As it bids to stay on top of the latest technologies, Ford has awarded 13 university research programme grants to 12 different universities around the world.
The three-year collaborative research projects vary from testing the properties of thermoplastics modified with nanomaterials to studying the environmental and economic impact of batteries for electric vehicles.
Ford actually has an active portfolio comprising 30 studies in partnership with 26 universities globally. In recent years it has moved away from long term research to highly collaborative projects that focus on innovations with near-term and mid-term potential. It actually reviewed more than 70 project proposals before settling on the 13 it has awarded grants to which include Wayne State University in Detroit; RWTH Aachen University in Aachen, Germany; Stanford University in Palo Alto; and Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
Its collaborations with universities have already reaped rewards in areas such as alternative power systems; environmental issues; materials and structures; powertrains; and manufacturing and quality. For example, in the late 1990s, Ford awarded the University of Illinois a grant to study how to control and reduce diesel emissions and this research was critical in the development of the after-treatment system that is now a part of the 6.7litre power stroke V8 turbocharged diesel engine.
In recent times, Ford has also extended its web globally, forming alliances with several top universities in China and will announce its next round of grant winners in early 2011.
