DANISH engineering group Danfoss has secured planning permission from Midlothian Council for a £25 million “Low-Carbon Innovation Center” at Shawfair Business Park, near Edinburgh.
Danfoss said the new, 75,000 sq ft facility would provide a home for teams working on next-generation, climate-friendly technologies in hydraulics, digitalisation and electrification, and would include new manufacturing facilities.
The centre will be fully operational by the end of 2022, Danfoss noted. It said that, at the time of opening, it expects 110 team members to be based at the facility, with 30 of these employees being new hires.
Danfoss added that the centre would have a maximum capacity of around 200. It estimates this will be reached within four years of opening.
The facility will become Danfoss’s UK headquarters for decarbonisation programmes.
The Danish engineering group noted the centre would house Danfoss Editron – Danfoss Power Solutions’ electrification division – and “anchor the activities in the Electric Powertrain Integration for Heavy Commercial Vehicles” programme. It noted that, together with partners Meritor and Electra Commercial Vehicles, Danfoss Editron had secured funding from the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre and Innovate UK to develop a next-generation, zero-emission electric powertrain for commercial vehicles, providing original equipment manufacturers “with an advanced solution designed to meet global carbon dioxide reduction targets”.
The facility will also serve as the centre of excellence for Danfoss’s “digital displacement” technology for various hydraulic pump applications, aimed at improving productivity and control in off-highway machines and in industrial settings, while delivering significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.
Jeff Herrin, Danfoss Power Solutions’ vice-president of global research and development, said: “Danfoss has a long history of bringing innovative solutions to the most challenging problems in the world. Our new [centre] and the game-changing technologies housed within will strengthen our resolve and leadership position by taking real action and bringing together the best technical minds in the world to lead the fight against climate change.”
Danfoss, which notes its “innovative engineering dates back to 1933”, employs around 27,000 people and serves customers in more than 100 countries. It is privately owned, by the founding family.
The Danish engineering group declared the new facility at Shawfair Business Park would be “the first Danfoss building in the world to be operationally carbon-neutral”. It added that this would mark “an important step towards the company’s goal to be a carbon-neutral business by 2030”.
Source: The Herald Scotland