Long-time NFPA members are familiar with the CCEFP -- the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power. Headquartered at the University of Minnesota, this academic/industry research consortium was launched with a multi-million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and continues to positively impact the development of new fluid power technologies and build the careers of academic researchers and educators in fluid power.
Now, the CCEFP is organizing an effort to secure another multi-million dollar grant from the NSF to launch a new academic/industry research coalition -- the COVPI, or the Center for Off-Highway Vehicle Powertrain Innovation.
I attended a planning workshop for this new Center on November 5-6, along with representatives from 40 other industry players in this space. At the workshop we reviewed the planned mission and vision for the COVPI, as well as evaluated more than 16 proposed projects that could be funded through it.
My favorite projects dealt with novel fluid power component or system designs that sought to increase the efficiency and/or productivity of fluid power on off-highway machines. But the scope of proposals reflected the overall mandate of the new Center, which includes energy use across the entire off-highway vehicle powertrain, from prime mover to actuated work functions. In our increasingly hybridized environment, there is so much opportunity to optimize systems across these machines.
Should the COVPI win its funding from the NSF, there will be opportunities for NFPA members to join the consortium, where their membership dollars can be leveraged seven-fold to drive these innovations. They would also get the ability to decide on and drive the research projects themselves, and to get access to the intellectual property that is created. It's a model that worked very well in the NSF-funded CCEFP.
There's a lot to describe -- not the least of which would be the university expertise and resources that could be leveraged in the new consortium, with the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University and Carnegie Mellon University serving as the lead institutions.
If you have interest in learning more, please contact me at elanke@nfpa.com.