BeLEADFREE

Funder

European Commission
Horizon 2020 Fast Track to Innovation

Total value of project

€3,908,690

Project team

Professor Andrew Cobley, Dr Liang Wu, Dr Latha Krishnan

Collaborators

Daido Industrial Bearings Europe Ltd, UK (Lead); Elsyca NV, Belgium; Fundación TEKNIKER, Spain

Duration of project

01/06/2016 - 31/05/2018

Project overview

'High Strength Bearing for Large-Bore LEAD FREE Engines - BeLEADFREE’ aims to develop and promote the next generation of environmentally-friendly engine bearing products. This two-year project will receive a total funding of approximate €3 million from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme as part of the Fast Track to Innovation pilot.

The BeLEADFREE project will be conducted by a multidisciplinary consortium with two industrial partners, Daido Industrial Bearings Europe Ltd (United Kingdom) and Elsyca NV (Belgium), who will be supported by research partners Fundación Tekniker (Spain) and Coventry University (United Kingdom). The leading organisation, Daido Industrial Bearings Europe, is part of the Daido Metal Co. Ltd. which is the world only plain bearing manufacturer supplying the full range of bearing products to European and global internal combustion engine markets.

It is expected that the successful completion of the project will help generate sales of high value added, low carbon footprint products to supply European and global engine markets while reduce hazardous waste disposal. This would allow the BeLEADFREE Consortium to develop a strong, long term relationship with current and new customers, secure existing jobs and create new, highly skilled employment opportunities in Europe. 

Project objectives

Lead is a heavy metal widely used in bearing materials for large‐bore engines but harmful to human beings and the environment. BeLEADFREE aims to deliver novel Lead‐free bearing materials by adopting innovative design & manufacturing and applying a multidisciplinary approach involving experts with extensive industrial, research and innovation skills.

• Impact statement

  A wide range of dissemination activities, including press releases, participation in events and conferences, workshops to industry etc. were organised during BeLEADFREE project. This included the participation in the EU Industry Day 2018 in Brussels, where the real Lead‐free products and outcomes of the BeLEADFREE action were showcased to legislators, policymakers and press, including the Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska.

• Outputs

  L. Wu and A.J. Cobley, Investigation into the effects of magnetic agitation and pulsed current on the development of Sn–Cu alloy electrodeposits, Thin Solid Films, 683, (2019).

  L. Wu, J.E. Graves, A.J. Cobley, Mechanism for the development of Sn-Cu alloy coatings produced by pulsed current electrodeposition, Mater Lett 217 (2018).