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Over £400 million of funding to back cutting-edge R&D
projects across the UK - creating thousands of jobs
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Projects to develop autonomous and electric vehicles in
South Wales and zero-emissions tech in Northern Ireland set to
benefit
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Funding marks the latest step towards reaching the
Government’s target to invest 2.4% of GDP in UK research and
development
Seven major research and innovation projects across the UK
have today (Friday 26 June) received over £400million in
government and industry funding.
Businesses and universities in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast,
Cardiff, Bristol, Liverpool and Kent are all set to benefit,
ensuring projects such as zero-emissions tech for maritime
vessels, smart-packaging to cut food waste, and new health
products to combat infections get the investment they need to
take-off.
Each programme will deliver long-term economic benefits in
every part of the United Kingdom, creating thousands of jobs, new
skills, and encouraging more competitive and future-proof
industries as our economy recovers from the coronavirus
pandemic.
This latest investment is part of UK Research and
Innovation’s (UKRI) flagship Strength in Places Fund, which aims
to support promising research and innovation projects that will
drive local economic growth. Projects announced today will
receive a share of £186 million of government investment, backed
by a further £230 million from private firms and research
institutions.
Business Secretary said:
“Today’s announcement will ensure some of our country’s
most promising R&D projects get the investment they need to
take off and thrive.
“Working with the private sector our world-class
universities, we’re backing new and innovative ideas that will
create jobs and boost skills in every part of the UK for years to
come.”
The seven projects across the UK receiving funding today
are:
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£44 million for a consortium led by Cardiff
University, to group capabilities in
South Wales developing technologies in areas such as
communications, 5G, innovative vehicles and medical
devices
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£114 million for a consortium led by the Liverpool
School of Tropical Medicine, which is
ensuring innovative, new healthcare products and solutions to
combat human infections are made available in the North West
faster and cheaper. This could help simplify diagnosis, reduce
the need to draw blood and risks from contaminated
needles.
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£55 million for a consortium led by the University
of Edinburgh to fund research to
understand financial behaviours and address financial
challenges such as fair access to credit, property ownership
and saving.
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£46 million for a consortium led by the University
of Bristol to support new digital
formats in filmmaking in the South West including new
experiences across fiction, documentary, games and live
performance.
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£33 million for a consortium led by the National
Institute of Agriculture Botany EMR at East
Malling to increase investment in
emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI),
automation and smart-packaging for food production to help
improve efficiencies and reduce waste
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£61 million for a consortium led by the University
of Glasgow to translate new approaches
in Precision Medicine into real-world settings, which will
allow doctors to select treatments for patients based on a
disease’s genetics.
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£63 million for a consortium led by Artemis
Technologies Ltd to develop
zero-emissions technologies in Northern Ireland for the
introduction of wind-electric hybrids for maritime vessels,
including a new zero emissions water taxi scheme.
The announcement also follows the Government doubling
investment in its
Fast Start Competition to £40 million to
drive forward new technological advances and support the UK’s
next generation of innovative businesses.
