The UK materials community will receive £4.5 million for collaborative, translation-focussed RD&I projects aimed at accelerating the transfer of new and sustainable technologies, leveraging national capability and expertise in materials science.
Funding for Round Four of the Royce Industrial Collaboration Programme (ICP) has now been awarded to 51 projects in total. The project breakdown by scope areas for this funding round is:
- 23 projects in Energy Innovation and Hydrogen Technologies
- 6 projects in Healthcare Innovation
- 6 projects in Quantum Technologies and Semiconductor Materials
- 16 projects in Sustainable Materials Innovation (with particular emphasis on foundation industries)
Collaborations include universities, UK businesses, and research and technology organisations (RTOs) for innovative projects within specific research areas that are announced with each ICP funding round.
These projects receive not just the funding from ICP, but also support from a team of dedicated application scientists from across the Royce Partnership to provide R&D expertise in a range of areas – from materials modelling and manufacturing, through to analysis and testing.
Professor David Knowles, Royce CEO said:
“We are delighted to announce this fourth round of funding for the ICP, bringing together businesses, RTOs and academia, including the support of Royce Partners – facilitating another series of exciting and innovative projects that will contribute to our sustainable future. We are equally pleased to announce an ongoing collaboration with Innovate UK as part of this round.”
“This builds from the fantastic impact record the ICP has built in just four years, across innovation, collaborations, knowledge transfer, policy, as well as considerable social and economic value in supporting a leading-edge materials community in the UK.”
ICP is now in its fourth year and has, since its inception, awarded £15 million across 162 diverse materials innovation projects embracing:
- Biomaterials, Bioprinting and Bioelectronics
- Low-Loss Electronics
- Materials 4.0
- Foundation Industries
- Energy Innovation and Hydrogen Technologies
- Quantum Technologies and Semiconductor materials
- Sustainable Materials Innovation
ICP’s impact can be measured from the following lenses and key statistics:
- Economic: 7 organisations recorded market growth in their current sector, 12 companies recorded expansion into new market sectors
- Innovation: 35 projects recorded an increased technology readiness level, with 2 projects recording an increased market readiness level
- Academic: 9 spin-out companies in various stages of establishment as a result of ICP projects
- Knowledge Transfer: 37 projects reported knowledge transfer generation including secondments, internships and the development of new skills, techniques or experimental methods
- Social Value: 28 projects expected their ICP project to have a positive impact on protecting people from climate change and decarbonisation
ICP projects are primarily funded long term by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); however, this round includes an additional £1 million contribution from Innovate UK – almost £500k of which has been awarded to five projects across the Sustainable Materials Innovation and Energy Innovation and Hydrogen Technologies scope areas this year, with the remainder to be awarded in 2025.
