Catapults, where businesses, scientists and engineers work side by side to bring great ideas closer to market, are already creating sound partnerships in their sectors and attracting new investments, and engaging with thousands of businesses, both large and small.
The Catapult network will benefit from a £74m investment, it was announced today.
In his Budget speech today George Osborne said:
“If Britain isn’t leading the world in science and technology and engineering, then we are condemning our country to fall behind.
“So we will establish new centres for doctoral training, for Cell Therapy and for Graphene – a great British discovery that we should break the habit of a lifetime with and commercially develop in Britain.”
£55m will be invested over five years from 2014/15 to create a ‘first of its kind in the UK' Cell Therapy Manufacturing Centre.
This large-scale manufacturing facility will help anchor the manufacture of new cell-based therapeutic products in the UK and attract inward investment in this growing sector. It will be run by the Cell Therapy Catapult.
£14m will be invested in a Graphene Applications Innovation Centre.
This new facility will enable UK SMEs working on graphene applications to access state-of-the-art equipment to develop their products and open up the potential to secure a significant part of the future market in this revolutionary technology.
The new centre will be linked with the Centre for Process Innovation, which is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.
£5m will be invested in the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre in Manchester.
Catapult centres, where ideas are transferred into new products and services to generate economic growth, complement existing research and development programmes established by the Technology Strategy Board.
Two new Catapults - Energy Systems and Precision Medicine - are due to open in 2015.
“Today's announcement is a positive endorsement from government of the rapid progress Catapults are making in helping UK businesses accelerate the commercialisation of new and innovative technologies,” said Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the
Technology Strategy Board.
"This investment will enhance the capabilities of the Catapult network and plug a gap in UK manufacturing capability in these two important areas.”