The Materials Processing Institute (MPI), a research and innovation centre located in the Tees Valley, has continued to strengthen its ties with international steel producers as part of a collaborative £500,000 research project.

It has partnered with the University of Leicester and Cambridge-based TWI Ltd to support NISCO, a joint venture between Hong Kong-listed Fosun International and Chinese state-owned Nanjing Iron and Steel Group that involves the manufacture of ferrous metals.

The project forms part of a £2 million investment by NISCO at the University of Leicester in creating a UK-based steel research project.

The collaboration aims to develop technology that can control the solidification process during the casting of very thick semi-finished steel products, and improve productivity by reducing the segregation and porosity in these materials.

The research project follows a joint call for R&D between Innovate UK and the Jiangsu Science and Technology Department, which forms part of the Jiangsu-UK Industrial Challenge programme (intended to stimulate economic growth in China).

The MPI (www.mpiuk.com) recently welcomed delegates from NISCO (www.niscoinc.com) to its Tees Valley campus for a tour of its facilities and to discuss the research project.

It builds on previous visits and research partnerships with a number of international steel companies, including Thyssen Krupp, British Steel and Liberty House.

Innovate UK, has allocated up to £5 million to fund projects in the programme, with the MPI successful in winning support for the joint development project.

The Jiangsu Science and Technology department is also funding eligible partners from the Jiangsu province, as all projects involved in the programme must involve at least one UK business and one from the province.