Full speed ahead: maintaining UK excellence in motorsport and aerospace - Business, Innovation and Skills Committee Contents


Memorandum submitted by TTXGP—the eGrandPrix

THE NEXT GENERATION OF MOTORSPORT; ZERO CARBON, CLEAN EMISSION

SUMMARY

    — Engineering and manufacturing need to be recognised as major contributors to the UK's GDP.

    — Motorsports is the vehicle by which the image of engineering and manufacturing can be changed to attract more young people into these areas.

    — Government needs to be more "entrepreneurial" in its attitude to supporting projects which showcase entrepreneurs and innovators who are pioneering new technologies across all forms of transportation.

    — Without an arena in which to perform, venture capitalism or public funding is hard to obtain. Many of our engineering innovators are struggling to find backers and, consequently, markets. Initiatives such as the TTXGP can provide this platform.

    — The levels of funding allocated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England fall significantly short of the cost of teaching many engineering disciplines.

    — Translate policy into practice—appoint ambassadors/mentors who can "speak the language", ie who can relate and support. One of the greatest barriers to innovation in the UK is that people are not encouraged to "fail".

    — The Government's low carbon industrial strategy, New Industry, New Jobs, published in July 2009, is not focused or structured to encourage innovation at "ground" level or SMEs.

    — The newly formed independent body Manufacturing Insight can provide a valuable opportunity to co-ordinate activities and position engineering and manufacturing at the right level in terms of both public perception and allocation of funding.

BACKGROUND TO TTXGP

    — TTXGP was founded in August 2008. Less than 12 months later, in June 2009, it held the world's first zero carbon, clean emission motorcycle race on the historic Isle of Man TT mountain circuit. It has had some support from the UKTI.

    — 16 teams from across the world took part in one of the two classes—pro or amateur. University entries were from Brunel, Kingston and Imperial.

    — A technical advisory panel was established with the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and members drawn from leading academic and commercial organisations. This panel wrote the rules and regulations working with the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) and provided the scrutineering facilities both before and during the race.

    — Members of the technical panel, in particular Professor Pat Wheeler from the School of Electrical Engineering of Nottingham University, are using TTXGP as a module for their final year students.

    — Entrants to TTXGP were from a mixed background—from larger companies to one man bands. The common theme was to drive technology forward—to take motorsports to the next generation.

    — TTXGP has just announced its UK series of four events at major circuits for 2010. It has also agreed, with the support of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, to run a world championships in 2010.

    — Discussions are in place for an educational programme which would see students "build a bike in the classroom". Designed to inspire the next generation of engineers, it would run as a pilot scheme in two schools with a view to introducing it into the curriculum 2010.

ECONOMY

  1.  Science and engineering contributes 21% to the UK GDP and the turnover of engineering and technology is over £800 billion.[24] Manufacturing contributes £150 billion towards the UK economy employing around 3 million people.[25]

  2.  The Government's low carbon industrial strategy, New Industry, New Jobs[26] launched in July 2009, estimated that the global market for low carbon and environmental goods and services (LCEGS) was already worth £3 trillion in 2007-08.[27] As international action on climate change gathers momentum, this could grow to an estimated £4.3 trillion by 2015.

  3.  The UK low carbon environmental goods and services (LCEGS) market is worth £106 billion and employs 880,000 people directly or through the supply chain. It is estimated that over 1 million people will be employed in the LCEGS sector by the middle of the next decade. These are skilled jobs, with the average market value per employee well above the national average. The UK LCEGS sector is one of the few areas of the economy expected to maintain positive growth rates through the downturn and is expected to grow by over 4% per annum up to 2014-15.

  4.  The strategy states that it is not the intention "to support particular technologies or sectors on principle, but to target areas where Britain has the potential to take a leading global role, and where proportionate government intervention can unlock long-term competitive potential for British based firms". This is not a policy which can encourage innovation amongst SMEs which form the bedrock of any economic recovery.

EDUCATION

  5.  A detailed study of the costs associated with engineering degrees was commissioned by the Engineering Technology Board (ETB) and the Engineering Professors' Council (EPC)[28] which found that engineering departments were operating with shortfalls in funding of between 15% and 41%. This is an imbalance which needs to be redressed if we are to equip ourselves with the technically qualified people to meet demand.

  6.  Student fees for degree programmes in the UK can also discourage students from pursuing the longer programmes that lead to professional qualification. For example, Chartered Engineers need to have an accredited Masters level which entails four years of study. This is consistent with EU Directive 2005/36 which specifies a minimum time of higher education study for Level E professionals. Financial support for year four of study would make this a more attractive proposition for students.

  7.  Career guidance needs to be much more focused on encouraging young people to pursue careers in science, engineering and technology. At GCSE level, in 2008, 50% of 16 year olds left school with no science-based qualification. Because of the structure of the curriculum and/or facilities, many schools can only offer a "general" science course with no separate studies in physics, chemistry or biology. Engineering Diplomas are not being marketed correctly to encourage young people to take them up; they are seen as a "second best" option rather than as a real practical alternative to obtain the skills relevant to today's job market.

  8.  Programmes such as the Learning Grid and Formula 1 are already successfully operating in schools and whilst these are to be commended they are not succeeding in influencing teenagers sufficiently when they are considering their career path.

  9.  Initiatives such as TTXGP "Build a bike" programme can add another dimension of excitement in the classroom which can help rekindle interest in the STEM subjects.

IMAGE

  10.  There is a fundamental and pressing need to change the image of engineering and manufacturing from the "hard hat and spanners" portrayal to that of the modern day professional.

  11.  A concerted campaign needs to be developed to raise the profile of the industry to challenge and change public perceptions of the sector to ensure that resources, in terms of expertise, are available to be successful in new and evolving markets.

EMISSION CONTROL

  12.  The Climate Change Committee has said (9 September 2009) that households and motorists have to reduce emissions by 90% to allow air transport to continue and achieve the required fall in emissions by 2050. Radical innovation in engine, airframe and fuel technology is required to reduce aviation emissions in the period to 2050 and a funding source for aviation R&D should be identified as part of a deal.

ELECTRIFICATION OF ROAD TRANSPORT

  13.  The King review[29] proposed that if substantial progress is made in solving electric vehicle technology, an almost complete decarbonisation of road transport is possible by 2050. This depends upon the provision of carbon-neutral electricity through nuclear and renewable power generation.

  14.  Battery technology needs to be developed further before it can be applied to the mass market. Estimates vary from 10 to 20 years as to when this technology could be ready.

  15.  The TTXGP technical panel estimates that because of the demands of entries into the TTXGP, battery technology has advanced significantly, by as much as 40%.

MARINE TRANSPORTATION

  16.  Emissions from marine transportation have slipped into the shadow of the automotive sector. The technology focus on marine propulsion is a fraction of that on its automotive counterpart. This is now changing as water craft are being banned for noise pollution and the regulations for carbon emissions are being looked at by the EU and beyond.

  17.  Pressure is mounting on the UN's International Marine Organisation and the European Union to tighten laws governing ship emissions. The UK-based lobbying group. Campaign for Clean Air, has publicly stated that "it finds it unacceptable that shipping remains one of the most polluting industries in the world" and calls for the UK to take a lead in cleaning up emissions.

  18.  City Hall has said that for the 2012 Olympics it wants much of the "traffic" to be water borne. That is a major step up from the present situation and, if to be successful, needs the involvement of many key influencers from the Port of London Authority to manufacturers. It needs action and, for example, whereas London is talking about having an electric car rental fleet on the streets, Paris is already operating one ... Much of the alternative technologies currently evolving in the automotive industry could be equally well applied to water-based vessels.

20 September 2009






www.berr.gov.uk/files/file50253.pdf

www.epc.ac.uk/uploads/presentation/EPC-ETBreportfinalversion.doc



24   Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman of the Engineering and Technology Board, March 2009. Back

25   John Hutton, Business Secretary, announcing Manufacturing Insight, a new independent body set up by industry and representative bodies in partnership with Government. Back

26   HMG (2009) Building Britain's Future: New Industry, New Jobs, www.berr.gov.uk/files/file51023.pdf Back

27   Innovas (2009) Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services: an industry analysis Back

28   "The Costs of Engineering Degrees", ETB/EPC report Back

29   Julia King (208) The King Review of low-carbon cars. Back


 
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