£23m UKRI investment for NWTF

The NWTF has been awarded a £23m UKRI infrastructure investment. The funding will provide world-class facilities and equipment to help maintain the UK’s position as a science superpower in line with the ambitions set out in the government’s Science and Technology Framework.

Funding includes:

£23 million for 11 new wind tunnel facilities, an experimental database and upgrades to existing wind tunnels across the UK’s National Wind Tunnel Facility network. The investment will transform the UK research capability and will address societal and industrial grand challenges including:

• the generation of net zero technologies
• advances in emissions reduction
• future technologies for transport, energy, healthcare and wind engineering.

Fluid dynamics, the study of the movement of liquids and gases, represents a £13.9 billion UK industry, employing more than 45,000 people. Wind tunnels support this industry by replicating real-life conditions in aviation, aerospace, rail, defence, civil engineering and environmental science. The development of NWTF+ will maintain and enhance the UK’s research leadership in this critically important field for engineering and technology.

NWTF+ hub is based at Imperial College London. The nodes are based at:

• University of Bristol
• University of Birmingham
• City, University of London
• Cranfield University
• University of Cambridge
• University of Glasgow
• Imperial College London
• The University of Manchester
• University of Liverpool
• Loughborough University
• University of Oxford
• University of Southampton
• University of Surrey