CCEFP Moves Forward on Strategic Priorities

CCEFP Strategy Led by Faculty Experts and Industry Leaders

The Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) continues to make progress toward its three strategic research priorities, those being the creation of fluid power funding opportunities within government agencies, such as off-highway vehicles through the Department of Energy (DOE), human-scale systems through the Department of Defense (DOD), and manufacturing through the National Science Foundation (NSF) and others. These strategic research priorities, led by CCEFP faculty experts, will result in fluid power becoming the technology of choice for power generation, transmission, storage, and motion control.

The CCEFP leadership responsible for each of the priorities includes

Focus Area 1: Off-Highway Vehicles, championed by Professor Zongxuan “Sunny” Sun, University of Minnesota

A task force has been assembled to create a plan to effectively respond to the potential DOE program that fosters collaboration between university and industry researchers to develop new energy-saving technologies for fluid power and off-road vehicles.

Focus Area 2: Human-Scale Systems, championed by Professor Eric J. Barth, Vanderbilt University

Efforts include responding to the DOD Robots in Manufacturing Environments (RIME) call for proposals through participation in the Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Institute.

Focus Area 3: Fluid Power Manufacturing, championed by Professor Tequila A.L. Harris, Georgia Institute of Technology

Based on National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and NSF-funded fluid power road-mapping activities lead by CCEFP and NFPA, a final fluid power manufacturing research strategy will be presented at the co-located IFPE & CONEXPO-CON/AGG shows in March 2017. The federal government has extensive opportunities for funding in the area of manufacturing. It is the goal of CCEFP to answer the appropriate requests for proposals with compelling solutions to fluid power manufacturing challenges.

Industry plays a key role in shaping and driving these initiatives forward. Through the Pascal Giving and Recognition Society of the NFPA Education and Technology Foundation, 75 companies are now providing financial support and strategic insight to help ensure both the sustainability of these activities and their relevance to the needs of the fluid power industry.