An innovative hackathon involving Siemens鈥� engineers and digital听tools听has听helped hydrogen car maker听Riversimple听reduce the size of its future hydrogen car factory by 20%.听
The 48-hour virtual sprint leveraged听Siemens听expertise in planning听and simulation software for manufacturing operations and factory simulation software to design the new production facility due to open in Wales in 2024.听
Young engineering talent from Siemens collaborated online to redesign听the factory layout for assembly, the levels of automation, number of production staff and shifts required for 24-7 production, and energy efficiency.听
Siemens鈥� PLM software Plant Simulation was used to help model, simulate,听analyse, visualise and optimise production systems and processes including the flow of materials and logistic operations.听
As a result, the engineers were able to reduce its original proposals听for a 150,000 sq. ft factory by 20% and accelerate Powys-based听Riversimple鈥檚听ambition to start full production of its Rasa hydrogen electric vehicle in three years, with a capacity of 5,000 vehicles per year.听
Chris听Foxall, Financial Director at听Riversimple, said: 鈥淲hen we announced our long-term strategic partnership with Siemens at the start of the year, we were optimistic of the possibilities that our collaboration could bring in terms of supporting our preparations听for full-scale manufacture.听
“Through听the innovative work of the hackathon and leveraging Siemens鈥� expertise in technology software and plant simulation, driven by its engineering talent, we have been able to reduce the size of the proposed factory by 20%, saving significant cost from the outset,听and supporting our ambitions for environmental sustainability.听
“It’s听a fantastic outcome from our new partnership, with much more to come as we pursue our goal of creating the world鈥檚 most sustainable car factory to build the cars of the future, powered by hydrogen.鈥�听
The听hackathon brought together a mixture of experienced Siemens engineers and talent, facilitated by Dave Sutcliffe, Head of Automotive, Olivia Kelly, Software听Engineer, and Elliot Bloor, a Higher Industrial Engineering听Apprentice, who were both involved in a hackathon for the record-breaking ventilator challenge听last year which accelerated and refined the production of 13,500 ventilators in just 12 weeks.听
Olivia said: 鈥淗ackathons are proving to be an incredible method of fast-tracking ideas and turning听them into solutions. It was a fantastic experience being part of the听Riversimple听hackathon and coming up with some game-changing solutions with an emphasis on sustainability.鈥�听
Hackathon participants were split into three teams focused on three听areas: the composite manufacturing process; assembly and end of line; and energy.听
Dan Burbridge, Digitalisation听Specialist, led听the composites manufacturing team working alongside Aamir Adam, Field Service for Automation, Marie Aylward, Graduate听Electrical Engineer, and Ben Parry, Digital Technologies听Apprentice.听
Dan said: 鈥淥ur key focus was on optimising production parameters听such as floor space, staffing levels, number of shifts, and the level of automation needed for the carbon fibre monocoque chassis assembly.听听
鈥淯sing Plant听Simulation听we were able to create a digital twin of听the production process and test ideas. As a result, we were able to free up floor space and reduce the size of the factory.鈥�听
Fergus Sykes, Automation Specialist, led the assembly team which听featured Nathaniel Fernandes, Graduate Engineer, Safia Patel, Graduate Engineer, and Ronan Goodman, Engineering Apprentice.听
Fergus said: 鈥淥ur main challenge was on supercapacitor assembly,听so safety was paramount.听听
鈥淥ur proposals included automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and assisted听lifting equipment for better output of the system, the birthing of the tank, and identifying required parts.听听
鈥淲e were also able to use simulation to reduce the number of operators听and stations required from 19 to five while maintaining the same level of production.鈥�听
Harry Foxton, Energy Engineer Apprentice, led the team focused on听energy working alongside Natalie听Gristwood, Industrial Security Engineer, and Chris Sims, Apprentice Design Engineer.听
Harry said: 鈥淏y understanding what kind of generation technologies听and manpower would be needed and how that would be distributed around the plant we were able to simulate the energy flows and propose the energy solutions that would support听Riversimple鈥檚听sustainability goals.鈥�听
The hackathon results were presented to key stakeholders at Siemens听UK,听Riversimple听and the Welsh government.听
Reflecting on the achievement of the hackathon, Brian Holliday,听Managing Director, Digital Industries, Siemens UK and Ireland, said: 鈥淭he hackathon was a monumental exercise that resulted in a practical design for a future factory which will produce the cars of the future.听
鈥淚 am extremely proud of our team of engineers, including many apprentices听and graduates at the start of their careers. Once again, we set a significant challenge to use brainstorming and development to accelerate ideas into real-life solutions, and once again they have come up trumps, demonstrating the power of collaboration and听digital enterprise tools.鈥�听