industry to small and smart wearables

Gas sensor technology, patented by Warwick and developed from 2008 by CCS into the original CCS801 and CCS811 sensor ranges, is still in use to this day in the form of metal oxide (MOX) sensors to monitor indoor air quality [5.1-5.2]. The technological advancements made in these sensors offered a radical improvement in performance over the competition, opening up multiple markets which were previously unserviceable [5.3]. Key features of this technology include [5.4]:

• Ultra-low power consumption: the CCS811 requires 46 mW; the main competitor from Applied Sensors needs 100 mW.

• Very small form factor: it requires a module 1/10 in size compared to others.

• Cost advantage: it has a 50% to 90% cost advantage over the competition, enabling lowest unit cost.

• Multi-sensor integration: full CMOS compatibility – this enables integration of additional sensor modalities like relative humidity, temperature and pressure, and other ‘on-chip’ functions like amplifiers, and close loop control of temperature.

• Ease of volume manufacture: this is due to the use of standardised automated high-volume semiconductor manufacturing processes, which also delivers high yields.

Initially, the markets for these sensors were industrial, medical and automotive, where the applications (fibre optics, air cleaners and purifiers) were in specialist equipment normally used by trained operators. Later, the tech was deployed in smart buildings and homes (heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, systems, cooker hoods). Recently, a new range of MOX sensors have been developed which promise smaller sizes, lower prices, and embedded ‘intelligence’ for ease of use and integration, in a wide range of consumer-oriented products (handheld and portable devices such as smartphones and wearables), with no special experience or knowledge needed by the end user.

Upon acquisition of CCS by ams in 2016 to create ams Sensors UK Ltd (see Impact on commerce), the company used this sector-leading technology to attract new clients and break into advantageous marketplaces. Since August that year HiCling, the leading Chinese wearable device manufacturer, has used the CCS gas sensors to enable their Cling VOC smart fitness wristband to measure indoor air quality and alcohol in breath. When integrated in the Cling VOC wristband, the CCS801 gas sensor can detect low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) typically found indoors – cigarette smoke or solvents, for example. These measurements provide an indication of air quality on the display. The wristband also provides alcohol breath analysis, as the sensor can detect ethanol on human breath. The small footprint and low profile of the CCS8xx family of gas sensors mean that they fit the slim and sleek design of the Cling VOC. Their ultra-low power consumption and fast response times are also critical for wearable devices [5.5].

Richard Chen, CEO of HiCling, stated that “ ams group company CCS has developed the world’s smallest and lowest-power MOX gas sensors on the market… Most people spend most of their time indoors, so it is important that they are able to monitor air quality easily and to take appropriate action – something that wearers of the Cling VOC wristband can now do” [5.5]

Impact on commerce: from small seed-funded spinout to leading global manufacturer

By 2014, under the strong leadership of Gardner as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Udrea as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CCS had become an industry leader in advanced sensor solutions, providing sensor technology across multiple global markets with high-volume supply chains [5.3]. Over the next 2 years CCS increased its staff to 33, moved to larger offices within Cambridge, and – after establishing a customer base in the Greater China region – opened an office in Taiwan in 2015 [5.3, 5.6]. Between June 2013 and December 2015 with excitement building around the spin-out’s technological offering, CCS attracted GBP8,000,000 from investors, with the IP from original Warwick patents [3.2-3.3] being integral to this investment [5.1, 5.7].

Later that year, ams – an Austrian-based multinational specialising in sensor technology and sensor solutions – acquired CCS to form ams Sensors UK Ltd. While the total multimillion euro sales price remains undisclosed, as part of the deal ams committed to pay profit-dependent purchase price share of up to EUR31,000,000 (06-2016), based on sales of CCS technology up to 2020 as an earn-out provision [5.8]. On the significant value added to ams from the acquisition, Alexander Everke, CEO of ams, stated: “ The addition of [CCS] … completes ams’ portfolio of products and technologies for the environmental sensor market. This highly strategic acquisition is therefore another key step in making ams the world’s leading provider of sensor solutions for consumer, automotive, industrial, and medical applications” [5.6]. The former Senior Director of Engineering at ams Sensors UK Ltd stated that the CCS801 and CCS811 ranges – inseparable from the original Warwick IP – were “ at the heart of the ams acquisition of CCS” [5.1].

Between 2016 and 2019 ams Sensors UK achieved a respectable turnover of approximately GBP5,500,000 [5.9], with sales of CCS801 and CCS811 being fundamental to this success [5.1]. Based on a unit price of GBP2.95 (incl. VAT) for bulk purchases of CCS801 [5.10], this represents approximately 1,850,000 unit sales over the four-year period. Later in 2019, Wise Road Capital – a global private equity firm specialising in emerging high-tech industries – created a joint venture with ams called ScioSense (Netherlands), valued at approximately USD120,000,000 (03-2019) [5.11]. A key element of Wise Road Capital wanting to set up the venture was the perceived value of the CCS801 and CCS811 ranges [5.1]. Overall, ScioSense brought together the IP, employees and sensor products of ams Sensors UK and other parts of the ams group [5.2].

In 2020, ScioSense has surpassed the successes of CCS and ams Sensors UK, employing over 100 staff, with offices in four countries (China, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands) and a network of distributors in Europe, Asia and the US. A world leader in environmental and flow sensing technology, the company provides across the automotive, industrial, consumer goods and environmental markets to OEMs, Tier 1s, Tier 2s and more [5.2].

CCS801 and CCS811 continue to add value to the company, with both sensor ranges supporting jobs and being sold in “ considerable volumes” up to the end of 2020. Further, they are strategically important to ScioSense’s product portfolio, allowing it to penetrate the consumer home automation and building automation (smart home and office) markets more successfully than they could do otherwise [5.2]. R&D based on the original IP [3.2-3.3] remains active in ScioSense and important to the company’s future, with their CTO confirming, “ Further sensor ranges are currently under development based in part on these original patents, which are expected sell in multimillion quantities in the coming years starting in 2021” [5.2].

Overall, the journey from Cambridge CMOS Sensors through to ams Sensors UK and then onto ScioSense marks a story of award-winning and lucrative entrepreneurship with its roots in academic collaboration. Continuing development and sales based on university IP, in the words of the former Senior Director of Engineering of ams Sensors UK, is an indication of its “ enduring value” [5.1].

Impact on industry (1): assisting hazard analysis and the development of mitigating measures to improve safety in hydrogen energy applications

As a zero-emissions fuel that is seen as a viable alternative to fossil fuels, hydrogen has been identified in the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan as having an important role to play in achieving a 60~80% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050. Yet while it is inherently safer as well as more environmentally sound than other fuels, it has a wider flammability range. Hydrogen gas is odourless and pure hydrogen flames are invisible. Explosions - thankfully rare - can cause damage to facilities and/or surrounding properties, as well as injury or loss of life. A recent example includes damage of 60 homes in an explosion at a hydrogen fuel cell plant in California [5.1a], with a vast emergency services response often required in these circumstances. The average cost of a hydrogen facility incident in monetary terms has been estimated at around USD33,000,000 [5.1b].

Between 2016 and 2020 Professor Wen and her team worked with a range of global companies who are leaders in gas technology, applying Warwick FIRE’s research to safety-critical scenarios across several industrial sectors, including energy, built environment and transport. These forward-planning strategies have at their heart the health and safety of employees and any others who might find themselves in the vicinity of a leak or explosion, but they also serve to foster confidence between companies, authorities and the public. Commercial benefits such as improved sales and cost savings have also been achieved in some cases.

Air Liquide S.A. is a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. It employs 50,000 staff across 80 countries and serves more than 2,000,000 customers and patients. The company is increasingly focusing on cryogenic liquid hydrogen (CryoLH2) as a storage medium in fuelling stations as its high density renders storage of large quantities possible in compact facilities. However, there are safety concerns related to accidental release of CryoLH2, which is typically −252.87°C and below the freezing temperature of oxygen (O₂) (-218.8°C). In addition, it evaporates with a volume expansion of 1:848, posing significant risk as a highly flammable gas [5.2] with a concomitant risk of suffocation in enclosed spaces. Between November 2019 and March 2020 Wen’s team conducted CFD predictions of potential accidental releases from cryogenic tanks to assess the mitigation effects of retention pools in limiting the size of the dispersed hydrogen cloud. The predictions have enabled Air Liquide to establish internal rules about the compulsory requirements for retention pools and their recommended sizes according to the dimensions of the CryoLH2 storage tanks in different facilities. “ This has considerable impact on the safe operation of our worldwide hydrogen business,” says the Lead Engineer of Process Safety at Air Liquide. [5.2].

Bureau Veritas specialises in testing, inspection and certification across in a variety of sectors, from building and infrastructure through agri-food and commodities to marine and offshore, in over 140 countries. Between 2019 and early 2020, Service Risques Industriels of Bureau Veritas Exploitation used Warwick FIRE’s engineering model (EM) for a hydrogen station case study to evaluate the maximum overpressure level in a container filled with hydrogen at high pressure. “ This constituted a vulnerability study to ensure customer safety… the EM correlation will be incorporated into our programme of risk studies for hydrogen and biogas going forward,” stated the Process Safety Engineer of Service Risques Industriels. [5.3].

Shell India Markets Private Ltd “ plans to apply HyFOAM code in design analysis and facility siting to model large-scale hydrogen explosions in storage centres, hydrogen or/and multi-fuel refuelling stations,” says Shell India Markets’ Technical Safety Engineer. Following the collaboration on the development of HyFOAM between 2016 and 2019, Shell have supplied Warwick FIRE with the in-house developed PDRFOAM, which will enable Professor Wen’s group to extend its modelling to deal with more complex geometries. [5.4].

Impact on industry (2): Reducing the cost in developing fire protection measures and conducting quantified risk analysis for the petrochemical industry

FM Global is a US-based international insurance company that specializes in loss prevention services in the Highly Protected Risk property insurance market sector. It has used the improved FireFOAM models within the company to evaluate fire risk and suppression methods to enhance practical fire protection measures. The Group Manager Fire Dynamics, says: “ The model and numerical tool that Warwick’s research team contributed to develop has enabled our researchers and engineers to better understand heat transfer and fire dynamics, and to conduct technically robust engineering evaluation and design in a cost-effective manner.” [5.5] The application of the new tool has significantly reduced the number of costly large-scale fire tests (around USD100,000 (02-2020) each) and minimized the turnover time for engineering problem-solving. The code has been released by FM Global for free downloading by worldwide industry and academia for fire protection analysis [5.6]. The company has been using the improved model since 2018; and coupled it with a physics-based model for radiation attenuation by watermist which they developed internally.

Det Norske Veritas (DNV GL) is an international accredited registrar and classification society, headquartered in Norway, which between 2014 and 2016 collaborated in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Professor Wen. The KTP “ provided an important contribution to strengthen some of [DNV’s] services… [which] relate to the risk assessment and advanced modelling of major hazardous scenarios in oil and gas installations,” according to the partner’s final report. [5.7] The KTP led to an enhancement of the predictive accuracy of some specific modelling tools. DNV used the simplified geometric treatment in simulating gas dispersions on offshore oil platforms, floating production systems and process plants in their consultancy services for the oil and gas industry. This resulted in an increase of GBP400,000 in annual sales turnover (predicted to grow to GBP2,000,000 after three years) [5.7], with a pre-tax profit of GBP100,000 in 2016.

Impact on policy makers: setting international standards, informing government policies

Hydrogen is expected to play an important role in helping to decrease carbon emissions as governments around the world set ambitious targets to avoid the most severe consequences of climate change. The EU has proposed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 in an effort to be  climate neutral by 2050. China has come under international and domestic pressure to reduce its carbon footprint – the world’s largest since 2004 – and in September 2020 President Xi Jinping pledged to stop releasing carbon emissions by 2060. The UK Government’s 10-point green plan [5.8], includes “ [boosting] hydrogen production, with the promise of a town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade.” Professor Wen’s simplified engineering models (EM) and CFD techniques have been used in governments' planning from a safety perspective and for instigating risk mitigation measures as they scale-up hydrogen energy applications.

The European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) brings together national standardisation bodies of 34 countries to develop European and other technical standards. CEN/TC305 is the technical committee (TC) responsible for Potentially Explosive Atmospheres - Explosion Prevention and Protection, and CEN/TC305/WG3 is the working group (WG) for Devices and Systems for Explosion Prevention and Protection.

The CEN/TC305/WG3/ahGE meeting in Vienna on 14-15 June 2019 decided to include the EM, based on semi-empirical correlations developed by Warwick FIRE for vent panel design for explosion mitigation, in the next version of European Standards EN 14994 [5.9]. The standard, which will apply across 34 countries, comes into effect in mid-2021. From then, all European companies designing venting panels for hydrogen installations have to follow the new version of the standard. This will lead to wider applications of the EM, which has already received several applications [5.3, 5.10a, 5.11a] after it was published in gold open access [3.2].

The Chinese Government’s Energy Strategy Programme in February 2020 adopted the EM in the safe design of a hydrogen station in Guangdong province. The Vice Chair of the Standards Committee for Hydrogen Energy said he was confident that “ the Warwick FIRE EM will be widely used in China to help ensure the inherently safer design of these refuelling stations and other hydrogen energy applications” [5.10a]. At the time of writing the supporting statement, another 50 hydrogen refuelling stations were planned for the remainder of 2020 [5.10a]; by June 2020, 11 had been built, with a further 200 now planned for construction in the next few years [5.10b].

The UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), as part of the Government’s Clean Growth Strategy, established Hy4Heat in 2018. This programme aims to establish whether it is technically possible, safe and convenient to use zero-carbon hydrogen gas in residential and commercial buildings and gas appliances; such projects, if successful, could represent a seismic shift in decarbonisation for the whole of the UK – around 35% of UK’s CO₂ emissions come from the burning of natural gas, and the majority of this is from the heating of homes and cooking [5.11a].

Hy4Heat is project-managed by Arup, who, in conducting a thorough assessment of the safety measures required, used the EM developed by Warwick FIRE to predict the consequences of an internal vented explosion following the ignition of a confined hydrogen cloud within a domestic setting [5.11b]. The Senior Consultant of Resilience and Risk, Arup, confirmed that “ the Warwick FIRE group has been critical to the analysis work in the Hy4Heat Safety Assessment since 2019.”

Worldwide civil engineering structures are most commonly designed in accordance with codes of practice, with the European (the Eurocode suite) and North American (American Society of Civil Engineers, or ASCE; American Concrete Institute, or ACI) codes being the practitioner gold-standards. Typically these codes are controlled by a committee of experts and informed by the community-at-large, with one UK industry practitioner commenting they offer a “ consistent baseline for designers”, and enable the choice of appropriate materials, joints and connections “ together with safe and economic design” [5.5a]. For fibre polymer composites (FPCs, also known as fibre reinforced polymers, or FRPs), the UK Composites Leadership Forum Construction Sector Group (CSG) estimated the global FPC construction market to be worth USD15,900,000,000 in 2020. This reveals a sizeable potential for exploitation once design codes are in place.

Professor Mottram is a member of both the Fiber Composites and Polymers Standards (FCAPS) committee of ASCE for development of a US FPC standard (based on **[5.3b]**), as well as Working Group 4 (WG4) for Fibre Reinforced Polymer Structures, as part of the wider CEN Technical Committee for Structural Eurocodes (CEN/TC 250). In addition, he is an expert member of the British Standards Institution (BSI) Technical Committee B/525 Building and Civil Engineering Structures that is responsible for providing the UK input to structural Eurocodes. His far-reaching and international contributions have allowed Warwick research [3.1-3.7] to feature throughout FPC standards and design documents, with key examples outlined below:

Europe and UK policy and practice – In 2007 the JRC publication EN EUR 22864 first presented the justification for new standards regarding the use of FPC composites in civil engineering. Following a resolution in 2009, Professor Mottram was appointed to WG4, and in 2018 as one of six experts on M515 mandate Project Team (WG4.T2), as part of CEN/TC 250. The first generation of Eurocodes became mandatory for UK design in 2010, with the second generation (of which FPC structures is to be a Technical Specification) set to be published in February 2027.

A working group drives the development of Eurocodes through three Stages: (S1) publication of a CEN/TC 250 agreed Science and Policy Report [5.1]; (S2) publication of an agreed Technical Specification (prCEN/TS 19101 for Fibre Polymer Composite structures); and (S3) trial use of the Technical Standard to determine how it shall be converted into the Eurocode. Based on existing research [3.1, 3.3 & 3.6] Professor Mottram co-authored sections 8.0-8.3 on bolted connections in the two S1 reports (published in 2016 and 2018 – **[5.1]**), described as “ particularly challenging, not least, because there are many connection details and always a number of failure modes to consider” [5.6]. In 2018, Professor Mottram was appointed to new project team (WG4.T2) overseeing the conversion of the S1 Science and Policy Reports into a S2 Technical Specification (TS). This led to a 230-page draft TS under review/inquiry during 2020, and into 2021 [5.6].

With Eurocodes often having a lead time of 20 years, the Science and Policy report [5.1] and draft TS mark inextricable milestones for FPC civil engineering policy in the EU. Warwick has made “ an effective and essential contribution” to these, with significant contributions specifically in the field of bolted joints and limit states design of FPC structures. The Convenor of WG4 expanded: “ There is no single other expert within Europe that could have been a member of WG4.T2 to replace the experience and expertise that Prof. Mottram is able to provide” [5.6]. As chair of BSI mirror group BS/525/-/4 (with five industry and two academic members), Prof Mottram further reviews and leads progress towards the FPC Eurocode from inside the UK [5.5a].

Beyond FPC Eurocode development, Warwick and Professor Mottram have had a wider and important influence on UK industry. Fibre-reinforced polymer bridges – Guidance for designers (CIRIA, 2018) [5.2c] was prepared by the Construction Sector Group (CSG) of Composites UK, with Professor Mottram as one of two co-editors and writing 40% of the document including sections on connections and joints, structural analysis and FPC durability (drawing on **[3.1, 3.3-3.4, 3.6 & 3.7]**). Despite its recency, this industry focused guide ( https://tinyurl.com/yy79wl4b) has been downloaded more than 2,350 times and has seen use by top UK engineering firms (Jacobs, NOV Fibre Glass Systems, and others) in the design of 20+ projects [5.2a, 5.2b]. Named examples include the Poole Park Sluice Gate Bridge, Doctors Footbridge and the Bridge St Footbridge both in Lancashire, the Roxwell Bridge in Essex, and 2 twin aqueducts in Standedge [5.5a, 5.5b]. As a conservative estimate, the total design and construction costs of these projects is a minimum of GBP2,750,000 (costs “in excess” of GBP900,000 from Jacobs, and using GBP118,000 acquisition costs for the other 16 projects – a figure taken from G uidance for designers itself which covers design and installation for a typical 30m² footbridge. The Standedge aqueducts were factored into this 16 despite being substantially larger engineering efforts, indicating a suitable minimum estimate) [5.2c, 5.5a].

North American policy and practice – Between 2007 and 2010, three North American pultruders funded (USD1,500,000) a project to draft an ASCE pre-standard [5.3b]. Professor Mottram was on the project team and led (with Professor Larry Bank, then University of Wisconsin-Madison) the writing of Chapter 8 for Bolted Connections, having mandatory design provisions (18 pages) and a commentary (28 pages). Before the pre-standard, there were no previous procedures to work with. Since 2011, the committee Fiber Composites and Polymers Standards (FCAPS) (at the American Society of Civil Engineers) has worked on converting the pre-standard to an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard through a balloting process. Updating the standard involves new Warwick research [G1] for design of bolted connections [3.1-3.4 & 3.5], covering essential knowledge gaps for: developing a standard test (procedure C in ASTM D953) for determination of bearing strength [3.1]; having a single (simple) closed form expression [3.4] for calculating the strength of multi-rowed bolted connections failing in the net-tension mode [3.3]; and the design of beam-to-column joints (for serviceability limit state rotation capacity) [3.5].

Between August 2013 and February 2020 the developing ASCE standard underwent 42 rounds of balloting with 42 votes, with Professor Mottram participating in each round and his research being an important reference material in the standard’s commentary. The Chair of ASCE FCAPS added: “ Toby’s work on the FCAPS Committee has been instrumental in formulating particularly the Connections Chapter”, with an instrumental contribution also provided in the balloting process for approving “ the design provision for the strength of bolted connections failing with the bearing mode of failure” [5.3a].

Beyond use generally in the US pultrusion industry for reference citations and requirements for FPCs, the Director of Marketing and Product Development at Creative Pultrusions stated that since August 2013 the US company used the LRFD Pre-standard “ extensively for the design of FRP structures and products”. These include pedestrian bridges, access structures, docks, maintenance platforms, crossarms, utility poles and various other custom engineered structures– permitting the company “ to significantly increase market share while growing sales and profitability” [5.7a]. On its international applicability, Creative Pultrusions Inc. (in collaboration with Lionweld Kennedy Flooring Ltd.) expanded station platforms in the UK for Network Rail through use of the pre-standard, and more broadly, “ Toby’s work has permitted us to supply engineered solutions in Canada and Europe adding [to] our average yearly growth rate” [5.7a].

During 2018, the Chair of ASTM Subcommittee: D20.18 engaged the expertise of Professor Mottram in revising D953 to specify an industrial standardised test method (via Procedure C) to measure the bearing strengths in polymer resin-based materials. Previously, D953 was only for thermoplastics, with the 2018 revisions scoping both thermosets and their FPCs – such as those produced by the pultrusion [5.4, 5.7b]. Because of the suitability and flexibility of Procedure C as highlighted in [5.3b], D20.18 founded the procedure (which “ Professor’s Mottram’s expertise was vital in developing” **[5.7b]**) on the Warwick compression loading method [3.1-3.2]. Regarding use of D953, the Engineering Director of Bedford Reinforced Plastics (BRP) elaborated: “ BRP have already used the ASTM D953 test procedure to evaluate our entire range of pultruded structural shapes. Products tested using this method are sold to all of our clients throughout the USA and internationally.” Applications of these shapes are seen in stair towers, walkways, pedestrian bridges, pipe supports, cooling towers etc. for use in a wide range of markets such as wastewater/water treatment, oil & gas, mining and chemical processing [5.7b].

Due to delays from the COVID pandemic, the ANSI standard is provisionally set for publication in August 2021 and will be adopted into the International Code Council’s (ICC) International Building Code (IBC) [5.3a]. For impact on the FCAPS Committee directly, actual publication beyond 2020 is incidental to the instrumental contributions from Warwick through balloting from August 2013 and 2020 – with balloting being the formal policy-driven process which make ANSI standards a reality. For realised impact on US civil engineering, the Pre-standard in its current form and the ASTM D953–19 test method have both had a marked effect on companies such as Creative Pultrusions and Bedford Reinforced Plastics – facilitating sales and collaborations internationally.

Further uptake of guidance and standards – In February 2020 CD 368 Design of fibre reinforced polymer bridges and highway structures [5.8] was issued by Highways England, with involvement from the Welsh Government, Transport Scotland and the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure. The design manual “includes additional information taken from the draft Eurocode (JRC report) [5.1] and recently released CIRIA C779 FRP Bridges: Guidance for designers **[5.2c]**… and reflects current best practice” [5.8]. This demonstrates that two distinct sets of FPC guidance with strong contributions of Warwick expertise have been factored into a nationally-applied document that forms part of the works specification. Unsolicited uptake such as this is defining of a far-reaching, pervasive influence in the sector, and lends weight to Warwick contributions to FPC civil engineering being made “ at the highest level and with absolute reliability” [5.6].

A mutually beneficial industrial collaboration with ELG Carbon Fibre (ELGCF) has led, since 2014, to crucial impacts on production of recycled carbon fibre (rCF) materials. Substantial decreases in production cycle duration for a bestselling rCF thermoplastic prepreg product range – Carbiso TM – both enhanced its bulk production and cemented its commercial viability [5.1]. These improvements have aided ELGCF by accelerating both substantiative sales (GBP2,000,000 annually from 2018) as well as sizeable inward investment (a 25% shareholding). In turn, this accelerated company growth has driven concomitant environmental benefits from industrial usage of a recycled material as a feedstock.

Formed when German parent ELG Haniel acquired Recycled Carbon Fibre Ltd in 2011, ELGCF was the first and is still one of the largest recycling operations in the world for carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs). Their high-quality short rCF and non-woven long rCF mats are employed in a number of applications, including: bogie frames for railways; nacelles in wind energy turbines; car bonnets; undertrays and roofs for the automotive industry; and integrated circuit (IC) carrier trays for the electronics industry [5.1]. On the University’s knowledge transfer into the company, the Managing Director (MD) of ELGCF says: “ The research undertaken by Professor Kerry Kirwan and his team has enabled ELGCF to become pioneers of sustainable CFRP recycling; without this research we would not have been able to achieve this success” [5.1].

Impact on production: Recycling carbon fibre offers three distinct advantages over using new (‘virgin’) carbon fibre: lower cost (approximately 40% cheaper); security of supply (mitigating shortages of virgin fibre); and improved environmental sustainability (reducing waste bound for landfill and boosting re-use levels). However, rCFs are not a straightforward substitution for virgin fibres and converting them into a useable product is a lengthy and technically complex process.

Between 2014 and 2019 ELGCF worked closely with WMG on product development, addressing a number of challenges posed in rCF manufacturing. In particular, the long production cycles for the company’s thermoplastic prepreg range (Carbiso TM) were an obstacle towards bulk sales, and the company was also seeking to improve processing parameterisation for its chopped ranges (Carbiso C, CT, CT+). Drawing on characterization work at Warwick (WMG) with different types of carbon fibres, and how they related to mechanical properties in laminates [3.1], as well as how alterations to mould lay-up and curing affected the void volume fraction [3.2], ELGCF’s statement [5.1] reveals that these key technical challenges were addressed by:

• Optimising processing parameters for rCF fibre thermoplastic composites (Carbiso TM). “ Improvements were made through use of a stamping process that rapidly cooled the material down to just below the melting point in the mould by utilising a tool at a controlled temperature. Understanding what temperature should be used for the tool was vital as it ensured that there was no deformation in the parts post-processing.” This decreased production cycles from 10 minutes to just 2 minutes, a five-fold increase in productivity which greatly assisted production of the material in bulk and solidified its commercial prospects.

• Enhancing the processing of chopped rCFs. “ *Work carried out by WMG allowed for greater understanding of the processing of short fibre chopped tow carbon fibres (Carbiso C, CT, CT+) through a compounding (a combination of extrusion and pelletisation) followed by injection moulding to produce thermoplastic composite materials. Specifically, conditions were optimised to reduce the damage caused by processing to the fibre and maximising the potential mechanical properties.*”

This was in addition to the development of design data and physical property characterisation of rCF/polymer compounds and resulting composites, giving an immediate idea of which processing changes could achieve optimum production results. All of these improvements facilitated the development and commercial viability of both the Carbiso C short fibre (C, CT and CT+) and Carbiso TM long fibre nonwoven product ranges, in addition to enabling mass production [5.1].

Impact on commerce and the economy: As a consequence of improved production, annual sales have grown rapidly from GBP300,000 in 2016 to GBP2,000,000 throughout the years 2018 to 2020 [5.1] – representing an increase of greater than 560%, and minimum total sales of GBP6,600,000 between 2016 and 2020. Up to the end of 2020, Carbiso C, CT, CT+ and Carbiso TM accounted for 80% of the current financial value of ELGCF’s total sales, citing the products as their bestsellers which are sold across 26 countries worldwide. Specific clients and applications include [5.1]:

• [text removed for publication]: “ [U]se of recycled carbon fibres (Carbiso C and Carbiso TM) to form the core of the carbon fibre composite cases of the [text removed for publication] laptops, saving weight compared to the glass fibre cores used in the previous generation and providing cost and environmental benefits compared to the use of virgin carbon fibre.” Approximately 300t of rCF from ELGCF is purchased by [text removed for publication] annually.

• [text removed for publication]: “Use of recycled carbon fibres in thermoplastic compounds intended for use in the electronics industry.” Approximately 230t of rCF from ELGCF is purchased by [text removed for publication] annually.

Additionally, by the end of 2020 four further sales contracts for the Carbiso TM and C ranges were progressed with multinationals in the automotive and aerospace sectors [text removed for publication]. Growth in annual sales from fulfilment of these contracts is expected to be GBP4,300,000 in 2021 [5.1], making ELGCF attractive to further investment during 2020 whilst also allowing for better strategic business planning based on this projected growth. In attracting both current sales and future sales contracts, WMG research was invaluable – with the scientifically robust analysis of the mechanical properties of rCF [3.1] as well as performance vs. cost methodologies [3.2] providing value for money reassurance and establishing that ELGCF’s products could meet the tough demands of their clients’ chosen applications [5.1].

In April 2019, Mitsubishi Corporation acquired a 25% strategic shareholding in ELGCF [5.2]. Before the deal was finalised, WMG hosted representatives from the Japanese multinational to demonstrate the value of the department’s research contributions and how they fit into ELGCF’s overall strategy. On this investment the MD of ELGCF stated: “ WMG’s unmatched capabilities in terms of industrial-scale processing within academia and long-standing links into key sectors such as automotive and rail has developed our unique offer – encompassing the key Carbiso TM and Carbiso C product (C, CT, CT+) ranges – and made ELG attractive in terms of inward investment from multinational companies” [5.1].

The combination of both volume sales and the investment from Mitsubishi has benefited the local economy (Coseley is approximately 30 miles from the Warwick campus) and supported expansion of the company’s workforce. The number of people employed by ELGCF has increased from 42 in 2016 to 102 in 2020, comprising 50 production staff, 20 staff in maintenance, planning, supervisory, quality and EHS roles supporting production, 12 technical staff and 20 staff in management, sales and marketing and admin roles [5.1].

Impact on the environment: Resulting from strong commercial interest and WMG enabling mass production of key product ranges, in 2020 ELGCF is producing at its max capacity of 1,700t annually while saving substantial waste from landfill [5.1]. Production at this level is inseparable from the environmental benefits, with rCF requiring only 500°C for pyrolysis (thermal breakdown) in contrast to 1,800°C for virgin carbon fibre manufacturing. Compared to the same levels of virgin carbon fibre production, ELGCF rCF product manufacture has a net saving of -280GJ/t in primary energy demand (PED) as well as -31tCO₂e/t in global warming potential [5.1], or a total saving of -476,000GJ/year and -52,700tCO₂e/year respectively for the 1,700t. This decrease of 52,700t in CO₂e is the equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 11,385 passenger vehicles driven for a year, the CO₂ emissions from 58,000,000lbs of coal burnt, or the carbon sequestered from 68,824 acres of forest [5.3]. WMG has facilitated further green collaboration, such as incorporation of sustainable materials in the INEOS Team UK’s America 2021 Cup build programme [5.1].

Overall, the collaboration between WMG and ELGCF is prime example of superior industrial-facing research – solving specific production challenges to hasten commercial, economic and environmental benefits. As a closing statement the MD of ELGCF stated: “ Growth and inward investment on such a rapid timescale between 2016 and 2020 would have been impossible without input from the University of Warwick, accelerating ELGCF to world-leader status for carbon fibre recycling far sooner than would have occurred without this greatly valued collaboration” [5.1].

Impact on commerce and the economy: a re sounding success for a growing West Midlands firm

Billson and Hutchin’s research into and early development of ultrasonic transducers played, and still plays, a key role in the success of Warwick Acoustics; in particular, the associated patents provided “underlying commercial protections which enabled Warwick Acoustics to develop this disruptive audio technology further” [5.1]. This ‘disruptive’ technology has allowed this promising West Midlands company to break into the highly saturated headphones market, dominated by giants such as Apple, Sony, Philips and JVC, with an exclusive offering. Based on the translation of fundamental research, WA have developed products that are technologically superior to those developed by firms with significantly larger R&D budgets. Once WA had proved out the potential of the technology and built an effective brand proposition, the firm was set to pursue development opportunities in the lucrative automotive industry, which spends USD8,000,000,000 a year on in-car entertainment [5.1].

Since 2016 WA has attracted an estimated GBP8,000,000 in funding for further R&D, including from Birmingham-based Mercia Fund Managers, who provide venture capital to businesses focused on innovative technologies, and Shenzhen listed Guoguang Electric Company Ltd of Guangzhou, China. In 2017, the company moved to a unit at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) Science Park near Nuneaton, following 9 years at Warwick Science Park. In 2020 WA doubled both its office and production space (from 3,200 sq.ft to 7,000 sq.ft) and its engineering team (from 10 to 20), with further workforce growth expected. [5.1]

WA has two models of headphones: the Sonoma M1, released in May 2017 at a retail price of GBP4,995; and the flagship APERIO, released in October 2019 at a retail price of GBP20,000. The APERIO was designed to be the world's best headphone system, a claim supported by many awards and extensive industry praise (see Impact on culture). The first production run sold out within four weeks of release. Both models have over 70 distributors in 20 different countries, including the US, Japan, Germany and Australia. In June 2020, a 24k gold-plated APERIO, sold in the UK exclusively by Harrods in Knightsbridge for GBP30,000, was launched to much excitement [5.1].

Based on total sales, in the financial year 2019/20 there was a more than six-fold increase in revenue over the previous year [text removed for publication], despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic just six months after the APERIO’s release. In 2020/21, WA is on-target to secure revenue of [text removed for publication] primarily through engineering services provided to the automotive industry, and this is expected to continue to grow exponentially in the coming years. The CEO of the business stated, “ *While Warwick Acoustics' growth, commercial successes and innovation in the automotive sector are driven firmly by the company, these advancements would not have been possible without the basic research into electrostatic transducers by Dr Billson and the University of Warwick.*” He added that Billson, who occupies a non-executive position on the board, remains “ important to the products and successes of the company” [5.1].

Impact on innovation: ultrasonic technology in the automotive industry’s ‘green mobility’ agenda

Warwick Acoustics’ ultra-light (~20g), super-thin (~10mm), shape-versatile and multi-directional speaker system gives it significant advantages over traditional – and necessarily bulky – magnet/ coil and conventional electrostatic sources. These characteristics, plus the fact that the technology is inexpensive to produce in any quantity, would suit a variety of applications, such as an in-car sound system, where a more personalised experience might mean drivers can still hear navigation instructions while passengers listen to music.

More important, though, is its reliability and recyclability: the technology is establishing itself as highly disruptive in the automotive audio market as it dovetails with the industry’s ‘green mobility’ agenda which aims to reduce both air and noise pollution from transport, and to address climate change in the transport sector through mitigation and adaptation. The industry is investing billions of pounds in environmentally and socially sustainable hybrid (PHEV) and full electric (BEV) vehicles. In order to minimise CO₂ emissions per km driven and make those vehicles attractive to consumers, new lightweight, power-efficient technology solutions are being sought for every system in the vehicle.

WA’s audio solutions offer a number of key advantages which offer ‘material and valuable savings’ [5.1] for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs):

• A 50% weight saving and 75% power saving compared to other solutions. Put in context, a traditional audio system weighs up to 22kg, and will consume up to 2kW of power; a typical car weighs around 2,000kg and will have a battery pack of 30-100kWh. Light-weighting and energy efficiency are of high importance to an industry with constraints on carbon emissions, and these properties also result in a significantly extended range for electric vehicles.

• A group delay (a measurement, in seconds, of the time taken by the modulated signal to get through the system) that is an improvement of more than 20 times that of existing transducers, and dramatic improvements in signal purity, which are key requirements in noise cancellation and which are of ever-increasing relevance in quieter electric vehicles.

• No use of rare-earth metals, elimination of which is a major goal of car manufacturers committed to delivering on a ‘green mobility’ agenda. [5.1]

These USPs resulted in the award in 2020 of three Proof of Concept contracts by OEMs within the automotive sector in the EU and US, [text removed for publication] [5.1]. A GBP500,000 industry-facing grant from Innovate UK has attracted keen support from the automotive sector, [text removed for publication] [5.2].

Impact on culture and music industry: improving the listening experience for audiophiles and industry producers

Aimed at the high-end audiophile market, to date the Sonoma M1 and APERIO have won 14 and 5 awards respectively, from trendsetting audiophile magazines such as HiFi+, Absolute Sound and Tone Audio with a combined international readership of over 300,000 [5.1].

For Sonoma M1, these include the Haute Fidélité Référence Award, Tyll's Wall of Fame and Hi-Fi Choice Recommended status [5.1, 5.3]. Studio Magazin stated that “ …the Model One headphone system…has achieved absolute perfection.” HiFi Statement named the headphones “ **A new star in the sky of headphones!**” and HiFi Choice awarded them 4.5/5 stars, saying, “ *The M1 delivers a high-end musical performance with a fantastic bass response, which is very extended and tuneful.*” TONE Audio concluded that: “The Model One might just be the best value in high-end audio today. Even those with mega systems will be amazed at what this system can do, revealing nuance and detail that can often be masked by the best of rooms” [5.3].

The APERIO model’s high-profile awards include ToneAudio 2019 Product of the Year award, with TONE Audio’s editor Jeff Dorgay stating: “ Not only does it provide one of the world’s finest personal audio experiences, it includes a world-class DAC and line preamplifier. In the end, one for the high-end audio’s best value propositions” [5.3]. HiFi+ Magazine gave the system an Editors’ Choice Award in 2020, with editor Chris Martens adding: “ *The APERIO is the finest headphone system I have ever had in my home, and also the finest I have ever heard (including some that cost far more than the APERIO does)*” [5.3].

As a crowning achievement, in November 2020 audiophile legend David Robison of Positive Feedback gave the APERIO his 'very highest recommendation', explaining that:

“*There is no doubt about it in my mind: The Aperio Headphone Amp/up-to-DSD256 DAC/Preamp sets a new global standard for all headphone systems to aspire to. This is world-class audio performance of the highest level of achievement” [5.3].

The Sonoma M1 and APERIO have garnered glowing praise from industry professionals such as Grammy Award-winning engineers Alan Silverman, David Hewitt and Bob Ludwig (the latter having worked with Bruce Springsteen, Queen, Jimi Hendrix and Daft Punk) [5.1].

Alan Silverman, owner of Aerial Sound in New York, says: “After decades of work as a recording engineer there are very few memorable ‘firsts’ anymore, but my first listen to the APERIO was astonishing. The clarity and smoothness of the sound was something I could not have imagined… Listening to music with APERIO is a joy!” [5.4].

Roy Hendrickson, veteran mixer, engineer and producer at BerkleeNYC, with 32 years’ industry experience producing for the likes of David Bowie, John Lennon and Madonna, says: “ I really am so pleased with the Sonoma M1 headphone system, it's unbelievably honest and perfectly balanced. I have been able to hear elements to adjust in my mixes I would have missed in studio monitors… The Sonoma system is a breath of fresh air to my ears” [5.4].*

Bert van der Wolf, an award-winning director, producer and recording & balance engineer at Spirit of Turtle in the Netherlands, said about the APERIO: “ **These are just ridiculously good. 100% accurate reproduction of what I recorded. I've never heard any headphone as brilliant as these, I did not think this level of honesty was even possible in a headphone!” [5.4]

Warren Sokol, Mastering Engineer at the world-famous United Recording Studios, LA, who has recorded with the Foo Fighters and Iggy Pop, said: “ *The APERIO is another level of headphone systems! The detail to design is impeccable, it’s truly a beautiful package! The image & frequency response is amazing but I was really impressed with the speed & accuracy of the dynamics & detail of the sound!! How’s it all packed in there?!?*” [5.4]

Michael Beinhorn, musician and Grammy-nominated music producer who played keyboards with Herbie Hancock on Future Shock and produced albums for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne, simply said after a two-hour session with the APERIO: “Absolutely incredible, mind-blowing!” [5.4]