In all, 15 companies located in Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and the surrounding counties will receive a total of £1.14M from the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, to carry out 11 research and development projects as part of the Motorsport Valley Launchpad competition.
Designed to enable companies within the cluster to collaborate and develop new energy-efficient technologies, the funding will facilitate and accelerate the economic growth of the winning companies and of the cluster as a whole.
Universities and Science Minister David Willetts said: "The UK is literally leading the global race in the motorsport industry, hosting some of the most innovative companies in the world. The Motorsport Valley business cluster is generating a range of exciting products that are revolutionising the sector as well as supporting growth and helping to create jobs. Through our industrial strategy, competitions such as Launchpad will allow businesses to take their technologies to the next level and keep them on top of the podium for years to come."
Among those selected is an engineering company that is developing lightweight fuel cells for automotive vehicles making them more energy efficient and a developer of nanocoatings being used to improve motor vehicle radiator systems by increasing heat transfer, improving cooling, and reducing fouling.
David Bott, Head of Innovation Programmes at the Technology Strategy Board said:
“The companies within this cluster, 95 per cent of which are SMEs, represent some of the best producers of high performance engineering technology the UK has to offer. The motorsport industry is just one where the UK is already known as a leader. Companies such as those selected as part of this Launchpad are continuing to dominate the design, development and manufacture of components and systems used in the majority of the world's motorsport series.
“The Motorsport Valley Launchpad will help to continue this success by providing each company with the necessary support, connections and expert advisors to really drive the commercialisation of their winning innovations.”
A vibrant business community with global sales of £7bn and exports of £4bn, the Motorsport Valley cluster invests more than £1bn annually in RD and is made up of 3,500 businesses. It is led by cluster champion the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA), which helps its members grow their
businesses and acts as the voice of the industry to government and its agencies.
Chris Aylett, Chief Executive of the MIA said:
“This inaugural Launchpad for the UK’s motorsport industry has been a marvellous opportunity for many specialist high performance engineering companies to demonstrate their capabilities in energy efficient solutions. The winners will collaborate with others across the cluster and other sectors to
deliver their work, and attract investment to support their success. The MIA is delighted by the response to this first-ever ‘motorsport cluster’ Launchpad and hope it will be the first of many. We will work alongside the Technology Strategy Board to encourage networking and collaboration to
strengthen the cluster and benefit other sectors too.”
The companies will now also benefit from support to develop their businesses and will be showcased to investors in order to access additional funding to enable them to conduct their RD projects and commercialise the results.
Motorsport Valley is a registered trade mark of the MIA, owned by its members on behalf of the UK industry.