The impact of new materials on the whole-life cost of railway assets Research Funding: Call for Full Proposals Intent to submit deadline: 16:00, 4 September 2014 Deadline for applications: 16:00, 9 October 2014 Introduction The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Department for Transport (DfT) and Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) have in place a strategic partnership to jointly support high quality research to face some of the most pressing challenges to the rail industry in Great Britain. Under this partnership, funding is available to support cutting-edge, novel academic research on new materials that can reduce the whole-life costs of railway assets. This call contains the following information: •Background •Objectives •Scope •Funding • Assessment Criteria •Eligibility • Application Procedure • Proposal Format • Further Information • Additional Grant Conditions • Call Schedule • Contact details Page 1 RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Telephone: +44 (0)20 3142 5300 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 3142 5663 www.rssb.co.uk Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Ofiice: RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered In England 04655675 Background Innovative solutions to extend asset lifecycles and strengthen them for increased capacity are needed to meet planned increases in railway demand. Novel materials applications could potentially offer a more sustainable and cost effective approach to asset management. The UK rail industry spends billions of pounds annual renewing, installing and maintaining assets. Labour intensive maintenance regimes, ageing assets and increases in traffic and loads from both passenger and freight trains create asset management challenges that are unique to the rail industry. The Rail Technical Strategy 2012 sets out the vision for both infrastructure and rolling stock assets to deliver higher performance and greater reliability for a reduced whole life cost. New materials are recognised as being a contributor towards achievement of this vision1. The Academic Response to the Rail Technical Strategy supports this, for example highlighting the potential for new materials to address longstanding issues at the wheel-rail interface2. The National Infrastructure Plan 20133 sets out the government’s long term strategy for delivering infrastructure improvements in the UK. Long-term investment in railways is at the heart of this growth plan, demonstrated by financial commitments to projects such as Crossrail, the Northern Line Extension to Battersea and the introduction of High Speed 2. For fixed infrastructure assets total annual expenditure for asset enhancement, maintenance and renewal amount to approximately £4.8 billion pounds. This includes asset replacement and enhancement of tracks, signalling, power, telecom and station assets. The acquisition of new trains for new lines, as well as increases to existing fleets, will lead to the introduction of over 13,000 new electric vehicles over the next 30 years. Plans to increase the capacity of the railway will result not only in the purchase and installation of new assets, but in the increased usage and wear of existing assets. Components will need to be reliable and maintainable, while minimising whole life costs. RTS 2.55 highlights the role of new materials in infrastructure assets. RTS 1.106 states one example of how new materials could affect rolling stock design 2 The Academic response to the Rail Technical Strategy 2012, published November 2013 by RRUKA. 3 National Infrastructure Plan 2013, published December 2013 by HM Treasury 1 Page 2 RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Telephone: +44 (0)20 3142 5300 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 3142 5663 www.rssb.co.uk Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Ofiice: RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered In England 04655675 The Technology Strategy Board Enabling Technologies Strategy4 highlights advanced materials are one of the four enabling technologies that has a key role to play in helping to address some of the high level challenges facing this country’s transport industry. There have been considerable advancements in materials science in the past decade that have not been fully considered by the rail industry. Examples of materials that could be used to make lighter, stronger, more intelligent railway assets include, but are not limited to: • • • • • Materials for lighter and stronger structures and components Materials with improved mechanical properties (e.g. resistance against corrosion, no need for paint, lightness, strength, durability) Self-healing materials for more durable rail assets Self-monitoring materials for optimised maintenance Materials for energy storage and energy harvesting EPSRC, DfT and RSSB welcome innovative solutions to tackle these problems from academic parties, including those not traditionally associated with rail research. Objectives The objective of this call is to establish a number of cross-disciplinary consortia to conduct research into novel applications for materials to reduce whole life asset costs. The application of new materials could benefit railway assets in the following areas: • Capital cost of assets – where new materials achieve lower costs by increased functionality at comparable cost or same functionality at lower cost • Renewal of assets – where new materials positively impact frequency and/or required extent of renewal of assets changes, lowering the overall cost • Maintenance of assets – where new materials enable to reduce the frequency or costs of inspection and maintenance activities. • Improved resilience and performance – where new materials deliver benefits to system performance, particularly increase reliability, which outweighs any increase in costs. • The exploitation of materials with non-standard properties. Research proposals could focus on one ore more of these areas. Proposals may also encompass other approaches not listed above. This will require the formation of well managed, cohesive and sustainable research teams to develop solutions. Applicant teams should present a research vision and management structure that will maximise the impact of their solutions. 4 TSB Enabling technologies - Strategy 2012-15, published November 2012 by The Technology Strategy Board. Page 3 RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Telephone: +44 (0)20 3142 5300 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 3142 5663 www.rssb.co.uk Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Ofiice: RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered In England 04655675 Scope of the Call Proposals for research projects should be primarily concerned with the railway engineering research challenges and look to address areas raised within the background and objectives sections. The technology-based content of the projects and their outputs are required to sit within Technology Readiness Level 1-3 (basic principles; technology concepts; analytical studies), commensurate with the role of the Research Councils in funding technology development. Funding Up to £2 million has been earmarked for this targeted activity. It is anticipated that we will fund 3 to 4 proposals (in the region of £500-800k). Assessment Criteria EPSRC reserves the right to reject proposals, without reference to peer review, which are deemed to fall outside the remit of this call. You are advised to contact EPSRC if you are unsure whether your proposal would be suitable for this call. Proposals will be assessed through external peer review followed by a panel meeting and conducted using the following criteria: • Quality of research, including ◦ research vision, ambition and adventure ◦ novelty, relationship to the context, and timeliness of proposed research ◦ appropriateness of proposed technical approach and likelihood of success • Relevance to the objectives of the call of the research, in particular ◦ Focus on the applications of new materials to reduce whole life costs of railway assets. ◦ level of engagement with appropriate parts of the rail industry • Potential research impact, including ◦ relevance and appropriateness of any beneficiaries or collaborators ◦ plans for dissemination and knowledge exchange ◦ approach to achieving successful take-up of the outputs by the rail industry • Ability of applicant team to deliver the research, including ◦ track record of lead investigators ◦ balance of skills of the project team • Resources and management, including ◦ effectiveness of planning and resource management strategy ◦ appropriateness of resources requested • Cost Effectiveness The assessment panel will be made up of approximately 50% academic and 50% rail industry representatives. Page 4 RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Telephone: +44 (0)20 3142 5300 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 3142 5663 www.rssb.co.uk Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Ofiice: RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered In England 04655675 Eligibility For information on the eligibility of organisations and individuals to receive EPSRC funding, see the EPSRC Funding Guide: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/files/funding/how-to-apply/fundingroutes/fundingguide/ As this call is a targeted funding opportunity provided by EPSRC, higher education institutions, and some research council institutes and independent research organisations are eligible to apply. A list of eligible organisations to apply to EPSRC is provided at: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/funding/eligibilityforrcs/ Application Procedure All applications will need to complete an intent to submit web form found on the call page http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/newmaterials/ by 16:00 on 4 September 2014. Full submissions that have not submitted an intent to submit form will be rejected. Assessment will follow a standard full proposal format. Full proposals should be submitted by the indicated deadline and will be assessed via external peer review followed by a panel meeting comprised of both Academic and Industry members. Submitting application You should prepare and submit your proposal using the Research Councils’ Joint electronic Submission (Je-S) System (https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/). When adding a new proposal, you should select: • • • • Council ‘EPSRC’ Document type ‘Standard Proposal’ Scheme ‘Standard’ On the Project Details page you should select the ‘New Materials for Rail’ call. Note that clicking ‘submit document’ on your proposal form in Je-S initially submits the proposal to your host organisation’s administration, not to EPSRC. Please allow sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process between submitting your proposal to them and the call closing date. EPSRC must receive your application by 16:00 on 9 October 2014. Page 5 RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Telephone: +44 (0)20 3142 5300 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 3142 5663 www.rssb.co.uk Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Ofiice: RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered In England 04655675 Guidance on the types of support that may be sought and advice on the completion of the research proposal forms are given on the EPSRC website (http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/guidance/) which should be consulted when preparing all proposals. Proposal Format The following documents should be submitted along with the standard Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) form: 1 Case for support The case for support should be up to 8 pages in total, to include: • Two-page track record, which should detail the relevant expertise that each investigator will bring to the research programme. For the Principal Investigator, there should be evidence of leadership and management skills. • Maximum six-page description of the proposed programme of research, including a clear statement of the research vision and methodology to achieve that vision, plans for management of the consortia and project resources. 2 Pathways to Impact Up to two pages, this document should describe who may benefit from the research, how they may benefit and what will be done to make sure they have the opportunity to benefit, including a high-level identification of the next steps envisaged once the project is successfully completed. Projects that demonstrate that they meet the required level of development for trials and demonstrations may be eligible for further funding through Future Railways. 3 National Importance Describe the extent to which, over the long term, the research proposed will contribute towards the scope of the call. Also consider other areas to which the proposed work will contribute and how it will do this. Further guidance on the National Importance section can be found at: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/guidance/preparing/Pages/ includingnationalimportance.aspx 4 Justification of Resources Applications must include a breakdown of costing (including staff costs, travel, subsistence and consumables; any in-kind or cash contributions from partners or collaborators should also be noted), at 80% FEC. A two page justification of resources should be provided, giving a narrative description of the need for the resources requested. Page 6 RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Telephone: +44 (0)20 3142 5300 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 3142 5663 www.rssb.co.uk Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Ofiice: RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered In England 04655675 5 Work plan This should be a Gantt chart for the whole time of the project including appropriate milestones, and should and refer to the management strategy to be used to guide the direction of the research. Further Information We will be holding an information day on Thursday 11 September at the RSSB offices in Islington, London, for those interested in responding to this call. The open day will run from 12:00 till 15:30 and will include: • • • • Background information Vision and objectives of the call Eligibility and funding restrictions Assessment criteria The event will give the opportunity to build links with the researchers in different disciplines in order to form new research consortia. There will be an opportunity to ask any questions you might have about this activity. If you would like to attend please register your interest by emailing Sharon.Odetunde@rssb.co.uk by 17:00 on 29 August 2014 at the latest. We would particularly like to encourage potential applicants with non-rail backgrounds to attend this meeting. Whilst it is strongly advised that those wishing to apply to the call attend the information day, it is not a formal requirement for applicants. Further details of this event will be provided to registered attendees in due course. Call Schedule Activity Date Intent to submit 16:00 on 4 September 2014 Call closes 16:00 on 9 October 2014 Sift Panel Week commencing 9 February 2015 Funding Decision Week commencing 16 February 2015 Page 7 RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Telephone: +44 (0)20 3142 5300 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 3142 5663 www.rssb.co.uk Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Ofiice: RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered In England 04655675 Contact Details If you have any questions regarding the call then please contact either; Alex Broomsgrove Engineering Portfolio Manager, EPSRC Phone: 01793 444223 Email: Alexander.Broomsgrove@epsrc.ac.uk or Sharon Odetunde Senior Partnership Development Manager, RSSB Email: Sharon.odetunde@rssb.co.uk If you experience difficulties using Je-S or have questions regarding its use, please contact the helpdesk on: Email: JeSHelp@rcuk.ac.uk Phone: +44 (0) 1793 44 4164 Please contact your organisation’s research office for help with the application process. Allow enough time before the closing date for your organisation’s submission process. Page 8 RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Telephone: +44 (0)20 3142 5300 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 3142 5663 www.rssb.co.uk Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Ofiice: RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered In England 04655675