Ricardo Plc

The UK-ALUMOTOR consortium has received an award from the Driving Electric Revolution Challenge fund - through UK Research and Innovation - to establish a UK supply chain for electric machines: leveraging manufacturing expertise to deliver next generation sustainable electric motors.

The online event - on the theme of the virtualisation of future vehicle engineering - will be hosted in the form of both pre-recorded and live-streamed sessions running from Monday 23rd to Friday 27th November 2020. Pressure to reduce and eliminate emissions, improve urban air quality and reduce the carbon intensity of transportation, mean that the wide-scale electrification and hybridisation of vehicles is becoming a reality.

Pressures to reduce and eliminate emissions, improve urban air quality and reduce the carbon intensity of transportation, mean that the wide-scale electrification and hybridisation of vehicles is becoming a reality. This presents a challenge to the product development process to deliver vehicles which are cost effective, attractive for customers and compliant with international regulations.

The new end-of-line test system, recently fully commissioned at Ricardo’s Shoreham Technical Centre marks the culmination of a 24 month, £2m investment. With a power and torque capacity exceeding 700kW and 900Nm respectively, the new test installation both increases the range of testing that can be carried out as a part of the production process, while also offering extremely high levels of automation to enhance productivity.

Serving a total of 15 major automakers and engine suppliers, Ricardo’s engine production provides a range from prototypes through pre-production units, to niche volume series production of high performance products. The breadth of this engine manufacturing activity ranges from single cylinder engines used for research purposes through to V12s for marine and power generation.