Midlands Advanced Ceramics for Industry 4.0

**Midlands Advanced Ceramics for Industry 4.0：** 1827万英镑的SIPF投资将成为8000万英镑以上计划的一部分，该计划旨在使Midlands成为先进陶瓷的全球领导者（针对伍斯特郡，斯塔福德郡，黑乡，沃里克郡，伯明翰，伯明翰，德比郡和莱斯特郡的中部制造业中心）。先进陶瓷是许多制造业部门的重要“推动者”，如能源，健康，航空航天，汽车和国防，由于其高强度，低腐蚀，热和电气性能。鉴于它们对释放先进制造业性能的重要性，全球对它们的需求呈指数级增长（预计到2023年全球先进陶瓷市场将达到1430亿英镑，自2015年以来价值翻了一番多）米德兰兹先进陶瓷增长计划由米德兰兹工业陶瓷集团（MICG）指导，该集团是罗尔斯·罗伊斯主持的一个新财团。它包括全球跨国公司到中小企业，私营部门的研发市场领导者和三所罗素集团大学。作为行业发展整体计划的一部分，SIPF的资金将用于解决米德兰公司面临的关键技术挑战。开发新的先进陶瓷技术目前基于各种实验方法，返工和高废品率，导致昂贵和耗时的工作。利用尖端的数字建模技术，并投资于领先的中试生产线和数字孪生模型，MICG研究人员联盟将开发简化的流程，以更快地将新的先进陶瓷技术推向市场，减少能源使用和碳排放。这将消除目前开发新陶瓷技术的许多沟通和技术转让障碍。它将实现有效的问题解决和新产品的更快商业化，从而为下一代产品（包括燃料电池和电池、5G通信、CMC）解锁更高的性能。（陶瓷基复合材料）用于航空发动机和医疗设备。上述行业主导的研发将得到更广泛的努力的补充，以发展该行业，包括：高级陶瓷校园（北斯塔福德郡120，000平方英尺以上的研发和商业空间），积极促进中部地区的外国直接投资，协调对中部地区行业企业的支持和融资，以及该行业未来劳动力的技能发展。这将有助于保护和增加米德兰地区的高附加值就业机会，使米德兰地区在该领域的创新能力发生重大变化，并在长期内确保米德兰地区在先进陶瓷技术和生产方面处于世界领先地位，并建立在其卓越的陶瓷历史声誉基础上。

**Midlands Advanced Ceramics for Industry 4.0:** £18.27m SIPF investment would be part of an £80m+ programme to make the Midlands a global leader in advanced-ceramics (targeting the heart of Midlands manufacturing across Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Black Country, Warwickshire, Birmingham, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire).Advanced-ceramics are vital 'enablers' for many manufacturing sectors, like energy, health, aerospace, automotive and defence owing to their high strength, low corrosion, thermal and electrical properties. Given their importance to unlocking performance in advanced manufacturing the global demand for them is growing exponentially (the global advanced-ceramics market is projected to reach £143 billion by 2023, more than doubling in value since 2015)A Midlands advanced-ceramics growth programme is being guided by the Midlands-Industrial-Ceramics-Group (MICG), a new consortium chaired by Rolls-Royce. It includes global multinationals to SMEs, a private-sector R&D market leader and three Russell-Group universities. As part of their holistic programme for sector growth, SIPF funding will be used to tackle critical technical challenges facing Midlands companies.Developing new advanced ceramics technologies is currently based on a variety of experimental approaches with much reworking and high rejection rates, resulting in expensive and time consuming work. Using cutting-edge digital modelling and investing in leading edge pilot-lines and digital twins, the MICG consortium of researchers, will develop streamlined processes for proving and bringing new advanced ceramics technologies to market faster, with less energy usage and lower carbon emissions. This will remove many of the current communication and technology transfer barriers to developing new ceramic technologies. It will enable effective problem solving and faster commercialisation of new products, so unlocking improved performance for next generation products including fuel cells and batteries, 5G communications, CMC (Ceramic matrix composites) for aero engines, and medical devices.The industry-led R&D detailed above will be complemented by wider efforts to grow the sector that will include: an Advanced-Ceramics Campus (120,000 sqft+ of R&D and commercial space for the sector in North Staffordshire), proactive promotion of the Midlands for foreign direct investment, coordinating support and finance for the sectors businesses in the Midlands and the development of skills for the sector's future workforce.The impact will be the immediate safeguarding and growth in high-value-added jobs in the Midlands, a step-change in the Midlands innovation capacity in this sector and over the longer-term ensuring the Midlands leads the world in advanced ceramics technology and production, building on its historical reputation of excellence in ceramics.