As part of this year's budget, the Catapult network will benefit from a £74m investment to focus on graphene applications and cell therapy manufacturing.
£55m will be invested over five years from 2014/15 to create a ‘first of its kind in the UK' Cell Therapy Manufacturing Centre, with a further £19m will be invested over five years from 2014/15 to exploit potential applications of Graphene. Of this £19m, £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.
Graphene is of key interest to the water sector – one of its potential applications is its use in the desalination of sea water to meet growing global demand for potable water and water for use in agriculture. Last year US-based Lockheed Martin was awarded a patent for its Perforene™ material, a molecular filtration solution which works by removing sodium, chlorine and other ions from sea water and other sources. The patent is seen as a further step on the path to developing affordable water desalination.
Commenting on the funding, the Technology Strategy Board's chief executive, Iain Gray, said:
"This investment will enhance the capabilities of the Catapult network and plug a gap in UK manufacturing capability in these two important areas.”
"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."
The multi-million pound Budget investment comes after the announcement this week that Hermann Hauser is to work alongside the Technology Strategy Board and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills on a review that will look at how to build on the progress already made and maximise the benefits from any possible expansion of the Catapult network, as part of the Science and Innovation Strategy of the 2014 Autumn Statement.
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