The University of Nottingham has become the first UK institution to create an independent business unit for the industrialisation of electrical motors and drive systems that will deliver commercial services to companies across the world.
Nottingham Drive Specialist Services (NDSS), provides bespoke development, manufacturing and testing of electrical motors and drives to support the industrialisation of power electronic converters, electrical machines and drives.
Based at the recently opened Power Electronics and Machines Centre (PEMC), NDSS offers businesses a unique service that spans the entire life cycle of a project – from design through to manufacture and testing – as well as access to more than £20 million of state-of-the-art equipment.
Hitendra Hirani, sales director and general manager of the DER-IC Programme at the University of Nottingham, said: “I have always been excited by the university’s pioneering spirit to do things that really make a difference to the world.
“Over the past 25 years, we have built up a store of intellectual property on this incredibly difficult subject area and making this easily accessible and available for companies to benefit from is a key part of what we are doing to support the drive towards electrification and developing the UK supply chain.”
The service has been funded by multiple sources, including Research England, Getting Building Fund, D2N2, the Wolfson Foundation and the Driving the Electric Revolution Industrialisation Centre (DER-IC).
Professor Chris Gerada, professor of Electrical Machines and lead for University Research and Innovation Initiatives, said: “This initiative is really about breaking down the barriers to engaging with the university and making our facilities and knowledge available for societal benefit. It is also one of the first steps we are taking on our net zero strategy to deliver an environmentally sustainable solution for society.”
