In a soundproof(隔音的) hut on the edge of Oxford Airport, a small metal engine screeches(发出刺耳声) as it works furiously(疯狂地). The micro turbine(微型涡轮) that it is powering, about the size of a coffee tin, is intended eventually to make its way into a new generation of long-range drones(远程无人机) that are helping reshape wars(重塑战争) from Ukraine to the Middle East. It is just one of several ways in which Alloyed, a British startup(初创公司), is trying to make more of(更好地利用) metal. Founded in 2017 by materials engineers(材料工程师) from the University of Oxford(牛津大学), the firm designs entirely new metal alloys to make lighter, stronger fiddly parts(精细零件) for everything from military kit to consumer electronics. It then prints them from powdered metal(金属粉末), layer by layer(逐层), using industrial 3D-printing(3D打印) machines.
在牛津机场边缘的一个隔音棚里，一个小型金属引擎正疯狂地运转着，发出刺耳的声音。它驱动的微型涡轮大约一个咖啡罐大小，最终将用于新一代远程无人机，这些无人机正在帮助从乌克兰到中东的战争重塑形态。这只是英国初创公司Alloyed试图充分利用金属的多种方式之一。该公司由牛津大学材料工程师于2017年创立，设计全新的金属合金，为从军事装备到消费电子产品的各种产品制造更轻、更强、更精细的零件。然后，它使用工业3D打印机器，将金属粉末逐层打印出来。
In a world where might is right(强权即公理) and global supply chains are increasingly fragile, domestic manufacturing(国内制造业) is becoming strategically more important. But Britain, birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, shed(去除，摆脱) much of its industrial muscle(工业实力) quite a while ago. Manufacturing accounts for 9% of GDP, down from 22% in 1990. The island has high electricity prices and too many planning rules. Productivity in manufacturing has flatlined(停滞不前) in the past decade. Alloyed embodies how Britain could carve out a new place(开辟新天地), as a manufacturer of clever products with high added value.
在一个强权即公理、全球供应链日益脆弱的世界里，国内制造业在战略上变得更加重要。但作为工业革命发源地的英国，早已削弱了其工业实力。制造业占GDP的9%，低于1990年的22%。这个岛国电价高企，规划法规过多。制造业生产率在过去十年中停滞不前。Alloyed体现了英国如何能够开辟新天地，成为高附加值智能产品的制造商。
One way is by trying to commercialise(商业化) the country’s first-rate(一流的) science base. Top universities like Oxford increasingly push researchers to become entrepreneurs in addition to(除…之外) scholars; for the purpose of a university’s government funding, one case study(案例研究) proving the real-world impact of research can now be worth the same as(价值等同于) publishing ten academic papers.
一种方式是尝试将该国一流的科学基础商业化。像牛津这样的顶尖大学越来越推动研究人员在成为学者的同时成为企业家；就大学获得政府资助而言，一个证明研究现实影响案例研究的价值现在等同于发表十篇学术论文。