http://www.newenergyworldnetwork.com/renewable-energy-news/by-technology/energy-efficiency-by-technology-renewable-energy-news/uk-technology-strategy-board-finances-energy-and-sustainability-innovation-centres.html
The UK government-established Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) have invested £20m in two new centres designed to foster innovation and knowledge of new and advanced technologies.
The new Sustainable Product Engineering Centre for Innovative Functional Industrial Coatings (SPECIFIC) in Swansea, Wales aims to commericalise steel and glass coatings for energy capture, storage and release.
The primary goal of this centre is to create a portfolio of products to transform buildings into ‘power stations’, with the aim of generating more than a third of the UK’s renewable energy by 2020.
The two new centres will build on the success of existing centres at Cambridge, Cranfield, Queen’s Belfast and Leeds Universities.
EPSRC chief executive, professor David Delpy, said, ‘Taking exciting research from the university laboratory to the commercial sector through close collaboration with user stakeholders is vital to ensuring the UK’s economy continues to be innovative and globally competitive.’
The new and separate University of Cambridge centre will combine research in sensor and data management with innovative manufacturing processes to achieve sustainable construction and infrastructure through targeted ‘radical changes’.
TSB chief executive Iain Gray said, ‘By pooling know-how, capability and expertise in one centre, the UK maximises the opportunity to innovate effectively and generate economic growth.’