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CRP 2nd Annual Strategic Technology Workshop: Mapping Future

Tue, 18 April, 2023

On April 18th 2023, the TWI Core Research Programme (CRP) hosted its 2nd Annual Strategic Technology Mapping Workshop for our Industrial Members, held in Cambridge, UK. The event was attended by over 40 industrial member representatives from all over the world.

The workshop was led by Simon Webster, the Chair of the TWI Research Board, and provided a forum for Members to discuss and share their emerging technological needs on the themes of smart manufacturing, net zero, data and digitalisation, and circular economy. Attendees suggested and prioritised challenges that could be addressed by the CRP in the coming years, enabling TWI’s technology experts to design projects for the CRP’s rolling programme of research and development (R&D).

Willem Maarten, Senior Researcher Materials & Corrosion at Shell said, “It was great to meet the colleagues from TWI and other industries in person today. The workshop provided an opportunity to steer the CRP program in areas relevant to Shell, such as materials for hydrogen infrastructure, carbon capture and storage, and additive manufacturing. The interactive sessions and voting showed that there was a lot of common interest, even across different industries, and I hope that we have been able to set the direction for the 2024 program.”

The results from the workshop will be used to design industry-focused PhD topics at TRLs 1-5, which will be funded by CRP at NSIRC. This will help create and advance knowledge, develop novel techniques, train the next generation of engineers, improve skills and industrial practices in the UK and internationally, and offer long-term and sustainable value to the members.

Technical challenges at TRLs 5-9 will be taken forward into projects to produce industrially-relevant research that our Member companies can use to implement cost-effective solutions, and improve standards, operations, systems and working conditions for engineers and employees.

Tat-Hean Gan, Director of Membership and Innovation at TWI, said, “The CRP’s R&D programme offers Members fundamental knowledge and access to innovative and ready-to-use applied research. We are delighted to host our Members at TWI for the 2nd annual workshop. The positive engagement and active participation by Members is highly appreciated. It was a great opportunity for the Members to come together, share their challenges, provide valuable input, and steer the efforts of TWI’s CRP programme towards addressing industries’ pressing challenges.”

Paul Woollin, Director of Research at TWI, said, “These workshop are beneficial for both TWI and its Members. They provide TWI with insights into the challenges faced by the Members and allow Research Board, on behalf of all Members, to understand the TWI technology that is available to address the industrial needs. This ensures a balance between industry pull and technology push. At TWI, we are always discussing with our Members to co-create solutions to shared industrial challenges via CRP projects, to maximise Member benefit. The outputs from the workshop will be used to structure the 2024 call for proposals and to enable TWI engineers to propose the most appropriate solutions to support our Members.”

To learn about the latest research and development activities at CRP, click here.

For more information please email:


contactus@twi.co.uk