Posted on 14 Aug 2018
The UK-based research centre, the Materials Processing Institute (MPI), is to carry out a collaborative research project to support Chinese steel producer Nanjing Iron and Steel Company (Nisco). The institute will work with the University of Leicester and Redcar-based TWI Ltd, it says in a statement monitored by Kallanish.
The project forms part of a £2 million ($2.55m) investment by Nisco at the University of Leicester in creating a UK-based steel research activity. The MPI project is valued at £500,000.
The collaboration aims to develop technology that can control the solidification process during the casting of very thick semi-finished steel products at Nisco’s production line. By this the steelmaker hopes to improve productivity by reducing the segregation and porosity in these materials, MPI says.
The research project follows a joint call for R&D between the UK’S innovation agency, Innovate UK and the Jiangsu Science and Technology Department. This forms part of the Jiangsu-UK Industrial Challenge programme that aims to stimulate economic growth in China.
The UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, has allocated up to £5m to fund projects in the programme, with the Institute successful in winning support for the joint development project, MPI adds. The Jiangsu Science and Technology department is also funding eligible partners from the Jiangsu province, as all projects involved in the programme must involve at least one UK business and one from the province.
