University of Surrey to open £4m nano-manufacturing hub

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The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has awarded £1.6m to the Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) and the 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC) based at the University of Surrey.

It is intended to establish a hub that will make the manufacturing of smart materials and self-powered electronics a reality in the UK.

The £4.2m project, supported by 32 partner organisations, was co-developed with QinetiQ and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).

The University of Surrey will use some of the funds to purchase the innovative NanoOPS printer, designed by Northeastern University, that will give the hub the ability to produce plastic nanoscale electronics suitable for devices such as wearable sensors, electronic tags, and various wireless technologies.

The NanoOPS printer removes the bottleneck in high-throughput and reliable nano-fabrication manufacturing. The hub will be able to reduce, by a factor of ten, the cost of manufacturing plastic electronics, supporting the development of internet-of-things (IoT) devices for smart-homes, smart-cities, and smart factories.

Pro Max Lu, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Surrey, said: “One of our main goals at the University of Surrey is to produce research that can make a positive contribution to society and impact industries across the globe.

“I am confident that this collaboration between our world-class facilities – the 5G Innovation Centre and Advance Technology Institute – and private businesses will be a tremendous success and pave the way for future innovation in nano-technology.”

The new facilities are expected to be operational in third-quarter of 2018.