Dec 5 2014
Chancellor George Osborne, in his Autumn Statement, has announced that a new £235m national research and innovation centre in advanced materials science is to be established at the University of Manchester.
Chancellor George Osborne on a visit to the National Graphene Institute
Industrial partners will support the new Sir Henry Royce Institute for Materials Research and Innovation. The universities of Cambridge, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and the Imperial College London are founding partners and would provide support as satellite centres.
The Culham Centre for Fusion Energy and the National Nuclear Laboratory in Cumbria are to serve as the centre’s nuclear materials components.
An investment of £132m will go towards improving the founding partners' facilities.
The President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, stated that the significant investment, which was the largest single funding that the university had received, proved the university’s and their partner organisation’s research capabilities in advanced materials.
The Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Manchester, Professor Colin Bailey, stated that the new institute would enable the country to stay ahead in advanced materials research and innovation, which would benefit UK’s economy and help address the challenges faced by the society.
Sir Richard Leese, the Manchester City Council Leader, commented that the announcement for the new institute would add momentum to Manchester’s role in global advanced material research. The applications for advanced materials would play a critical role in realizing Manchester’s economic potential.
The new institute aims to make the UK a leading research base for advanced materials science.