Dr Mark Gardiner, director of Sprint Electric, explains the value of the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) undertaken with the University of Nottingham and the University of Sussex. Mark joined Sprint Electric in 2013 and has 30 years of experience in the drives industry.
The KTPs are part grant-funded schemes that helps businesses to innovate using the expertise from the universities. A KTP brings together a business or charity with a research organisation and a qualified graduate, known as a KTP Associate, with the capability to lead a strategic, technical or business project.
- How did the relationships with the KTPs at the University of Nottingham and the University of Sussex start?
We first met with the University of Nottingham in 2017 to develop our AC-to-AC technology. I had never heard of a KTP before, but it seemed an ideal route for adding specific knowledge into Sprint Electric and was better suited to our situation than specific recruiting or using a consultancy firm.
We chose the University of Nottingham because of the AC-to-AC expertise at the Power Electronics Machine and Controls (PEMC) Group. Although KTPs are usually geographically based, and the University of Nottingham is a long distance from our HQ in West Sussex, we decided access to world class facilities and specialist knowledge were worth committing to, so we setup a secondary base at the PEMC in 2018 when the project started.
Then we pursued a second KTP to assist with the development of web-based technologies to support our new products. The University of Sussex was the chosen partner due to its close proximity to Sprint Electric and the expertise they possess in this domain. We spoke with other institutions, but we opted for the University of Sussex, as they had the best expertise in cloud technology and Industry 4.0.
We recognised the value that the collaboration offered, and we wanted to explore how the KTP would add to the development of our product and how the team could benefit from the high standard of research available. The University of Nottingham recommended we apply for funding from Innovate UK, which was successful, and as a result we were awarded £1m.
The universities recognised the value of working with a world class manufacturer like Sprint and giving the Associates first-hand knowledge of working alongside businesses with ambitious goals for changing the industrial landscape. The Associates that we have worked with are employed by the university to work on the project but, at the end of it, they are free agents. This is a good opportunity for the Associate, and they are often recruited so they can continue their work.
- How has Sprint benefitted from working with the KTP at the University of Nottingham in terms of tech, speed of development and strategy?
We have been at the forefront of the DC Drives industry for over 30 years, and we wanted to increase the market reach by diversifying into the alternating current (AC) market. Our idea was to use a unique switching technology to provide four quadrant control which removes the need for active front end drives or braking resistors, simplifying control of AC motors in complex applications. The KTP was an ideal opportunity to develop the product and set our strategy for future growth.
The aim of the project was to develop our AC drive switching technology to be suitable for high reliability applications. Initially, the partnership focused on designing silicon device prototypes of new core technology for a regenerative AC drive. Embedding ourselves in academia generated significant advantages for both the design and the manufacturing of the drive.
At the University of Nottingham, we worked with power electronics engineer and KTP Associate, Azlia Abdul Rahman who acted as a conduit to the rest of the research group. We also benefitted from the academic expertise of Professor Pat Wheeler and Associate Professor Liliana de Lillo, with support from many other researchers. They provided us with very useful guidance and stopped us from pursuing unnecessary avenues which saved us valuable time and energy.
Together, the team devised a set of design requirements to improve the robustness of the technology against supply disturbances – crucial when there is no energy storage in the converter. The resulting 22kW prototype converter, designed to work at 400V, was then tested against an exacting test schedule to validate operation during conditions of black-out (complete mains loss), brown-out (partial loss) and step changes in supply frequency.
The result of the hard work and innovation is Generis, a groundbreaking drive that delivers cost effective and reliable AC motor control, combined with full four quadrant control, energy regeneration and low input current harmonics. It is a leap forward in performance motor control with a single stage power conversion. Removing the DC link in an AC drive reduces harmonic distortion to the mains supply, as well as improving drive efficiency. As a result, Generis simplifies control without compromising performance.
- What was the purpose of working with the KTP at the University of Sussex?
With the University of Sussex, the KTP was focussed on developing a web application which could be used to both configure (set-up) the drive as well as to stream operating data into the cloud to provide insight into the end process. Traditionally, a drive is set up with software running on a laptop, connected to the drive over a serial interface, and once the drive has been configured, the user sets it running and takes the laptop away with them.
With the University of Sussex, we have worked on embedding a web server, so the configuration software is contained within the product and served up as pages to web browser such as Google Chrome to create an improved, seamless user experience. This has a wide range of benefits including much improved accessibility and convenience with compatibility across different operating systems. This results in a significant reduction in the need for development, maintenance and support of the configuration software in the future.
Web-based software allows for real-time collaboration between devices in a secure manner and provides a much-improved solution to traditional networking. The work carried out with the KTP at the University of Sussex has brought knowledge and insights that has enhanced our offering considerably.
- How do you see the collaborations with the KTPs progressing and where do you see the key areas of added value in the future?
The experience with KTPs has been extremely positive. The projects have made a fundamental contribution to the strategy at Sprint Electric and improved our competitiveness in the market.
Pairing with researchers from both universities gave the team at Sprint Electric access to innovation and expertise from across the institutions with long-term strategic relationships established between business and academia which creates a win/win situation that drives innovation forward. The expertise of the Associates that we have worked with has helped smooth the technology transfer process, improving the robustness of our technology and compliance to industry regulations.
As a result of the hard work, we have some very exciting growth plans. Sprint Electric has received substantial investment and funding which has led to the addition of three PhD level jobs plus technical hires across operations and R&D. Sprint Electric was also selected for Innovate UK funding, as one of 28 winners from 89 companies that entered.
We will continue to work with our academic partners from the KTPs, even when Generis is fully launched. The KTP with Sussex is coming to an end in August and, because of the progress made, we are already planning another. The Sprint Electric team are thankful to all of the people that we have worked alongside over the past six years, and we are excited for the chance of collaborating again in the future.
