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Executive Summary: Revolutionising Industrial Safety and Efficiency with Electromagnetic Sensor Systems

Institution: University of Manchester

Innovation Focus: Advanced electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensor systems

Sectors Impacted: Energy, Rail, Steel Manufacturing, Food Safety

The Industry Challenge

Across critical industries—nuclear energy, transport infrastructure, steel manufacturing, and food safety—legacy inspection techniques are manual, expensive, and often unreliable. The demand for real-time, high-fidelity, and scalable non-destructive testing solutions is growing rapidly.

Manchester’s Breakthrough

Manchester’s EMI-based NDT innovations—developed with long-term support from RCNDE—answer this need with scalable, high-resolution sensing platforms that outperform traditional methods across complex, high-value applications. EMI sensors use electromagnetic induction principles to detect and characterize materials or objects without direct contact.

Real-World Commercial & Sector Impact

Energy Sector – Safer, Longer Nuclear Reactor Life

  • EDF Energy deployed eddy current sensor technology developed with Manchester across the UK’s fleet of 14 Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs).
  • Enabled non-invasive monitoring of ageing graphite moderator bricks—reducing reliance on destructive sampling.
  • Result: Improved safety cases, helping to extended reactor lifespans, and increased reliability of core condition predictions.

Steel Industry – High-Yield, Low-Waste Production

  • Co-developed EMspec™, the world’s first and only commercial phase transformation monitoring system for hot strip steel.
  • Deployed by Tata Steel, inspecting over tens of million tonnes of strip steel.
  • Benefits: Accelerated product development, improved quality control, with the corresponding  financial gain to the EU steel sector.

Rail Industry – Global Safer Tracks

  • Collaborated with Sperry Rail, the world’s largest rail inspection company.
  • Provided primary research in the development of the company’s advanced sensors for detecting rolling contact fatigue and subsurface defects post-Hatfield rail disaster.
  • Impact: Enhanced track safety, defect prediction, and lower failure rates on high-speed networks.

Food Industry – Smarter Contaminant Detection

  • Partnership with Mettler-Toledo Safeline, a global leader in food safety sensors.
  • Manchester’s multi-frequency signal processing research directly improved metal detection capabilities in high-speed production lines.
  • Result: Enhanced sensitivity, regulatory compliance, and reduced product recall risk, helping the company to win the 2016 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation Category

Commercialisation & IP

  • EMspec™ protected by two international patent families.
  • Licences issued globally across industries.
  • Partnerships with major players: EDF Energy, Tata Steel, Mettler-Toledo, Sperry Rail.
  • Over £5 million in industry research contracts, plus EU and EPSRC project funding.

The Bottom Line

Manchester’s EMI sensor innovations have:

Transformed safety and monitoring in strategic national infrastructure.

Delivered billions in commercial product value and tens of millions in annual industrial savings.

Created a platform for ongoing innovation, industrial deployment, and scalable commercial impact supported by RCNDE’s multi-sector global industry network.

The RCNDE Advantage

RCNDE played a central role by:
  • Facilitating relationships with potential partners through cross-sector events
  • Accelerating translation into industry via collaborative pathways and strategic alignment

Result

Manchester’s EMI sensing technologies have modernised inspection across multiple industries, improving safety and reliability. They have delivered major cost savings, extended asset life, and enhanced product quality.
With RCNDE support, the innovations have achieved strong global commercial impact.

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