Accu helps student engineers achieve lift off!

Project Sunride from the University of Sheffield won the best liquid oxygen bi-propellant engine prize


Huddersfield-based Accu, a precision engineering component distributor, has demonstrated its commitment to STEM (science, technology engineering and mathematics) by sponsoring three successful student teams, in the Race2Space Rocketry competition, a national propulsion event and education initiative designed to boost the UK space sector.

As part of its sponsorship, Accu provided £1,550 worth of high-quality components to Sheffield Hallam University, the University of Sheffield and Cardiff University’s rocket teams, which the students used in the creation of their rocket engines.

Matt Ogden, communications and partnerships manager at Accu, explained: “We are delighted to be supporting these university teams in advancing their knowledge and skills around rocketry. It really is rewarding to see the unbelievable talents of their student engineers who are gaining new skills and expertise in designing and building rocket engines.”

Hallam Rocketry (pictured left), the team from Sheffield Hallam University, won the award for ‘Best Newcomer’. Although only its first year taking part in the competition, the team managed to build and test one of the highest performing and most reliable bi-propellant rocket engines.

Ben Imber, president of SHUROC (Sheffield Hallam University’s rocket team) said: “Winning the ‘Best Newcomer’ award at a major propulsion competition like Race2Space honestly means the world to us. Everyone worked incredibly hard throughout the year, and we are proud of what we have accomplished with no prior rocketry experience. Trying to find sponsors while balancing the technical work of the project alongside university work and job-hunting was challenging. However, Accu always supported and encouraged us from day one, by giving us the resources and flexibility to acquire crucial components for our engine and our rocket."

Hallam Rocketry developed a 2kN liquid rocket engine, which completed two successful hot-fire tests. It proved to be one of the most reliable and efficient engines, finishing joint second in the Nitrous bi-propellant category. The second Accu-sponsored team was Project Sunride from the University of Sheffield. The team won the prize for best Liquid Oxygen bi-propellant engine, as a result of the team firing the rocket engine with the highest specific impulse and the highest thrust liquid oxygen engine in the competition.

Pushing boundaries
Nathan Westwick from Project Sunride said: “Accu’s bolts gave us the confidence to push boundaries, securing our rocket to the test stand under 6.1kN of thrust and holding back 43 bar of chamber pressure during a hot fire test. Accu's short delivery times and huge range of available components have allowed us, as a team, to build this engine in record time, adapting to the changing requirements when a project goes from CAD into the real world. Their support has allowed us to claim the highest ISP record on this engine, and given us the opportunity to claim the best-performing liquid oxygen bi-propellent prize for 2025. We are very grateful to Accu for its support on this project."

In addition, Accu sponsored the winning hybrid team Cardiff Rocket Labs from Cardiff University which was competing for the first time (pictured right). The team impressed the judges with its high-performing hybrid rocket engine.

Yusif Algurair, founder and president of Cardiff Rocket Labs, said: "We are all really delighted to win best Hybrid Rocket Engine. As a result of the win, we have been given a free hot-fire day to test another hybrid within the next year, this will mean we are able to use even more high-specification components from Accu on this one.

“We are also planning to make a liquid bi-prop engine for Race2Space. Using Accu’s online ordering platform made it very easy for us to find exactly what we were looking for and also to have it delivered in large quantities, speed is a game changer. It was crucial that the Accu bolts used on the engine worked for our multiple hot fires and they performed perfectly.”

Accu supplied components including cap head screws, countersunk screws, hex bolts, grub screws, nyloc nuts, hex nuts, washers and cable ties, which were essential in helping these teams to bring their rocket engineering visions to life. As well as its involvement in Race2Space, Accu recently sponsored two teams at the FIRST Tech Challenge UK National Championships. The company also works with a number of student robotics clubs locally to design their own robots and compete against its in-house engineers, offering students a valuable hands-on experience with CAD, additive manufacturing and basic mechanical design.

Earlier this year, Accu took part in the Makers Central event at the NEC, Birmingham, alongside Kids Invent Stuff, whose channel is dedicated to crazy inventions and bringing design concept ideas from 4 to 11 year olds to life. Accu believes that by equipping students with professional-grade components and real-world experience, they are helping the next generation of engineers and innovators to explore creativity, talent and STEM-related careers.