THE STEEL frame of the University of Nottingham’s new £13.5 million Power Electronics; Machines and Control (PEMC) research facility is now in place as Woodhead Group progresses with one of its largest builds to date.
Graham Bruce- electronics specialist from Rolls Royce, Dr Paul Taylor- chief advisor from CRRC, Trevor Briggs- design manager from Woodhead Group, Jonathan Blissett- senior power electronics engineer from the University of Nottingham, John Whittam- site engineer from Woodhead Group, Pat Wheeler- head of PEMC group from University of Nottingham, Professor Neil Brown- chief engineer from Cummins Generator Technologies, Omar Jasmin- principal engineer from GE Power, Luke Ingle- assistant quantity surveyor from Woodhead Group, Robert Child- engineering manager from Allied Motion Technologies
After being appointed as the contractor for the new building earlier this year, Woodhead Group has led construction of the University’s entire Research and Innovation Centre for Power Electronics and Machines, which when completed will be home to the PEMC research group.
As the largest-ever contract secured by Woodhead, the research and innovation centre will join a host of their other high-profile collaborations between Woodhead Group and the University, including the BREEAM Excellent rated Ingenuity Lab and the Research Acceleration Demonstration (RAD) building.
The two- storey, 60,000 sq ft PEMC research facility, part-funded by Research England’s UK Research Partnership Investment Fund and the Wolfson Foundation, will be located on the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee campus. Once completed in 2020, the PEMC building will provide office and research accommodation for the world-leading Power Electronics, Machine and Control research group which sits within the faculty of engineering at the university. It will host academic offices, three laboratories for high power, power electronics and drives and will also contain open-plan research space, seminar rooms and exhibition spaces. There will also be a workshop and office space for 144 researchers and PhD students, further supporting the University’s dedication to cutting edge innovation.
Commenting on the progress of the project, Robert Martindale, Project Manager at Woodhead Group said: “We’re very pleased with the progression of the PEMC site. The site team also applaud the relationship with the University team and their assistance whilst working on this demanding project.
“The space is going to create such a great opportunity to grow and expand on some of the world’s leading research and engineering research for the University, and we’re incredibly pleased to be the main contractor working again with the University of Nottingham on such a ground-breaking research facility.
“The University and Woodhead Group have developed a great collaborative relationship over the years. We’re dedicated to upholding its world-class reputation as an innovative leader in its field through the transformation of their campus.”
Richard Wigginton, Head of Capital Projects at the University of Nottingham said, “We are pleased to see this key milestone has been reached, demonstrating the work towards an important facility that will be home to revolutionary research, helping to shape the future of the UK manufacturing industry.”
Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation said, “It is excellent to hear that the steel frame structure is now in place for the Power Electronics, Machines and Control facility. This is a step closer to the development of this research environment which will address the hugely important area of technological advancements in industry and science, and the decarbonisation of energy”.
Working alongside Woodhead Group will be architects Bond Bryan and cost consultants Turner and Townsend. The project is managed by Aecom.
To find out more, contact Woodhead Group at woodhead-group.co.uk or join the conversation @WoodheadGroup.
