SMEs Throughout The UK To Obtain £75m For R&D I Startups.co.uk 

Regional clusters of innovation throughout the UK are to share £75m of funding to spice up native companies and economies.

Launchpads is a programme that helps rising clusters of SMEs by offering every Launchpad with as much as £7.5m from Innovate UK to fund tasks led by native companies.

Launchpads focus their assist in particular areas of the UK with robust innovation capabilities. This strategy encourages shut collaboration with native leaders and gives tailor-made assist – together with funding for analysis and growth, entry to specialised innovation sources, and alternatives for SMEs to attach, share concepts and take part in joint ventures.

Following pilots in Liverpool and Teesside launched earlier this yr, an additional eight Launchpads will now be rolled out throughout the UK. These initiatives will construct on current clusters of high-tech innovation in every area, resembling renewable power in South West Wales, agritech in East Anglia and digital well being in Yorkshire.  

The success of the programme is already displaying – Teesside College, for instance, has taken the lead in net-zero analysis tasks, investing in initiatives like waste diversion applied sciences to cut back landfill waste and defend the setting. 

Elsewhere, funding for Liverpool Metropolis Area is backing 23 inexperienced tasks, together with an eco-friendly concrete block to assist defend coastal communities towards local weather change-related flooding – and has additionally supported dozens of jobs.

“The UK science, analysis and innovation economic system isn’t just the ‘golden triangle’ of Cambridge-Oxford-London. It’s all across the UK,” says George Freeman MP, minister of state on the division for science, innovation and expertise.

“From Glasgow satellite tv for pc manufacturing to Manchester supplies, Teesside hydrogen and Liverpool life sciences, alongside as many as 25 different globally recognised hubs across the UK, we now have world class R&D – and supporting these regional clusters of world class innovation is central to our plan to make the UK an ‘Innovation Nation’.

The eight new clusters are:

• Internet Zero Business Launchpad: Positioned in South West Wales, this Launchpad is devoted to sustainable options in net-zero industrial emissions;
• Digital Applied sciences Launchpad: In North East England, this Launchpad will concentrate on digital applied sciences utilized into quick development and rising markets;
• Well being Applied sciences Launchpad: Based mostly in West Yorkshire, this Launchpad is devoted to pioneering breakthroughs in applied sciences that may enhance healthcare outcomes;
• Agritech and Meals Tech Launchpad: In Jap England, this Launchpad will discover agritech and meals expertise, driving innovation in meals manufacturing and sustainability;
• Marine and Maritime Launchpad: Positioned within the South West, this Launchpad will assist initiatives in marine and maritime industries, focussing on development and sustainability on this sector;
• Bio-based Manufacturing Launchpad: Out of Scotland, this Launchpad will drive improvements in bio-based manufacturing, selling sustainable manufacturing strategies;
• Immersive and Artistic Industries Launchpad: In Coventry and Warwickshire within the West Midlands, this Launchpad will concentrate on applied sciences for the artistic industries and immersive experiences;
• Life and Well being Sciences Launchpad: In Northern Eire, this Launchpad is devoted to the development of healthcare options and medical breakthroughs.

The funding allocation follows a aggressive bidding course of involving greater than 40 proposals from throughout the UK put ahead by native leaders and evaluated by a panel of Innovate UK administrators, sector specialists and lecturers.

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