Innovate 4 Rail

The Innovate 4 Rail project was created to stimulate and support innovation and drive productivity among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire (D2N2) Rail Sector Supply Chains.

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Collaborative expertise

The project was a three year collaboration between the University of DerbyUniversity of Birmingham and the Rail Forum that started in July 2020 and came to an end in June 2023. The project was funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Innovate 4 Rail provided practical support across a range of technologies to develop new products and solutions for the rail industry through supported access to facilities at the Universities of Derby and Birmingham and facilitated themed events / workshops.

Innovate for Rail Statistics

39Local SMEs supported with individual interventions
19R&D and Innovation projects were completed
5New product developments with SMEs

Advanced Composites Research Centre

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Railway track

Sustainable fuels for rail freight

The ground-breaking HyDEX project is responding to calls from the rail freight industry to accelerate the transition to net zero.

Find out more about the collaboration with the University of NottinghamFind out more about the collaboration with the University of Nottingham
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Business events

Advance your knowledge and grow your network: these are our upcoming events for business people, most of which are free to attend. They include conferences and networking events, business advice workshops, and public lectures.

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Supporting Derby's Rail Sector

The University of Derby has been playing its part in supporting a dynamic rail cluster in the city, through R&D collaborations with rail companies, a new research centre specialising in rail, knowledge exchange collaborations with other universities and our engagement with members of the Rail Forum.

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For more information

For further information on other support programmes at the University of Derby please contact our Business Gateway.

E: businessgateway@derby.ac.uk

T: 0800 001 5500