Malaysian Deputy PM launches low carbon research centre

Developing low emission vehicles of the future will be the focus of a major collaboration launched by the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister at Imperial.

The Right Honourable Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, visited Imperial on Wednesday 22 Janaury to help launch a low carbon transport research centre: a collaboration between the College and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), one of Malaysia’s leading universities.

The UTM Centre for Low Carbon Transport will bring together some of UTM and Imperial’s world-class researchers as they develop the next generation of low carbon transport technologies. 

The researchers will work on a range of areas to make cars more efficient, which will include reducing the size of engines to improve efficiency without sacrificing performance. Teams will look at ways of optimising technologies for advanced hybrid and electric vehicles to improve their range. They will also develop new concepts for energy storage and waste energy recovery technologies to make cars lighter, so that they use less fuel and are more sustainable. 

Professor Martinez-Botas demonstrates his team's work to the Deputy Prime Minister and Professor Stirling

The new Centre will strengthen collaborations between UTM academics and will enable some of Malaysia’s very best PhD and postdoctoral students to undertake research at Imperial.

Professor Ricardo Martinez-Botas from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who has championed the establishment of the Centre said: “Vehicles are a major contributor to global warming and energy consumption. Significant CO₂ reductions of around 30 per cent of the current fleet average could be achieved at low cost with technologies such as engine downsizing, light-weighting and selection of smaller vehicles. With the rise of developing countries like China and India their environmental impact is only set to increase. 

“Imperial is a global leader in developing vehicles to make them more efficient, without compromising their performance. The establishment of this new Centre with our partners in Malaysia will help advance our research in this field. It will also enable the training of researchers who will make a difference to the landscape of low carbon transport technologies.”

Professor James Stirling CBE FRS, Provost of Imperial College London, said: “We are honoured to host Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister at Imperial and warmly welcome his government’s support for Malaysian collaboration with the College. 

“Both the UK and Malaysia are committed to using science and innovation to help build low carbon economies, and this new Centre will bolster those efforts.

“This agreement will bring together some of the world’s finest researchers in the field of low carbon transport, as they seek to develop potentially transformational technologies and improve the research base in this crucial area.&