Award winning eco innovation centre wins funding for 50 low-carbon research collaborations between north west universities and businesses
The Centre for Global Eco-innovation (CGE), at Lancaster University will enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria and Liverpool City Region to access research expertise worth up to £100,000 per project.
The initiative will fund 52 long term research projects with SMEs that help develop innovative products, services or processes with a lower carbon footprint. Each project will be supported by high caliber PhD and Masters researchers to work full time with the SMEs on projects of up to three years duration.
Research areas include: energy efficiency, renewable energy, the efficient use of water, reducing waste and the sustainable use of our natural assets such as carbon capture. The researchers will be supervised jointly by a leading academic and a representative from the SME.
There are also further opportunities for business-academia engagement through workshops shorter dissertation projects and placement internships.
“On offer is over 115 years of research opportunities for local businesses, enabling them to develop their business and make the transition to a lower carbon economy,” said Dr Andy Pickard, manager of the Centre.
“They may have a low carbon research idea they want to develop, but which they don’t have the capacity to do themselves: this gives them the chance to do it.”
The Centre for Global Eco-innovation has just completed a similar three year programme with Liverpool University and Inventya, which created 308 jobs and generated 190 new products and services, winning a business Impact Award and a Green Gown Award for R&D.
The initiative provides access to facilities at Lancaster University for SMEs and also involves the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the Universities of Chester, Cumbria, Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores. Businesses will be linked up with the institution with the most relevant expertise to their support their proposal.
The support for SMEs is “solution driven” rather than “technology led”, so depending on the challenge to be addressed, resource and expertise could be drawn from departments of engineering, environmental science, computing, chemistry, physics, even design or management schools.
“We already have projects covering a variety of subjects,” said Dr Pickard. These include: new ways of dealing with Japanese knotweed, innovative approaches to measuring air quality, insulation in buildings, rewetting of coastal land as a means to store carbon, energy generation from small scale hydro installations.”
“We are looking for north west SMEs who might be interested in doing a project with us and for high calibre researchers who would like to work with a leading research university and a business.”
The initiative is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund. For more information see the CGE website or email Enquiries@cgeinnovation.org