EXPERTS at Huddersfield University have teamed up with researchers in India on a project to make engine oils more efficient.

Despite being more than 4,000 miles apart, they have embarked on a joint project to develop additives to engine oils which could bring big environmental benefits.

The additives – made from synthetic materials – would coat engine components, reducing friction, prolonging engine life and cutting fuel consumption.

The two-year project has attracted funding from the UK Indian Educational Research Initiative – formed in 2006 by then Prime Minister Tony Blair to further educational links between Britain and India.

A link has been forged between Huddersfield University’s departments of automotive engineering and chemical and biological sciences and the Indian Institute of Petroleum.

The institute has 100 scientists based at Dehadrun in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Earlier this summer, Dr John Fieldstone, Dr Rakesh Mishra and Prof Rob Brown made their first planning visit to the IIP.

Indian scientists will pay a return visit in the autumn when they will tour the university’s world-class facilities, such as its automotive laboratory.

A spokesman for the university said: “The twin results of this project should be reduced fuel consumption and increased engine life, both of which would lead to significant environmental benefits”.