The Business Secretary has today (29 March 2018)
announced that, as part of the Industrial
Strategy, 3 projects across the North East of England
have been awarded almost £15 million to help improve local
universities, businesses and entrepreneurs produce new
products and services and bring them to market.
Ensuring the UK is the best place for innovators is at the
heart to the modern Industrial Strategy and key to the
government’s plan of building a Britain fit for the future.
The new investment, part of the £100 million Connecting
Capability Fund, will support a range of activity aimed at
growing the North East economy, creating jobs and
delivering major environmental benefits for the region.
Business Secretary said:
The North East has some of the most innovative people,
businesses and organisations and I am determined to build
on its success.
Improving our ability to bring new innovations and
products to market is crucial to the success of the UK
economy and the new set of projects announced today will
further strengthen the link between our world leading
universities and businesses.
Through our Industrial Strategy we are determined to
improve people’s lives. By increasing investment in
research and development by an extra £7 billion over the
next five years we will ensure the UK remains one of the
best places in the world to innovate, do business and
create the high value, high skilled jobs of the future
ensuring we build a Britain fit for the future.
The new projects announced today include £5 million of
funding for a project led by Durham University which
includes Newcastle University, Northumbria University and
the University of Sunderland to deliver a step change in
commercialising research and drive economic improvement in
support of the North East’s technology and industrial
sectors. Called Northern Accelerator, the project will
build on an existing project of the same name and establish
a seed capital investment fund to help turn concepts into
new businesses or products.
The bioeconomy is worth over £36 billion to the UK and is
one of the key growth areas for the economies. To take
advantage of the growing sector, £5 million is being
invested to build the bioeconomy sector across the Tees
Valley, Yorkshire and Humberside.
In collaboration with regional industry, Local Enterprise
Partnerships and the wider community, Teesside University
will work with the University of York and the University of
Hull to deliver projects focused upon 3 areas: transforming
bio-based waste into new products; converting industrial
sites by re-purposing them for bio-based manufacturing and
growing the productivity of the region’s bioeconomy as a
whole by bringing together research and commercialisation
capabilities within the three universities. The new
investment is expected to grow the region’s economy, create
new jobs and have major environmental benefits.
David Sweeney, Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange
at HEFCE and Executive Chair Designate of Research England,
said:
Today’s announcement is a first for Research England,
which comes into existence on 1 April. These projects
exemplify our aims - to work in partnership with
universities, support innovations and deliver benefits
for the economy and local communities.
