Breakthrough Issue 15 by Open Box Media & Communications

The United Kingdom Science Park Association magazine | Issue 15

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RESEARcH

TEcHnOlOGy

UK needs to heed R2-D2 A DO P T inG RO BOT ic S A n D AU TOM AT iOn in M A nUFAc TURinG

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INTRODUCTION UKSPA CH AIR , PROFES S OR PAT RICK B ONNE T T

Moving forward and upward

s we came towards the end of 2021, it was uplifting to be able to hold our first face to face UKSPA meeting kindly hosted by Innovation Birmingham in early December. The event marked 636 days since our previous face to face meeting which we held in Leeds back in March 2020. Much has happened over the intervening 22 months and on behalf of the Board and, I’m sure our wider member community, I’d like to thank the UKSPA Team of Jim, Adrian and Louise for all their hard work in responding to the challenges of the pandemic and pivoting the UKSPA delivery model so effectively. The confidence and support shown by members towards the Association has been unwavering as we’ve adapted to the ever changing needs of the membership and I’d like to thank all our members for their help and support during this period. Since March 2020, UKSPA has hosted sixty webinars covering a broad range of operational and strategic issues and we intend to continue these on-line events alongside our traditional face to face meetings so as to widen the ability of members to meet, interact and discuss both traditional and emerging issues. We have announced our next two conferences: 3/4 March at Oxford Science Park - registration details will be announced in the New Year and 9/10 June at Circle Square, Manchester. The next series of webinars will announced in early January. Please contact the Executive Team with any suggestions as to topics you would like to see covered.

UKSPA

T: 01799 532050 E: info@ukspa.org.uk W: www.ukspa.org.uk l Executive Director Jim Duvall l Communications Manager Adrian Sell l Membership Administrator Louise Tilbrook

In the wider innovation environment, the recent Comprehensive Spending Review signalled a significant uplift in funding for Innovate UK. Their recently published Action Plan places a welcome emphasis on supporting businesses that are scaling, preparing for and delivering growth at scale, recognising the global opportunities that can be addressed by close to market innovation. It is pleasing to note the specific recognition of the science park community within this action plan and our role in the UK business innovation ecosystem. This reflects the hard work being put into developing closer links with key organisations such as IUK via our working groups. These cover policy, research, training and skills and talent. If you are interested in contributing to these groups and aren’t already involved, please contact the Executive Team as we welcome the widest possible set of views. We will continue to lobby key organisation such as IUK and to quote their action plan words ‘be bold, act now and reap the rewards’. In this context, the forthcoming publication in January 2022 of the new edition of UKSPA book ‘Planning, Development and Operation of Science Parks’ is well timed. The topics covered within the book are comprehensive and world leading and serve to emphasise the contribution that the UK science park movement makes. This helps provide the hard evidence that government decision makers call for and will serve us well into the future. I’d like to thank all the contributors for their dedication and enthusiasm in helping to produce this hugely impressive

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publication. Copies of the book will available through info@ukspa.org.uk and it’s worth noting that they would make ideal presents for early New Year. Our AGM in early December also saw the end of our first cohort of co-opted “Early Career Professional” UKSPA Board members. I’d like to thank Alice Reeve (Hethel Innovation) and Joe Caine (Keele University Science Park), our first two participants for their contributions to the work of the Board which have been hugely valuable. We are continuing with this initiative and I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Emily Roberts (M-Sparc) and James Latham (Stevenage Bio-Science Catalyst) who will be working with the Board over the next twelve months and also thank those who put themselves forward for consideration but were unsuccessful on this occasion. Finally, as you may know by now, our Executive Director, Jim Duvall has announced his retirement after 14 years with UKSPA. We will pay tribute to Jim properly in the next edition of Breakthrough, but it goes without saying that we are tremendously grateful for everything he has done for UKSPA and wish him the happiest of retirements up in ‘God’s Own County’. We are concluding the process for the appointment of UKSPA’s new Chief Executive and will be announcing this shortly. Thank you once again for your support over the past year. We enter 2022 with the Association in an extremely strong and exciting position. I look forward to seeing you all in the coming year and wish you all enjoyed a happy and healthy Christmas. ■

Breakthrough is published on behalf of UKSPA by Open Box Media & Communications, Premier House, 13 St Paul’s Square, Birmingham B3 1RB. T: 0121 200 7820. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the consent of UKSPA.

Open Box Media & Communications are proud to be corporate sponsors of Heart Research UK (Midlands).

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12 CREATIVE CATALYSTS Jonathan Burroughs, CEO of Creative Places, discusses the demand for life science space, the importance of strong civic leadership and much more. 21 EMERGING THEMES FROM I 2 SL CONFERENCE The second in Breakthrough’s ongoing series from the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I 2 SL).

Impact

NET-ZERO DILEMMAS Mills & Reeve partner Stuart Pemble considers the many issues around the journey towards Net-Zero.

Innovation

Advocacy

CONTENTS

Micron’s team is never cowed The CEO of Micron Agritech, Daniel Izquierdo Hijazi, tells Ian Halstead about its breakthrough technology which will revolutionise animal testing on a global scale.

Courtney is ‘made smarter’ Chris Courtney, the Challenge Director for Manufacturing Made Smarter at UK Research and Innovation, discusses his organisation’s far-sighted ambitions.

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40 BULB BURNS EVER BRIGHTER Breakthrough hears the story of Bulb Interiors from its managing director, Derek Jones and Head of science and technology, Manisha Kulkarni. 44 HMG NEEDS to keep its foot on the R&D accelerator The AIRTO team urges the government to keep science and technology at the heart of the UK’s pandemic recovery.

59 THE WINDS OF CHANGE Partner and patent attorney at Potter Clarkson, Colin Baker, outlines how their cleantech team is addressing climate change issues to provide for a more sustainable future.

CONTENTS

SHIFTING LANDSCAPE Buro Four’s science sector lead, Emily Slupek, chats about the shifting requirements and looming challenges for science space in the post-pandemic era.

54 NEW CHALLENGES AND BIGGER OPPORTUNITIES Simon Bond, Executive Director at SETsquared, tells Breakthrough how the enterprise partnership has grown up and come out bigger and better.

Growth

50 UKSPA MEMBER PROFILES Featuring Knight Frank, Imtech, Abingdon Science Park and Create With Impact.

34 Getting the best out of your landscape assets Director of ASA Architects, Anthony Stiff, discusses the importance of well-designed outdoor commercial spaces.

RED DRAGON FLYING HIGH Pryderi ap Rhisiart, managing director of Menai Science Park (M-SParc), outlines his hopes, strategy and vision for the fast-growing location.

UK NEEDS TO HEED R2-D2 Chief Automation Officer from the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), Mike Wilson, encourages more to be done about adopting automation in manufacturing.

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

61 COLLABORATE TO PROGRESS Breakthrough hears how the Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems aims to accelerate the pace of progress towards carbon-zero transport. 63 BUILDING A BETTER BASE FOR BIOSCIENCE Breakthrough learns about Teesside University’s centre of excellence for the biosciences and healthcare sector, National Horizons Centre, from its director, Dr Jen Vanderhoven,

Trends

Support

28 APC focus is on outcomes Ian Constance, CEO of the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre, explains how his team is helping the UK’s automotive industry transition to a Net-Zero future.

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UKSPA NEWS

UKSPA’s definitive guide revised Announcing the publication in January 2022 of the fully revised and expanded edition of Planning, Development and Operation of Science Parks - UKSPA’s definitive guide to the creation and management of innovation locations in the UK.

KSPA represents, promotes and supports a diverse network of 120 member locations that include science parks, research campuses, city-based innovation districts, technology incubators and innovation centres across the UK. UKSPA’s business network includes leading practitioners that support this network. Together, they have produced a comprehensive guide for:

Available to buy from January 2022

• Managers and staff • Investors • Developers and operators • Policy makers • All of those who have an interest in developing and delivering this vibrant sector. This 360 page paperback book is available from UKSPA – contact info@ukspa.org.uk for more information on how to buy your copy. ■

CHAPTERS AND AUTHORS • Foreword Patrick Bonnett, Chair, UKSPA • Introduction Jim Duvall, UKSPA 1 Setting the scene – the Science Park (STP) movement Malcolm Parry, University of Surrey 2 Ownership, governance, and management of Science Parks Malcolm Parry, University of Surrey 3 Developing business plans for science and technology parks Sarah Tasker and David Lupson, CAMSCI Knowledge Economy Development 4 Visioning a Science Park Peter Baird, Perkins & Will

5 From vision and concept into physical reality Barry Sankey 6 Financing of science parks and innovation districts Jonathan Burroughs, Creative Places 7 Sustainability perspectives 7.1 Sustainability targets and green clauses Laura Ludlow, Mills & Reeve 7.2 What is a net zero carbon laboratory and how can we deliver it? Gary Clark, HOK

7.4 Sustainability: a science park real estate perspective Carl Potter and Jonathan Low, Avison Young 7.5 Planning and developing a sustainable transport policy Veronica Reynolds, Milton Park 7.6 The journey to Net-Zero carbon science Tim Fry, ARUP 8 The connected science park Bob Cushing, Bridge Fibre 9 Science and Innovation Centres outside cities towards a polycentric model Richard Collins and Pauline Innes, EiBC

7.3 Regenerative design thinking: an architectural view 10 City led innovation Asif Din, Perkins & Will David J Hardman, Bruntwood SciTech

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

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11 Meeting national needs 11.1 Scotland George Walker 11.2 Wales Igniting ambition – The M-SParc journey Ieuan Wyn Jones 12 The performance of science parks – evaluation and measurement Malcolm Parry, University of Surrey

S ustaina b i l it y

13 Marketing Science and Technology Parks Tim Riches, University of Surrey 14 Legal issues Vincenzo Maggio, Mills & Reeve

17 Creating a science park community Jeanette Walker, Cambridge Science Park

15 The entrepreneur’s journey Nick Sturge, Omnigenix

18 Knowledge exchange Grant Bourhill, Caroline Fleming, and William Lovegrove, University of Surrey

16 Business support Neil Griffin, Toni Harrison and Elaine Kearney, Oxford Innovation

19 Science parks and the management of the knowledge interface Malcolm Parry, University of Surrey

D O W N LO A D A BL E C ase S tu d ies

Expert advice and commentary on every aspect of sustainability for innovation locations

Six individual perspectives on sustainability themes ranging from Green Transport planning to Zero Carbon Laboratories

A library of downloadable good practice case studies provides added value content on the operation of UK innovation locations

S napshot C ase S tu d ies

Many of the contributions include snapshot case studies that bring out key themes and best practice

“The Surrey Research Park is proud to be a member of the United Kingdom Science Park Association and to sponsor the production of this book which we hope will be a useful reference point for colleagues throughout the world.” Grant Bourhill CEO / Dr Malcolm Parry OBE, Founder, Surrey Research Park

The science park movement has delivered a great deal over the last three decades and this new edition of The Planning, Development and Operation of Science Parks will help practitioners within the science park movement to learn from others so that the sector continues to improve, collaborate and grow the five thousand knowledge intensive businesses that they support on a daily basis. Professor Patrick Bonnett, UKSPA Chair, December 2021

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C O P I E S & F U RT H E R I N F O R M AT I O N • Orders by e-mailing info@ukspa.org.uk • Cost to Members £60.00 plus postage • Non Members £75.00 plus postage • Contact UKSPA for details of bulk copy orders

(L-R): Richard Evans - Managing Director, Alliance Medical; Louise Stead, Chief Executive, Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Angela Richardson, MP for Guildford; Grant Bourhill, Chief Executive, Surrey Research Park

An expanding health cluster

uring 2021, Surrey Research Park has supported substantial growth of health-related companies. Some of these businesses are involved in the global fight against COVID, with others delivering critical healthcare innovations, such as early diagnosis of cancer and dementia. Health-related companies now represent over a third of businesses on the Park, with these companies benefitting from close interaction with the Royal Surrey County Hospital and the University of Surrey’s Faculty of Health and Medical Science, both right on our doorstep. Last year, our community celebrated the ground-breaking event for Alliance Medical’s facility on the Park to house its state of the art digital PET/CT medical imaging scanner. Opening in April 2022, the new centre will provide faster and more accessible services to NHS patients, in addition to offering enhanced image quality, enabling faster and more accurate diagnosis and prognosis of cancer and dementia.

The new facility will also help facilitate the next exciting phase of Alliance Medical’s research partnership with the University of Surrey, Royal Surrey County Hospital and the National Physical Laboratory, developing the research into medical imaging for cancer detection and building on previous radiomics work to develop AI for cancer detection. Alliance Medical has also already developed partnerships with several companies on the Park such as Re:Cognition Health, a provider of clinical services for cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease. The new site, which will be available to both NHS and private patients, is being built by Alliance Medical and has

been designed specifically around the patient journey away from the acute hospital site. Visiting patients will be able to enjoy a calm and relaxing environment as well as benefitting from increased appointment availability and easy accessibility on the Research Park with free parking, good transport links and charging points for electric vehicles. ■

For more info, please contact 01483 579693 or visit: www.surrey-research-park.com

“ L a s t y e a r , o u r c o m m u n i t y c e L e b r at e D the grounD -bre aking e vent for aLLiance m e D i c a L’ s fa c i L i t y o n t h e Pa r k t o h o u s e i t s s tat e o f t h e a r t D i g i ta L P e t/ c t m e D i c a L i m a g i n g s c a n n e r .”

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Advocacy

The world according to UKSPA and its members

Creative Catalysts Jonathan Burroughs, CEO of Creative Places, discusses the demand for life science space, the impor tance of strong civic leadership and much more with Ian Halstead.

n an era when reputations can be won by a viral tweet, and brands are built on the skimpiest of foundations, it’s genuinely reassuring to see Creative Places thriving. A client list featuring many of the UK’s most high-profile universities, hospitals, science parks, investors and developers speaks to its collective abilities and achievements, as does the array of government agencies seeking advice. As CEO, Burroughs co-founded Creative Places, is a co-founder of the Academy of Urbanism and has always enjoyed a collaborative approach to building success. He took time out to explain the origins of his Cambridge-based organisation and consider how the dramatic increase in demand for life science space might be satisfied. “My background was as a property adviser and agent, but in recent years I’ve specialised in property designed for individuals and organisations conducting research, or companies devising and delivering products and services within science and technology,” says Burroughs. “John Somerville (managing partner) and I set up Creative Places in 2009 with a mission to help ensure that the built environment in which science and technology is undertaken can really

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excel, and help people and corporates increase productivity, and deliver excellence in their R&D. “Roughly half the work we do is around buildings, and the rest is around behaviour and activities which bring people together, stimulate creativity and act as the catalyst for collaborations. “We’re also keenly interested in the energy performance of buildings, which is a very tangible issue and particularly when we’re considering the development of wet labs. “Life sciences for the country as a whole is probably the largest and most eye-catching sector today, and for researchers, the provision of wet labs is the most crucial element. “We’ve seen so much work done about office space, and how its energy efficiency might be enhanced, but there’s been very little done on wet labs.”

BEYOND BREEAM

The traditional method for assessing the environmental impact of buildings and

infrastructure is the BREEAM classification system, but it’s just over 30 years since those standards were set by the Building Research Establishment. Burroughs believes new frameworks are required to assess energy efficiency, not least because of the ever-rising requirements for significant chunks of science space in urban areas. “The property industry really does need to demonstrate and benchmark the energy which goes into the new buildings. We’re seeing different approaches in different locations, but I think we’ve now gone beyond BREEAM. “Now of course, life sciences is a very sexy sector, and particularly in such niches as advanced therapies and NHS data, but the property industry has, in general, been slow to respond to the needs of these would-be occupiers. “Not just in terms of providing new space, but how existing space could be refurbished in these key locations. “We’re seeing a trend over the last ten years towards innovation districts

in urban areas which throws up lots of exciting opportunities, but rapid change as we’ve noticed this last 12 months always brings new challenges. “If you look, for instance, at Cambridge for probably the last 50 years, most of the specialist space designed for science and technology uses was out-of-town. “From the 60s onward, they began relocating outside the centre, The Cavendish, probably the most famous laboratory here, moved to university land on the fringe of the city. “In recent years though, the trend began to reverse. Sites around the railway station became popular, particularly after Microsoft took space there. “Perceptions changed about the respective merit of locations, and it was increasingly accepted that for recruitment and retention, and also for day-to-day operations, there was merit in urban locations which are rich in amenities, and we’re now seeing this played out across the country.” For years, the high cost of acquiring or renovating space in central London meant very little new lab space came forward. Ken Livingstone’s spell as London’s Mayor saw him spearhead the delivery of innovation space, which successfully attracted life science startups, but the dearth of grow-on space usually saw them subsequently migrate to Cambridge. However, a later wave of such enterprises stayed in London, largely for access to talent, space around the rail hubs of King’s Cross and Euston was particularly in demand, and recent research by Creative Places suggests that the trend is picking up pace. “At its most extreme, the desire for space in very specific locations saw one company take several years to identify new premises because it had to be within a five-minute walk of the Francis Crick Institute, which was created at the rear of the British Library site,” says Burroughs. “We did a survey in 2016 and looked at demand which wasn’t being satisfied. We only found about 67,000 sq ft for wet lab space across London, but when we did the same survey in 2021, we were up to around 270,000 sq ft.” The research also revealed that the latest generation of innovative life science companies wanted high levels of control over their environment, not only for how they developed products, but the

Plus Ultra II building in The Netherlands by Kadans Science Partner, a client of Creative Places and investor in Cambridge & UK life science market

ways in which they created prototypes and then manufactured them. “In 2016, many tenants were happy to use lab space which had recirculating hoods, but now more companies are looking for extract-to-air systems,” says Burroughs. “Some labs and end-users who required a higher specification were also saying they wanted to see GMP (good manufacturing practice) manufacturing delivered within their space.” There’s been much talk about the avalanche of money, often from USbased private equity houses and venture capital funds targeting the UK’s life sciences sector, and Burroughs doesn’t see it slowing. “We’re still seeing SMEs completing successful rounds of fund-raising (Series A, B and C) at quite a fast rate. “Most is coming into the traditional Golden Triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge, now including Stevenage, where a very significant hub of advanced therapy activity is growing alongside GSK and the Catapults in bioscience, and cell and gene therapy manufacturing. “However, there are challenges in delivering the space they require with an ESG philosophy. We need to reduce the construction impact and the operational impact of this space and ensure the energy which will be required can be provided by more sustainable sources. “It isn’t easy though. We can’t just look at the States, see how they developed their life sciences sector and think we can do the same. It’s a very different environment. “They built high-density and highrise- wet lab buildings, but they also installed pretty powerful extract-to-air systems and I think we’re going to need a different approach.”

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

URBAN SHIFT

Asked to consider how local councils can help satisfy demand for new space for life sciences, particularly in urban areas, Burroughs becomes quite misty-eyed about the impact of Sir Howard Bernstein, the chief executive of Manchester City Council for almost 20 years, until 2017. “Local authorities are certainly noticing the shift to central urban areas. In Oxford, for instance, an island site and other redevelopment sites now being looked at are very different from the locations leading the charge just four or five years ago,” he says. “We’re also seeing the same trend in Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh, which has reinforced my belief in the importance of strong civic leadership. “In Manchester, Sir Howard had a very strong hand in helping to create the science corridor along Oxford Road, the City Labs project and the evolution of Manchester Science Park. “His leadership helped galvanise commitment from key stakeholders and gave everything a sense of urgency, especially about the masterplanning phase. “He also made it very clear to everyone what Manchester needed to do, to grow and to become competitive internationally, and equally, what it needed to avoid. I think the results of his years of leadership are quite outstanding. “In some locations, where the market need is equally strong, you can encounter a rather disparate group of individuals, and there’s no sense of team. There are delays, then more delays, then a change of strategy and years can pass by. “With Bernstein though, he’d call you in, explain very concisely what was required, and you went away knowing exactly what you had to do. And quite

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ADVOCACY

frankly you knew that he was watching you and failure was not an option. “From a business perspective, you have targets to hit in the next one, three and five years, and you don’t want dithering and delays. The property industry needs to forward plan, and it needs certainty that it will have delivered the desired space in the right locations when the market need is there. “That’s still happened in very few locations, and Manchester really stands out. Cambridge too, thanks to Trinity College initially, and also because of the sector’s willingness to deliver space speculatively, so you saw the right buildings becoming available within a reasonable time-frame.”

SIMILAR MINDSET

Burroughs believes that the postlockdown era will see a similar mindset develop among London’s council leaders and inside City Hall. “I think we’ll now see the same in London. Occupiers want to see commercially savvy developers and agents helping them meet their requirements. I also think people are taking different perspectives about perceived risk than they did previously with regard to life sciences.

“I’m optimistic that we’ll see significant space being delivered in our biggest cities. How much we’ll see in Birmingham, Liverpool or Manchester, no-one can predict at this stage. “There are definite opportunities there, but you do need a different eco-system to attract fast-growing businesses in life sciences. Collaboration is absolutely crucial, and the property industry needs to find collective ways to drive these sectors forward.” It’s clear that Burroughs is an optimist by instinct, and he is particularly bullish about the ongoing impact of R&D on the UK’s economy, as it begins its long recovery from the financial impact of Covid and looks to overcome shortages of skills and raw materials. “We have long been noted as a country for the quality and innovation of our R&D, which is a tremendous positive, but now everything needs to come together to take advantage,” he says. “It’s interesting how the influence of R&D varies so much in different countries, and where it fits into each government’s economic strategies and priorities. “There’s no doubt that we are one of the very best at pure research, although as has been said for decades, we still need to do more to deliver the maximum commercial benefits from it. “Everyone will highlight Kendall Square as the example of development being driven by

leading-edge research, and yes, the growth there over the last five years or so has been remarkable. “Saying that, if you look to the US, to see where public money has gone into the development of wet lab growth in supporting the development of floorspace it is chalk and cheese. We have to be highly creative here. “We may have (relatively) very little money, but have benefited hugely from private sector investment and a ‘can-do’ attitude. We need to be inspired by people working in places like Israel - where I see similar and significant rises in innovation and productivity driven by R&D. “Looking ahead, climate change will put pressure on us to invent sustainable transport, autonomous transport, clean energy delivery, etc, and other sectors are going to come much more to the fore. “The growth in life sciences isn’t a fad - but it isn’t the be all and end all. Science and innovation parks with significant research capabilities will stage a major comeback to the city district push we’re witnessing today.” ■

You can discover more about Jonathan and the other members of the Creative Places team at: http://creativeplaces.com

The ‘Ugly Brown Building’, Camden, London by Reef Group one of Creative Places’ projects

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ADVOCACY

Net-Zero dilemmas Mills & Reeve partner Stuart Pemble considers the many issues around the journey towards Net-Zero.

he debates at and around COP26 shed rather more heat than light, and the pressing need for clarity about how countries might progress toward Net-Zero remains unresolved. With our politicians seemingly unable to provide even thought leadership, let alone detailed timetables and targets, there’s now a gulf of thought and deed between climate activists and those of less confrontational mindset. The law firm Mills & Reeve made a considered contribution to the sustainability debate during 2021 with its ‘Building towards Net-Zero’ report. The study was based around research from Professor Sean Smith, who specialises in ‘future construction’, and is director of the Centre for Future Infrastructure within the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. As 2022 gets underway, it seemed timely to ask one of the report’s contributors, Birmingham-based Mills & Reeve partner and construction lawyer Stuart Pemble, how he believes a carbon-free future might evolve and to identify the challenges ahead. The legal world’s most noted directories, Legal 500 and Chambers – which rank firms and individuals by their experience and expertise – consistently highlight this gregarious individual for the clarity of his advice and prompt delivery of his drafting. Unfortunately, because neither publication considers passion a quality to be much admired in the legal community, they omit it from Pemble’s assessment.

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“ W e need clear government guidance and step - by - step targets which are set every five years . T here ’ s huge scope for the use of green construction materials , but again there ’ s no guidance from the industry or the government.” P R O P E LL E D

However, given free rein to muse about any aspect of sustainability and the NetZero agenda, his thoughts are propelled by a tidal wave of enthusiasm for his subject. Pemble accepts that the property and construction sectors are still to agree the pathway to a zero carbon future, but says that’s because there’s no professional guidance or political leadership. “There isn’t an accepted definition of Net-Zero, which concerns me. We have to achieve something by 2035 or 2040 or 2050 … but what? Part of the challenge is that it is a complicated problem,” he says. “The UK Green Building Council has produced a roadmap for the built environment to get to Net Zero (UKGBC-Whole-LifeCarbon-Roadmap-TechnicalReport.pdf) which contains a detailed explanation of the myriad slightly different challenges faced by our built environment. “And the government has just issued its Net Zero Estate Playbook (Net_Zero_Estate_ Playbook__1_.pdf (publishing. service.gov.uk) for decarbonising government property which actually includes a definition of net zero (from the Climate Change Act 2008) and again shows the scale of the problem we face. “One issue is that their playbook is focused on operational carbon - the carbon used by the

building once it is built and occupied – and not whole-life carbon - which includes all of the carbon used in its construction. How do we deal with that? I am not sure anyone has an answer to that question yet. “Experts estimate that it may will cost about £20,000 per home in the UK to install carbon-neutral central heating (such as air or ground-source heat-pumps or microwave boilers), insulation and suchlike, but how many individuals and families can afford that scale of spending? “You look around our major towns and cities, and see Victorian terrace homes, which are lovely things, but they are not designed for Net Zero and what would we do with our listed buildings? “As a country, are we serious about these issues? I don’t think so. The £450m which becomes available from April for the installation of ground-source heat-pumps isn’t going to convert 25m homes. “You can look at all the rules and regulations in our planning laws or building laws, and nothing there is set up to deliver change.”

D I S M AY E D

Pemble is equally dismayed by the approach of all the UK’s political parties to the future provision of nuclear power, let alone their perceptions about the need to replace the current generation of reactors. “In terms of achieving net zero, nuclear makes absolute sense, but although we generate around 20% of our electricity needs from nuclear,

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almost half our current capacity will be removed from service by 2025, yet no politicians or pressure groups are making the case for new reactors.” The last-minute negotiations at COP26 underlined the huge commitment of China and India in particular to fossil fuels, and the accompanying social media commentary from those to the right of the political spectrum emphasised the ongoing need to change hearts and minds. “It also doesn’t matter what our legislators might say or do, if they don’t have the support of a clear majority of their electorate, and as we see in the US, Poland, Brazil and other countries, there are still substantial numbers who refuse to accept that climate change is man-made,” says Pemble. He does identify individual pockets of excellence in the construction industry, but says the rules and regulations aren’t set up to guide the industry. “There’s a very interesting UK energy technology company called Heat Wayv, which has designed a boiler which will use microwaves to generate heat and hot water. Obviously, it requires electricity, but uses no gas or oil, and it’s a brilliant concept. “They are one of many firms using what we call Modern Methods of Construction, but there’s no coherent government strategy driving these principles and ideas forward. “The construction sector doesn’t have a Secretary of State sitting in Cabinet, and the Construction Minister never seems to stay in post for long enough to achieve anything.

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ADVOCACY

“There have been six different people in the role just in the last two years, and 20 since 2001 (with one, Nick Raynsford bucking the trend and staying in role for four years), and there is a feeling that government doesn’t take the issue seriously enough.” “The built environment contributes between 30% and 40% of our carbon emissions, so you’d think that tackling the sector would be a central issue for politicians and business leaders.”

The former John Lewis building (above Birmingham New Street) is a source of urban renewal debate and Net-Zero consequences

However, the concept of demolition finds absolutely no truck with Pemble. “If we’re serious about trying to However, Pemble is enthused by the idea achieve Net-Zero, and we regard it our of carbon assessments which were most important goal and to which all highlighted in the Mills & Reeve report. others are subordinate, then we must stop “There are many ideas for the is knocking down buildings.” he says. construction of Net-Zero buildings, and “It’s a very bad approach to urban models as to how this space could then be renewal because you lose all the operated sustainably. embedded CO2 which has gone into their “We see significant merit in postconstruction, and so we should retro-fit construction carbon assessments, which existing space, not demolish it.” would be carried out 18 months or two Pemble is bullish though when asked years after a building was completed and how the UK’s science park sector might fitted out. meet the desire for new space, “It would identify issues where preparticularly from companies in life build assumptions turned out to be sciences and their supply chains. incorrect, or where a company hadn’t “On the whole, they are one of the built space to the correct spec or had newer elements in our built environment installed something which wasn’t sector, so retro-fitting them may be operating as predicted. easier than retro-fitting other buildings. “In conjunction with a well-known “There’s a definite move towards legal web-page, we hope to circulate some green refits, and tenants in many sectors precedent drafting on this shortly and see are now wanting to occupy more if the sector agrees with the approach.” environmentally-friendly buildings. There’s much chatter in all towns and “Banks are keener to fund such cities about the perceived need to replace projects and given that science parks are old, outdated or redundant buildings. usually closely linked to a university, I’d In Birmingham, the current debate is have thought this was an issue on which about the future of the former Rackhams’ science parks could take a lead. store and the former John Lewis space “Their biggest challenge in terms of above New Street, both close by the Mills Net-Zero is travel to and from their & Reeve office. locations, and I suspect it would be much easier to retrofit the buildings than to have a carbon-neutral travel plan. “Look at the Arup Campus on Blythe Valley Park for instance. A great building, and rightly praised for its approach to energy reduction in terms of Could this be the boardroom of the future? construction and

ENTHUSED

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operation, but almost everyone drives there and it’s off a junction on one of the world’s busiest motorways.” Pemble accepts that the UK’s switch to renewable energy sources has been a tremendous success, but is disappointed that the government stepped back on the idea of increasing the use of hydrogen. “There were proposals that we could mix 20% of hydrogen into our natural gas supplies without needing to retrofit pipes and boilers. The logic and the science were there to make the case, and it’s difficult to understand why they didn’t proceed with the policy,” he admits. “Undeniably, there’s a lot of great thinking out there from the public sector, on the potential use of hydrogen and other issues, but there are still no solutions coming forward from ministers. “We need clear government guidance and step-by-step targets which are set every five years. There’s huge scope for the use of green construction materials, but again there’s no guidance from the industry or the government.” Equally though, Pemble accepts that personal responsibility for achieving change is more important than policy making by politicians, or strategic guidance by business associations and sectoral organisations. “We all have to ask ourselves if we are serious about making a difference to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, and making progress toward a zero-carbon future, for the sake of future generations. “If we are, then decisions we are currently free to make, whether that’s about lifestyle choices, house size or holiday destinations, may have to take second place to the common good.” ■

The Mills & Reeve ‘Building towards Net-Zero’ report can be studied at: www.mills-reeve.com/insights/foresight/ building-towards-net-zero

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ADVOCACY

Emerging themes from the 2021 I2SL Annual Conference The second in Breakthrough’s ongoing series from the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I 2 SL).

n late September, the I2SL community gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, for our first in-person Annual Conference since 2019. The conference featured more than 60 technical presentations over three days, along with tours, training sessions, our Technology and Services Fair, and networking events. While we missed many international and domestic members who were not able to travel to Atlanta, we’re pleased to report that the conference was a successful and energetic exploration of timely issues in lab sustainability. The themes of this year’s conference reflected changes developing across the field of sustainability in the built environment: in the last few years, our community’s focus has broadened beyond our bedrock of energy efficiency to include decarbonization, resilience, adaptive reuse, and social and

environmental justice. We are honored to count some of the leading experts in these topics among our membership. This article draws from their presentations in Atlanta, which addressed the specific challenges facing lab buildings in these emerging focus areas.

L A B S A N D D E C A R B O N I Z AT I O N

Building construction and operation account for about 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Decarbonization of our building stock is essential if we are to meet any of the emissions targets identified at federal, state, city, or institutional levels in the US. Electrification is the cornerstone of the decarbonization movement, and many presenters shared methods for meeting the technical challenges of electrifying lab

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Some of the attendees in Atlanta, September 2021

buildings, such as high-performance exhaust heat recovery and sizing electrical systems to accommodate humidification loads. The US electrical grid is decarbonizing: more than 180 cities now have 100% renewable energy pledges, up from nine in 2016, and solar and wind power account for 70% of new utility-scale electricity generation in 2021. However, large regional disparities remain. Where the grid is still dirty or the winters are cold, full electrification does not yet result in minimized emissions. In these cases, facilities can be made “all-electric ready” to enable them to take advantage of the grid’s future evolution.

THE RISE OF RESILIENCE

Resilience has emerged as a key concept in navigating our era of increasing uncertainty. Hurricanes, flooding, droughts, wildfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic have brought resilience to the forefront. I2SL’s new Best Practices Guide on Laboratory Resilience, which was

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ADVOCACY Word cloud of presentation titles from the conference

presented in Atlanta, explains that it is critical to identify the minimum operating criteria for each lab building. Labs are a diverse group, and specific needs may include protecting critical samples during outages, continuous operation of vivarium and cleanroom areas, or maintaining inventory when supply chains are disrupted. Obsolescence is another important disruptor: research evolves quickly, and providing flexible lab space is a key component of resilient design.

LAB CONVERSION BOOM

Demand for lab space is at an all-time high in many areas of the US, and pandemic-induced vacancies in other building types have led to a boom in adaptive reuse of facilities. In the country’s six largest life markets, officeto-lab conversions now account for more than 20% of new lab space. Adaptive reuse has many advantages: owners benefit from reduced construction costs and increased speed to market, and embedded carbon is reduced over new construction. But such conversions must be approached carefully: system sizing,

promote social justice. Examples include insisting on supply chain transparency for building materials, and reusing or repurposing lab equipment to reduce demand for scarce minerals whose extraction is too often linked to a range of human rights abuses.

OUR FUTURE

utility supply, structural, vibrational, floor-to-floor height, and waste disposal requirements must be addressed. Conference case studies highlighted detailed site evaluations, gap analyses, and management of expectations in adaptive reuse projects.

EQUITY AND JUSTICE

The conference opened with a powerful plenary session which challenged our community to act on including equity and justice in our sustainability efforts. This theme recurred throughout the conference, as presenters discussed specific steps to take in both laboratory construction and scientific research to

A TRIBUTE TO PHIL WIRDZEK (1952-2021) Phil Wirdzek was the Founding President and Executive Director of I2SL. For more than 15 years he served as Executive Director and President, until his unexpected passing on October 9, 2021. Phil was the driving force behind I2SL, starting a non-profit organization from his home with the help of his wife Annie, and growing it into an international network of lab designers, engineers, owners, operators, users, managers, vendors, and service providers. He was previously a career employee with the US Environmental Protection Agency, where he was program manager for the Laboratories for the 21st Century (Labs 21) program. Phil excelled at forging relationships between stakeholders that resulted in new processes, tools, and educational materials that greatly benefitted the laboratory community.

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The I2SL Annual Conference and Technology and Services Fair is the go-to event for lab sustainability professionals around the world, thanks to Phil’s oversight of content and encouragement of networking. He also encouraged local leaders to create I2SL chapters in 12 US regions and internationally, helping labs in many corners of the world be more efficient and sustainable. For his many accomplishments at EPA, Phil received numerous awards, including the Agency’s gold medal for developing the Labs21 program, the James W. Craig Pollution Prevention Leadership Award, two presidential awards for federal energy management, and the Environmental Professional of the Year award from the Association of Energy Engineers. Phil is greatly missed among all who care about lab sustainability, but his legacy lives on in the continued work of I2SL. ■

On a somber note, the Atlanta meeting was our last conference with our Founding President Phil Wirdzek. As I2SL looks to the future and to honoring Phil’s legacy, we are committed to leading our industry toward a more sustainable future. In upcoming articles we’ll expand on some of the above topics and on our programs supporting them. ■

I2SL’s archive of past conference agendas and abstracts is available on the website at: www.i2sl.org. Presentation slideshows are accessible to I2SL Members. I2SL thanks all of our 2021 conference attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors.

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Shifting landscape Buro Four’s science sector lead, Emily Slupek, chats with Ian Halstead about the shifting requirements and looming challenges for science space in the post-pandemic era.

roject management will never be a career for the faint of heart, as developers, funders, agents and architects make their own cases, and oft-changing occupier variations create a heady brew of impassioned debate, decision-making and delivery timetables. However, Buro Four has established its reputation as an independent specialist by successfully leading major projects for clients in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Given that its track record includes delivering complex science and innovation projects in the Golden Triangle, Manchester’s Oxford Road Corridor and the Liverpool Knowledge Quarter, its understanding of life sciences is evident. So as Buro Four’s science and research sector lead, Slupek is well-placed to offer an overview of the changing landscape, not least given that she is currently project-managing lab schemes at Cambridge BioMedical Campus, Oxford’s Botley Road and Begbroke Science Park. “There’s been a recent and significant trend toward buildings designed speculatively to provide flexibility for a number of uses, an increase in the provision of multi-occupancy lab buildings, and an acceptance that good design helps to attract (and hopefully retain) talent,” she says. “I think it reflects the growing realisation that people are the life-blood of a building and the key to the success of science companies. The ways in which buildings are considered by our clients and project teams is about more than just bricks and mortar.

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Abcam, Cambridge Biomedical Campus- a Buro Four project

“ S cientific advances will be crucial in increasing wealth , employment and productivity.” “We’re also seeing a greater awareness of the advantages of human interaction and how successful sciencebased communities are created and clusters are formed. “These influences have always been present to varying degrees, but there’s now a much wider and deeper understanding of their importance to science locations. “It has certainly been refreshing over the last year or so to be involved in discussions with clients about how best to stimulate collaborative ways of working, across a campus or innovation district, rather than simply thinking about individual buildings.”

C R I T I C A L I M P O RTA N C E

The evolution of Covid vaccines underlined the critical importance of research labs designed to the latest spec and capable of operating under unprecedented pressure, which are now ever-present challenges when science space is on the agenda. “The pandemic accelerated existing growth in demand for R&D space, which in turn contributed to increased interest from commercial developers,” says Slupek. “There’s definitely a lot more talk about ‘plug and play’ laboratories, and about how labs can be provided in a more complete state, but still capable of accommodating a range of science uses. “We’re also seeing a wider acknowledgement that many companies, particularly SMEs, aren’t really looking to create and fit-out their space, they would much rather move into an environment where their labs are already more or less installed and functional. “There are then related discussions about both how that can be best achieved, and how the increased upfront developer costs would then be reflected in the rent levels.

“I think it’s generally accepted that you can achieve higher rents if you offer a higher level of completeness, but the balance of rental expectations in the market against the greater development costs, and the developer’s comfort in this respect, is a challenge still to be overcome. “However, it is likely to become easier once there is more precedent, and developers become more used to delivering lab-ready buildings and really understanding lab specifications.” There’s an ongoing debate, of course, about when the UK market may move towards the provision of serviced labs as a commercial enterprise. “It will be interesting to see if a move towards commercially-led serviced labs develops, as they are inevitably more complex than offering hot-desk style office space, and require a greater outlay upfront from the developer,” says Slupek. “In the US, it’s an established offering, but here I think there’s still a slight disconnect between investors, developers and operators. If you’re going to create that kind-of environment, a lot of flexibility has to be included and it needs to accommodate multiple science uses. “It also requires a detailed understanding of the needs of the potential tenants. Investors need to be able to offset the upfront costs against the rental income and the longer-term operation of the space is more involved. “What will be interesting is to see if a new generation of developers comes forward to deliver flexible-let lab-ready space for science uses (‘hot-labs’ if you like) on a significant scale, developing their own operation and delivery models to better suit the product. “However, it’s not something we have yet seen much of in the UK from the

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private sector, though there are instances when such space has been delivered on a subsidised basis and in conjunction with an experienced operator.”

A ne w g ene r ation

There’s also been much discussion about the future need for a new generation of manufacturing centres to meet the requirements of the UK’s life sciences sector. Slupek is certainly in accord, although she stresses that this challenge is not one to park for the future. “There is huge demand for space for R&D purposes, and at some point that research will be commercialised and the products will need to be manufactured,” she says. “Some will be made in small batches, most likely near the relevant research hub, or on larger scale which will require sizeable new manufacturing facilities, and we need to think as a sector how we can best prepare ourselves for that future demand. “If you look at the US trajectory, we’re at least five years, and possibly closer to ten years, away from that phase, but we need to be thinking about potential solutions now given the length of time it takes to move through the development process. “If the UK doesn’t deliver specialist manufacturing space on significant scale by forecasting the demand in time, these firms will simply take their production requirements elsewhere.” However, Slupek is optimistic that the drive in the sector, along with the political will (and accompanying

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“Obviously, there are no arguments against sustainability and the need to reverse Sensor City, Liverpool - a Buro Four project climate change, unless you’re on the extreme fringes of society and politics, but the importance of a strong relationship there are still significant challenges with your contractors comes in. ahead,” she warns. “Construction companies are having “A recent report by JLL calculated the to identify and resolve such issues on a running costs of real estate dedicated to daily basis so have their ear to the ground, life sciences and compared them to the and their ‘live’ knowledge is vital to costs of traditional office space, and their mitigating the impacts. conclusion was very telling. “Another challenge, linked to the more “The former used around ten times the nuanced tenant requirements and increase amount of energy and four times the in speculative developments, is postamount of water against office space and contract variations to accommodate also generated enough plastic waste to tenant fit-outs and adaptations. cover almost 140,000 hectares every year. “We’re seeing this particularly on “There’s a huge dilemma looming in the large, multi-let projects, when there may property industry that, although science be differing requirements for just one and its part in advancing clean technologies section of a large scheme. is rightly seen as a major driving force of “You have to be mindful when setting sustainability it’s a lot harder to reach Netup the contract to reduce the impact of Zero in science buildings. one area on the remainder of the scheme, “Again, it’s something we need to and do the best to make the process as consider now and probably incentivise transparent and well-defined as possible further, financially or morally, to counter in the realm of the unknowns” the impact on margins which can dissuade Intriguingly, Slupek says her biggest developers from really pushing the challenge in this regard is mitigating the boundaries on sustainability.” time impact. Shortages of raw materials are affecting “If you need to change (say) a lab spec every business sector, particularly so in for 10% of a building, it’s obviously easy to complex property projects when they issue an instruction for that area to be impact both the construction phase and fitted out. subsequent fit-outs. “However, if you haven’t been able to “I’ve got three projects going through carve out that area from the rest of the ‘SUNNY UPLANDS’ the procurement process, and it’s very contract works because it was an Pleasingly, Slupek isn’t one of those challenging to build in an element of unknown quantity at the contract stage, observers who see only ‘sunny uplands’ certainty when there’s so much volatility it then pushes out the time for the whole ahead, and it’s easy to understand why she about the availability and cost of so many of the building. earned a place on New London materials,” says Slupek. “With the right will, supportive clients Architecture’s expert panel for its “Two-stage tendering helps, as and a great team of consultants and Innovation Districts’ programme. contractors’ earlier input and contractors, you can resolve just about any engagement with the suppliers issue. However, managing the delivery and and subcontractors is crucial and fit-out of new space for science uses will at the moment, the market is always throw up something unexpected, certainly favouring that especially in these volatile times.” approach, particularly for the “I don’t think all of those risks can be £10m+ projects. removed, so all you can do is focus as “However, lead-in times are intently as possible on proactive unquestionably longer, and we management to predict and mitigate have to place orders for a number them.” ■ of packages earlier, some before getting into contract, which does add an element of risk, but it’s needs must. For further information, please visit: Pears Building, Royal Free Hospital “Inevitably, shortages of materials https://burofour.com/sector/science- a Buro Four project mean rising costs and that’s where education-health/ finance) will bring forward the new centres, as they theoretically dovetail so well with the government’s oftmentioned levelling-up agenda. In 2020, the ‘Golden Triangle’ of London, Oxford and Cambridge continued to dominate the sector, attracting threequarters of all investment in life sciences. “Scientific advances will be crucial in increasing wealth, employment and productivity across the UK, and we already have hubs outside the Golden Triangle, such as those in Manchester and Birmingham, becoming high-profile and high-quality centres of innovation,” she says. “We also have top-quality academic institutions outside the Golden Triangle, developing talent which can be harnessed in these locations. “There are areas across the UK that don’t necessarily have the makings for new thriving R&D clusters, further from the universities and city hubs. “However, when property costs, rents and other criteria are considered, these areas may well be ideal for manufacturing space and benefit the areas in a slightly different way. “I think the challenges which then arise will be similar to those presently faced in the US, with competition for the same type of large-scale out-of-town space from companies such as Amazon, increasing demand and rents, and reducing the availability of property.

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Ian Constance, CEO of the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre, explains how his team is helping the UK’s automotive industr y transition to a Net-Zero future.

APC focus is on outcomes

or more than two decades, Ian Constance lived the dream as he inspired engineers, designers and technicians at the world’s best-known automotive brand to create the next generation of vehicles. From Germany to China, India to Thailand and finally to Ford’s historic home in the small Michigan city of Dearborn, projects for small, mid-size and large cars – and even trucks – filled his days … and often his nights. The climax of his time with the automotive colossus was as its global chief engineer, just as the famed Motor City began to recover from decades of political chaos and economic decline. “When I was in Detroit, it was just starting its renaissance. It really is a fascinating urban area. Having worked for Ford all round the world and then relocated there, you realise the magnitude and the history of the place,” recalls Constance.

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Now he is helping to shape history of a different kind, as CEO of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), he’s working with government and industry to transition the UK automotive sector to Net-Zero. Constance is also helping secure the future of local manufacturing and supply chain as it goes through a once-in-ageneration shift to green technology. Reflecting the importance of the APC to government policy, he even presented a paper on its work to the G7 Summit in the summer of 2020. “Before leaving Ford in 2015, I’d been chief engineer for four years on the CD platform of products, around the Taurus, the Fusion and the Edge, and the CD car was particularly interesting,” he recalls. “It had a plug-in hybrid, hybrid, diesel, and various petrol variants, so it was essentially Ford covering a whole range of power-train elements, but the problem in that segment was that its volume was reducing around the world.

“We were putting in all those layers of technology to address issues around impending legislation on sustainability and CO2, but because of the scale of resources required, the product became less and less viable. “Those four years gave me an insight into the inevitable challenges of trying to do everything at once - even for a giant corporation like Ford. “The talent, the resources and the technology are all hugely impressive, but it’s like comparing a cruise liner to a speedboat when you look at Ford and a tech start-up and think what the latter can do and the pace at which they can impact change.” Constance loved his time with Ford, but there was a domestic price to pay as the couple and their young children moved around the globe. “For all the enormous professional fulfilment, we’d reached a point where our three daughters were approaching the time to enter high school,” he says.

Hydrogen-powered buses are one project worked on by the APC

“We obviously didn’t want to move them again during that period, so had to make a decision and I also felt I wanted to do something a little bit different. Then this opportunity at the APC came along in Coventry, and we decided to come back home.”

A NIMBLE BEAST

From having a seat in the captain’s cabin of an enormous vessel which took forever to change course, he was now at the helm of a far more nimble beast, but six years in, there are absolutely no regrets. “It’s been everything I hoped it would be and more. The APC sits in the middle of a tremendous network of OEMs, suppliers, technology providers, companies, government, and academia. “We reach out to them, and they respond very well to us, and having all that at your finger-tips every day really is very exciting. “It’s also very stimulating as the research projects in which we’re involved are so innovative. They’re trying to identify the technologies which will anchor our future, and we’re able to influence the decision-making process around those technologies to help people and accelerate change. “For the last 18 months too, it’s been enjoyable being involved at the strategic level through the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund which is putting capital funding into supply chains so they can grow at the pace and scale which will be required.

“If we want an EV supply chain, we have to do it now. If we delay and leave the decision-making and the funding for another five or ten years, those networks will be established in Europe and around the world, and we’ll all be in a zero-sum game.” However, although Constance has exchanged a corporate environment in Dearborn for an office on the University of Warwick campus in Coventry, his in-tray is still overflowing. “We are involved in batteries, mainstream vehicle programs, motors, supply chains, hydrogen buses and trucks, motorcycle manufacturers, off-highway vehicles and others. The sector in which we work is hugely diverse, and so our projects reflect that spread,” he says. “We are a lean organisation though. The same reasons which attracted me have proved equally compelling for others and we’ve built up an excellent team.

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

“Understandably though, the government wants to put money into factories and products not into a layer of administrators, but the quality of engineering and research talent is definitely here and we’re now coming up to 40 people. “The APC model is all about the outcomes - jobs created and tonnes of carbon saved. Our 10-year goal was to save 50m tonnes of CO2, and we’re well ahead of our target. “During our first seven full years we funded 170 projects which are projected to make savings of 288m tonnes, the lifetime equivalent of taking 12m vehicles off the road and these projects will create or safeguard around 50,000 UK jobs. “Our core products are the competitions we run, which last between three and five years, and are typically worth between £5m and £40m.” Lockdown brought multiple challenges, particularly for an organisation focused on collaboration with myriad external partners, but Constance and his colleagues were swift to react. “All the projects we do are about helping manufacturers to move through the last phase of the development cycle into production,” he says. “We only become involved if a company can demonstrate value for money, which has two elements. ‘Will jobs be created in the UK, and when the product comes to market will it help reduce carbon emissions by a significant amount? “Given the scale of our work, and the importance of our efforts to make manufacturers more sustainable, it was crucial that we didn’t lose traction and we came up with the idea of an Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator.

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SUPPORT

“We said to people that we could offer financial support if they had a good idea which they’d scope out and build, in order to put before investors within a year. “The aim was to stimulate activity which would help people to continue working during the height of COVID19, prevent them from going into furlough and get them bringing products forward which would move the story on. “For a relatively small amount of funding from us, the rewards for the company could be very significant.”

SUCCESS STORIES

One project involved Wrightbus, based in Northern Ireland and pioneers of the world’s first hydrogen-powered double decker bus. “Their two single-deck concepts were presented at the low-carbon show at Millbrook in September 2021, and they are already taking orders, so it’s a great example of the benefits of seed-funding,” says Constance. “Another real success story has been our work with the US truck manufacturer Meritor at their site in South Wales. They’ve started to transition their model, they attracted R&D money, then brought in outside partners and have now created a heavy-duty e-drive train. “The beauty of their heavy-duty strategy is that it doesn’t have to be for simply battery-powered vehicles, it could use a fuel cell or in road charging, as whichever approach you choose to reducing vehicle emissions, there will be electricity in the new drivetrain.” Seed-corn funding clearly delivers benefits, but Constance says bringing people and money together on a grander scale does present challenges. “This is something we’re working on. If you take an innovative idea or technology and tout it around Sillicon Valley, your chances of getting equity finance are pretty good, if it’s a reasonable idea and you have a strong team behind the concept. “However, although access to finance is one of the UK’s long-term strengths, the sector here is far more risk-averse to such ideas, and especially when they’re in transport, so there’s a challenge to attract investment from the money markets. “From an APC perspective, we have looked at if we could act as a broker, how we could bring people and money together. “We can provide strategic direction

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“ T he A P C model is all about the outcomes - jobs created and tonnes of carbon saved. O ur 10 -year goal was to save 5 0 m tonnes of C O 2 , and we ’ re well ahead of our target.” and do have contacts within some of the potential providers of finance, but actually taking that money and being a conduit for that finance would be rather difficult. “If (say) we take a position on one company but not on another, there would be challenges around conflicts of interest. “Not that from our perspective there would be a tangible conflict, but perceptions of a conflict could really muddy the waters. “It’s very important given the nature of our role that we are always seen to be neutral and taking external finance could potentially shift perceptions, although different routes to finance are definitely something we will continue to consider.”

INTRIGUING IDEAS

A new and intriguing project has seen the APC working closely with REE Automotive, a high-profile EV start-up from Israel which is looking to take the EV ‘skateboard design’ to extremes, by putting everything from the motor and suspension to the brakes and drivetrain into a vehicle’s wheels. “We’ve been talking to them for a while, with our colleagues from the Department for International Trade, and are working on a project with them at their Engineering Centre of Excellence at MIRA in Nuneaton to progress their concept. “We’re also talking to a battery company from Israel thinking about commercialising their products here, although those discussions are an earlier stage than those with REE.

“Israel is a great place for generating new ideas, and there are some very innovative companies there in auto and transportation, but it recognises that the history, richness and depth of our auto industry, and also our consumer market, make it a great place to invest in R&D. As 2022 gets underway, the APC will also invite Net-Zero innovators to access the latest round of early-stage funding via its Technology Developer Accelerator Programme. Up to £135,000 is available to micro-firms, start-ups and SMEs working on projects for tech, products, or services to either support zero-emission vehicle development, or the shift to Net-Zero carbon automotive products. “Through TDAP, we work with small companies and help them build a product plan and a business plan so they can demonstrate that their concept is viable, and that it can be taken to the next phase,” says Constance. “The programme has been phenomenally successful. We are connecting these SMEs with VCs and business angels, and some are already reaping the benefits. The closing date for the sixth round is February 2nd and we’ve already seen some tremendously exciting ideas.” ■

For more information about the work of the Advanced Propulsion Centre, the TDAP and its other programmes, please visit: www.apcuk.co.uk

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i s s u e 15 | U K SPA b r e a k t h r o u g h | 3 1

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SUPPORT

Getting the best out of your landscape assets

n important, but often overlooked asset to any science and technology park is its landscape; not only in providing the setting to the buildings and the supporting the character of the site, but also supporting biodiversity, providing amenity and relaxing break-out spaces, exercise routes and opportunities for chance encounters to occur. In the emerging post-pandemic world, with a focus on wellbeing and offering something different to a home environment; we are seeing the importance of well-designed outdoor commercial spaces come to the fore. However, once that beautifully designed landscape has been created, without a properly specified and managed landscape maintenance contract, that investment, is all too often at risk. Overseeing and managing the implementation of a landscape contract, ensuring its compliance and identifying areas for improvement is a specialist skill-set, and an area where ASA Landscape Architects have been able provide support to Facility Managers for a number of decades. With extensive experience in this area, we have written landscape maintenance specifications for numerous commercial developments and has provided support of the procurement process through to overseeing the management of the contract. In our experience we have found that working in collaboration with the Facility Management team, and in carrying out regular assessments of the maintenance works, we can ensure that best value to the client is provided, and that landscapes look their best to occupiers all year round.

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Anthony Stiff, Director, ASA Architects

Furthermore, with a deep knowledge of the industry, we can provide a onestop design and management service; identify and designing planting schemes for up-grade and rejuvenation on a rolling basis, improving site biodiversity, as well as working with the maintenance team to ensure best practice. In recent years there has been a move to digitise all facility management information. In response to this we have developed a GIS (Geographical Information System) to assist larger

Maplewood, Chineham Park

clients in managing their landscape assets. Developed and used over the last 10 years, this management tool enables clients to increase their understanding of their landscape asset, its components, extent, quality and need for renewal, whilst delivering the inputs and longterm costs that are required to manage and maintain it. This can assist in resource planning, and quality monitoring (KPIs) and identifying the implications and opportunities for Biodiversity Net Gain.

“A vibrant and well managed landscape can set your business or science park apart from the competition, provide multiple benefits to your tenants, employers and visitors, and can help towards providing a carbon neutral business. We know from tenant surveys on business parks that we work with, that the green infrastructure and quality of the landscape is the most influential reason for liking their place of work. Covid 19 as well as the focus on climate change has changed how we interact with the workplace, and it is incumbent on landlords to cater for a more demanding, and environmentally aware audience.” Anthony Stiff DIRECTOR, ASA ARCHITECTS

A focus on high quality landscape design and ongoing maintenance can pay dividends, not only through occupier retention, but also through nationally recognised awards, as explained in the following case studies at Milton Park, Chineham Business Park and Winnersh Triangle Business Park. We have been involved with these three parks for a number of years, and have been influential both in creating new, and renovating existing landscapes to many individual developments and also across the estates. In addition, we have been employed to set up and

manage the ongoing landscape maintenance of these estates, to ensure that the design intent and quality of appearance and biodiversity aims Outdoor seating in the are met. Pocket Park at 210, Innovations have Winnersh Business Park included new permanent and ‘popup’ out-door seating areas, including meeting pods, pocket parks for informal recreation and seating, grey to green urban drainage solutions including bioretention swales and enhancing existing ditches, bespoke recreational facilities such as a new sports hub, table tennis, boules and skittles for occupiers to enjoy. Working closely with the facility management and maintenance teams across these estates, we have supported the drive towards biodiversity, identifying nomow areas actively introducing species rich grasses, native hedges, bird and bat boxes, swift towers and bee hives. This activity has been supported through community events including bee talks, bulb planting and the setting up of a Greener Work Forum to act as a conduit for new initiatives. These efforts have been recognised with several awards given to our client teams: • British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) National Landscape Award for Grounds Maintenance for both Milton Park and Chineham Park • Green Apple Environmental Award (for Milton Park)

Urban gardens for occupiers at Milton Park

• Fitwel certification for Winnersh and Chineham Park The last 12-24 months has been challenging for everyone, but as the world adapts to life with Covid, and the climate change pressures we all need to face, ASA is striving to help their clients how to innovate and accommodate these changes, creating vibrant, successful landscapes through their design and management. ■

For further information, please visit: www.asa-architects.co.uk

“Milton Park has had a long and successful relationship working with ASA Landscape Architects. Drawing upon their expertise to deliver a consistent and cohesive approach to landscape maintenance and design has proved invaluable. Now more than ever we are challenged by our client and occupiers to deliver attractive and biodiverse green spaces across the park, which is a key objective we set ASA Landscape Architects. Utilising new and existing green spaces goes a long way to attracting and retaining occupiers, whilst creating opportunities for informal networking. From an FM perspective we have found the instruction of a landscape architect a huge benefit in maximising the landscaping and creating a point of difference in a very competitive market.” Peter King ESTATE MANAGER, MILTON PARK

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

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Innovation

Extending the frontiers of UK science and industry

Micron’s team is never cowed The CEO of Micron Agritech, Daniel Izquierdo Hijazi, tells Ian Halstead about its breakthrough technology which will revolutionise animal testing on a global scale. 3 6 | U K SPA b r e a k t h r o u g h | i s s u e 15

t’s seductive to believe that scientific advances are the outcome of a single instance of genius, and the concept of the ‘Eureka Moment’ was long ago spawned by popular myth. The catalyst for innovation is more usually a combination of timing, talent and team-work, but equally, the crucial element might simply be something more instinctive: a dogged determination to chase a dream. Micron Agritech was only founded in 2019, but the self-belief and commitment of Izquierdo, and his three co-founders, has already enabled the fledgling enterprise to

overcome significant obstacles which might easily have derailed its progress. Now though, as the Dublin-based venture looks to open its second funding round in Q1 2022 to raise 1m euros, its future is secure. Its rapid testing kit for parasites which infect cattle, sheep and other grazing species will keep flocks healthier, save farmers time and money, and become a major force in the global fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which threatens the health of animals and humans alike.

“We began by looking at resistance to medication and found that the number one issue for grazing animals worldwide was worms. However, the only way for farmers to test for their presence was to send samples to a lab, which can take up to five days for results.” “That’s way too long, so most farmers just use medication on a blanket basis without testing and because the medicine is being over-used that leads to problems with AMR.” “The traditional system was slow and inefficient, and wasted time because farmers spent hours dosing animals that likely didn’t need treatment. “It’s also been shown that up to 40% of the medicine used is ineffective as the animals being treated aren’t infected, or the medication isn’t being targeted correctly”

DARING LEADERS (L-R) Micron Agritech CEO Daniel Izquierdo Hijazi, product director Jose Lopez Escobar, creative director Tara McElligott and commercial director Sean Smith

However, as Izquierdo outlines the company’s impressive evolution, it’s hard to believe it was simply a student project at the Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) only two years ago. “We all met at college and going into our third year we had a module where everyone was asked to create a concept for a product which could solve a major world problem,” he recalls. “That summer Jose (Lopez Escobar - a co-founder and now product director) was looking for ideas and talking to a vet. She was medicating an animal regularly without having it tested, which she knew was wrong, but the manual process took too long.” She said to him: “If you can develop an easier way to do the test, you could revolutionise how we treat animals” … so we took that challenge on.”

Daniel, Jose and the other co-founders – creative director Tara McElligott and commercial director Sean Smith – were in the same class, which reflected TU Dublin’s strategic aim to be the catalyst for a new generation of entrepreneurs. The institution was created via a merger of Dublin Institute of Technology, the Institute of Technology Tallaght, and the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown. Its mission statement is lofty – and admirable: To transform students into open-minded citizens who share their innovative ideas into marketable and useful products or services and become ‘daring leaders’ ready to play their part in creating better futures. “The great thing about the degree we studied, Product Design, is that it specialises in three distinct areas of expertise: business, design and engineering,” said Izquierdo. “I leaned more towards the business element, Jose was on the engineering side,

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

and Sean and Tara had different, but complementary skill-sets, so we’d come together in the class for previous projects.” “Over the course of the first semester, we pulled together a concept of allowing farmers and vets to test samples from animals using their mobile phones, which would be analysed in realtime by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm we would design.” “We’d then use our AI-based tests to deliver the results within five minutes, which would be a win for everyone. “Farmers would reduce their use of medication whilst increasing animal productivity, every stage was much more efficient and as there was no need for blanket medication, resistance would be reduced.” The concept was well received by academics after the summer, but the module wasn’t simply an element of undergraduate studies, as one project from across TU Dublin would also be selected to enter an annual competition run by the Network of International Business Schools (NIBS) The winner would receive international media coverage, funding and win the coveted award, so if Micron was to progress smoothly and swiftly from concept to reality, it really had to be chosen. Unfortunately for the hopes of the four founders, it wasn’t - and their first major challenge loomed. “We were told just before Christmas that we hadn’t been selected, so I spent the break completely rewriting our business plan and then re-sent it to our lecturer, when we came back, we were told we were going through,” said Izquierdo. The decision must have led to interesting dynamics among the TU Dublin Product Design students, as the team initially chosen returned from celebrating Christmas to discover that there’d been a U-turn, but a second

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I nnovation

significant obstacle arose for Micron at the same time. “We’d held discussions with the uni’s commercial team, TU Dublin Hothouse, hoping they’d invest in our concept by paying for our first patent application, but at the end of the meeting, we were told they wouldn’t, as they’d never previously done so with undergrads,” recalls Izquierdo. “We were obviously disappointed, but still believed that our ideas had merit, and told them we were going to keep working and taking the project forward.” “Later that afternoon though we got a call to say they’d been impressed by the team’s determination, had changed their mind and would file for a patent on our behalf, which was really the catalyst for everything that has happened since.” “The key thing then was building a team around us to fill in the gaps in our skills. We needed data science, software engineering, veterinary science and finance, and gradually the team came together which is one of the aspects of which we are most proud.” “We’re operating at the junction of veterinary science, software and hardware, and it took that multidisciplinary approach to turn our concept into a viable and innovative product. Our team is now up to 12 people, and we plan to expand further during 2022.”

AWA R D W I N N I N G

Buoyed by the patent decision, the founders then went on to win the 2019 NIBS Worldwide Business Plan Competition, defeating rivals from business schools in the US and Belgium. In keeping with the global nature of the high-profile event, the three finalists were assessed virtually by a judging panel in China. Micron also won an Innovation Arena award for emerging research at the 2019 National Ploughing Championships, and won the ICT category in the 2020 Student Entrepreneur Awards As 2020 drew to a close, Micron generated 500,000 euros of investment through its first fund-raising round, which attracted support from Bimeda Animal Health, founded in Ireland in the mid-60s and now with a global presence, a VC fund, The Yield Lab Europe, and Enterprise Ireland. As the enterprise was boosting both its corporate coffers and its public

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profile, Izquierdo was also busily underpinning its management team with astute advisory hires. “I’m 22, and the average age of our team is in the mid-20s. We’re very conscious that it takes a special talent to identify what is required in all industry challenges, and particularly in agriculture which is often dominated by very traditional thinking,” he admits. “To innovate, you sometimes need outside eyes to see new solutions not immediately obvious to people inside an industry, which our team has been great at doing. “However, we also recognised that we needed industry know-how and experience and have built up a very robust group of advisers around us to benefit from their experience and insights.” “The best-known from the animal health and agriculture sectors are Nigel Walshe and Andrew Weatherley, who were both directors at Pfizer Animal Health and have more than 70 years of combined expertise in the industry.” Micron then opened a satellite office on the Menai Science Park (M-Sparc), after winning a chunk of a £135,000 prize fund offered by the Welsh government for innovative solutions related to the agri-sector which used AI. “It’s always important to monitor emerging opportunities, and take them wherever you find them, and the AgriHack was something that just came to our attention,” says Izquierdo. “It was very exciting to be one of the joint winners, because the funding, which is being used to develop our sheep test, fit well within our strategy of developing our technology for additional animals, and we were also looking to set up operations within the UK.” “Wales is obviously famous for sheep farming, everything is going really well there, we’ve made two hires, and are consistently impressed by the quality of their work. The office has honestly already surpassed our expectations, even though it’s only been going for three months.” “Across the company, we are making rapid breakthroughs in the development of our platform technologies. Our machine learning models are the key driver which enables us to generate comprehensive results at unprecedented speed.”

“We’re looking to add more test types, with the goal to shift the industry’s standard practice from one based on blanketed medication to one based on targeted treatments driven by our rapid diagnostics technologies.”

A COMMON GOAL

Having received support from the Irish government through Enterprise Ireland, and the Welsh government via M-Sparc, Izquierdo is optimistic that a productive partnership could evolve with the UK government, most likely via DEFRA. “We are working towards that. The resistance issue is obviously of huge interest to regulators, farmers, animal health companies, vets and their support staff, and consumers, and we believe our solution works really well for everyone.” “From a regulatory perspective, our digital solution offers greater traceability and because the tests are so easy to carry out, decisions will be driven by data, helping decrease inputs while increasing outputs and all whilst reducing resistance” “It works really well for farmers because it helps them reduce overheads, whilst increasing yields and keeping their animals healthy, and for vets because it enables them to bring these tests in-house overnight and deliver an excellent service.” “Engaging with governments, farmers and regulators around the world is a key element of our strategy, because we’re all working towards a common goal of keeping more animals healthy, increasing productivity and reducing AMR.” “Our first fund-raising round generated investment to turn Micron Kit from a concept to reality, and the second will raise funds to commercialise Micron Kit and bring our rapid diagnostics tech to the world.” ■ Find out more about Micron Agritech, by visiting: https://micronagritech.com

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I nnovation

“A s demand for lab space has risen , we ’ ve seen the average values of our day -to - day work more than double . B efore C ovid , a typical project would be up to £ 1m , but in Q 4 2 0 2 1 and into 2 0 2 2 , we ’ ll regularly be doing schemes of up to £ 2 m .” DEREK JONES, MANAGING DIRECTOR, BULB INTERIORS

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Bulb burns ever brighter Breakthrough hears the stor y of Bulb Interiors from its managing director, Derek Jones and Head of science and technology, Manisha Kulkarni.

t’s always a pleasure to discover companies where talent and success are firmly rooted in pride and professionalism rather than corporate ego. Reading-based Bulb Interiors achieved dramatic transformation in both revenue and clients during Covid, but despite its fast-growing scale and reputation, managing director Derek Jones (left) remains a calming presence in its boardroom. As he explains its evolution, there’s a strong sense of purpose and ambition, but also a tangible realisation that projects and clients must always come first. “We’ve come from being a small fit-out company doing office interiors for life science and lab companies some 10 years ago, to a consultancyled business taking on projects for both labs and offices,” says Jones. “In terms of personnel, we first recruited (and are still recruiting) more specialist engineers and then two years ago brought in Manisha (Kulkarni) as head of science and technology, who has made a significant difference. “In terms of how Bulb operates, the main change is that we now bridge the gap between science and construction and pride ourselves in appreciating how scientists think and also understanding their requirements. “We were tenant-led for a long time, but our client base has changed significantly over the last 18 months, with so many people in the property sector trying to move into life sciences and the traditional office market slowing down. “We’ve done several projects for Arlington, and now Brookfield Asset

Management, where they identify a client who is interested in one of their buildings, introduce us to them, and we then deliver the fit-out on behalf of the landlord. “We’ve also worked closely with Kadans Science Partner and are involved in several projects for them at the moment, particularly at Abingdon. They are very open to us talking directly to their clients, which not everyone in the UK property sector is.”

A FA I LU R E T O D I F F E R E N T I AT E It’s regularly suggested that as the upsurge in demand for life science space continues, some agents are failing to differentiate between the needs of traditional office tenants and those in science niches, and Jones agrees. “The priority for most commercial property people is to do the deal. They want to rush into agreeing terms with

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

potential tenants, which is entirely understandable from their perspective. “Lab projects are not like office projects though, and when you’re working with life science companies you really need to understand their specific requirements in detail. “We’ve seen lots of occasions when heads of terms appear to have been agreed too early, and we’ve also met tenants who moved into a building which they hoped could evolve as their own model evolved, only to discover that the space simply wasn’t right for them.” It’s a sign of the strong professional relationship between Jones and Kulkarni that she’s able to finish off his sentences … and they’re clearly in accord on this issue. “Clients who operate in science sectors are innovators, and their requirements can change rapidly, so you need to build relationships right from the early stages,” she says.

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I nnovation

“Kadans are particularly good at both bringing people together and allowing time for a shared understanding to develop, which leads to better outcomes and to stronger tenant-landlord relationships.” “When you’re working with people who do understand the sector, it makes such a difference, and it’s been very pleasing in the last two or three years, and particularly during Covid, that agents we’ve worked with on projects have consistently recommended us,” says Jones. “At the moment, we’re working on several projects with JLL and BNP Parabas Real Estate, and you can feel the difference. “They’ve both brought in people to give them a greater depth of knowledge, who have experience of working in life sciences, perhaps from the US - and it shows during the discussions. “It’s like working with Manisha, whose background is very different to mine. When we’re discussing projects internally, or working with clients and occupiers, she’ll often have a different perspective, and it will be something I wouldn’t have considered.” “In general, I think agents, developers and investors need to understand just how different the markets are for life science space in the US and there. There are welcome signs that the alignment is starting, but there’s a long way to go,” says Kulkarni. “There is a lot of talk about the boom in life sciences, and we can all see the interest and the money which is targeting those sectors, but there just isn’t the space. Even in London there are only three or four locations where incubator space can be found.” “There is also still a disconnect between the scale of the new wave of projects and the requirements, particularly for start-ups and SMEs,” says Jones. “There are several impressive proposals in London, but when you see the detail, they will have floor-plates of 10,000 sq ft or 20,000 sq ft, which is way too large for many potential occupiers. The industry needs to have more flexibility about the mix of space which they are providing.”

DIVERSITY

Bulb’s client list has always been diverse, ranging from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Britvic to Oxford Science Park and the Bank of Ireland, and spanned a wide

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range of sectors, and Kulkarni says that trend has continued. “You always need to manage risk, and a broad spread of projects is essential. We worked with a computer business just before the start of Covid, and recently won a contract with a company specialising in space technology. “We did one project for a lab to carry out chemical analysis, another which needed to install advanced automation as it was Manisha Kulkarni, Head of science working on drug discovery and technology, Bulb Interiors and had to operate 24 hours a day, and also worked for a robotics’ company which was based in Sydney. “ W E LL R E C E I V E D Bulb’s growing reputation has also Cambridge has long been considered one seen a significant increase in both the of the toughest property markets to size of its projects and its geographical penetrate, but Bulb’s arrival has been presence. well received. “In November, we secured a project “I must admit, we’ve been pleasantly of more than £4m which will be our surprised at the traction we’ve gained biggest-ever, where we will be taking there, though the challenge for our three adjacent warehouses, business development team is now to refurbishing them, putting in turn those initial contacts into mezzanine floors, creating office space commercial relationships,” says Jones. and also installing clean rooms and “We do have aspirations to grow the testing areas,” says Jones. company. Manisha thinks Manchester “I think because of the shortage would be a strong location for us, and I of brand-new space that we’ll see an can’t disagree, but not just at the moment. increasing number of companies “You’ve always got to make sure you operating in life sciences taking have the right people on board before you repurposed space in their desired location. look to expand, and you always need to “They’ll then look to build a network keep a very careful eye on each existing of suppliers and customers around project before taking on new ones. them, so there will be a community “We are recruiting with a view to already in place when the new shiny future growth, but if there is a downside space eventually comes along. to this niche it’s that all projects are very “As demand for lab space has risen, front-loaded in terms of time and money. we’ve seen the average values of our “Into 2022, we’ll be looking to gain day-to-day work more than double. more experience of jvs and strengthen our Before Covid, a typical project would be presence in Cambridge, but to be honest, up to £1m, but in Q4 2021 and into 2022, it’s always been difficult to look more than we’ll regularly be doing schemes of up six months ahead in his industry and you to £2m. still need to put potential opportunities “We are very well established into careful context.” ■ around Oxford and along the Thames Valley corridor to Reading, but have added an office in Cambridge. We’ve won several office projects there over For more information about the company the years, and finally decided to and its projects, please visit: establish a permanent presence.” www.bulbinteriors.com

Driving economic recovery through entrepreneurship with ARU’s Innovation Hubs

he bold vision of ARU’s Arise Innovation Hubs is to be a beacon of innovation, a powerhouse of the economic recovery after Covid, and a pride of the East of England’s business ecosystem. Which is exactly what Dr Beverley Vaughan, newly appointed Director of the Hubs, is determined to achieve, “They’re an essential part of the business journey, helping early stage companies to grow, scale and thrive. We’re looking to launch nothing less than the household names of tomorrow.” There are two hubs, based at Chelmsford and Harlow in Essex, which are home to around 30 early stage companies. The hubs give companies access to stateof-the-art laboratory facilities and workspaces, they’re particularly focused on supporting emerging medtech and healthtech companies. Dr Vaughan believes the hubs can help the economy of the East of England, and the UK, bounce back strongly from the Covid pandemic. “The crisis has really boosted innovation,” she says. “We’ve seen remarkable advances, such as using drones to deliver essential medical

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supplies, which just wouldn’t have happened without the pandemic. “I wonder if we’re approaching a golden age for entrepreneurship, as we’ve seen what we can do when we really put our mind to problems. And that can only be good news for the economy as we come back after Covid. “ARU is an entrepreneurial University. It’s in our DNA. As is being a key player in and supporting the local and regional economy. The hubs play an important part in fulfilling those principles.” The centres, both of which have spaces remaining for the aspiring entrepreneurs of tomorrow, boast good transport links and are within easy reach of London and Cambridge. One company to have benefited from basing itself at the Chelmsford hub is FutureNova, which makes medical grade cases to ensure sterility for iPhones and iPads being used in clinical settings. For CEO Mike Casey, the hub was a lucky discovery which paid off handsomely. “I hadn’t even properly founded the company when I was driving past a sign which advertised rental space,” he says. “I drove in, and that was it, I knew it was where I wanted to be based. I won an

innovation grant, got set up, and we’ve been here ever since.” From its beginnings in 2015, FutureNova now employs ten staff, and uses two factories for manufacturing its cases. “Hubs like Arise are so important for entrepreneurs,” Mike adds. “I’m very grateful for all the support ARU has given me. I would definitely recommend the hubs to other entrepreneurs. They’re a fantastic space in which to innovate.” Such tales of innovation, success and growth are music to the ears of Dr Vaughan. ■

If you’d like to find out more, join Beverley and the Arise team for the official opening of the Harlow Arise Hub and hear from local MedTech and HealthTech innovators and special guest speakers. Friday 25 March 2022 - 10:00-13:30 To book, please visit: www.aru.ac.uk/arise/support/events

Arise Harlow, Harlow Science Park

I nnovation

Becoming a ‘Science and Technology Superpower’ requires HMG to keep its foot on the R&D accelerator

he autumn saw the Chancellor unveil the Budget and Spending Review 2021, critical for resourcing and implementing the government’s Innovation Strategy which was launched in July and signalled the government’s intention to place science, technology and innovation at the heart of the recovery from the pandemic by supporting the UK’s innovation capabilities. But the Budget signalled a slowdown in spending ambitions. The target of lifting spending on R&D to £22bn per annum by 2024/25 was promised in the 2020 Budget, and represented a significant increase from the current public spending on £14.9bn per annum, but the government has now signalled that it will effectively ‘take its foot off the accelerator’ in implementing the new Innovation Strategy by readjusting its pledge £20 bn per annum by 2024/25. Although this is remains a serious spending commitment to science and innovation, this move risks curtailing opportunities to gear in private investment for R&D, and as a consequence diminishes likelihood reaching 2.4% of GDP for R&D intensity by 2027. Pursuing this target is critical to driving innovation activities in the UK which create high-value jobs and prosperity, and which underpin levelling-up and the Net Zero missions – all central components of the Build Back Better and Build Back Greener plans. By slowing the pace of planned public investment in science and innovation, the government risks undermining its recently published Innovation Strategy, and so we are urging HM Treasury to take every opportunity to review its commitments for science and

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Steve Yianni FREng PRESIDENT, AIRTO

Jane Gate EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AIRTO

innovation considering the national economic conditions in the year ahead, to ensure that the UK remains globally competitive to fulfil its ambition for Science and Technology Superpower status. The new Innovation Strategy was broadly welcomed as a progressive move by government to deliver on its stated goal for the UK to become a ‘global hub for innovation by 2035’. It will be an integral part of the plan for recovery and recognises that the societal challenges and global market opportunities identified in 2017 Industrial Strategy remain. In launching this strategy, the government signalled its intention to place science and technology at the heart of the UK’s recovery from the pandemic by supporting the UK’s innovation capabilities. The climate crisis and demographic crisis - arguably the world’s most pressing concerns - offer global trade opportunities for the UK, with its world-class expertise and international reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship. The

Professor Patrick Bonnett Chair, UKSPA / board member, AIRTO Chief Development Officer, NICA

level of innovation required to tackle these big missions is colossal and needs nurturing if it is going to be successful. The fresh commitment and investment signalled in the Innovation Strategy, shaped by lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic to recognise the power that science and technology can play in tackling societal challenges and transforming lives, helping realise the ambition to ‘Build Back Better’, were broadly welcomed. With these latest announcements unveiling a scalingback on investment ambitions for R&D, we are urging the government to keep science and technology at the heart of the UK’s recovery from the pandemic by supporting the UK’s innovation capabilities.

Close-to-market innovation across the UK is central to the new Innovation Strategy The Innovation Strategy aims to harness assets across the country, recognising the UK’s geographically dispersed R&D and innovation

ecosystem as a means of maximising the benefits of innovation for local economies and building on local strengths in places. Much of this activity is represented by members of the Association for Innovation, Research and Technology Organisations (AIRTO), and the UK Science Park Association (UKSPA). AIRTO is the foremost membership body for organisations operating in the UK’s innovation, research and technology sector. With a combined turnover of £6.9 billion and more than 57,000 scientific and technical staff, IRT sector organisations work at the interface between academia and industry. UKSPA represents more than 130 research campuses, science parks, technology incubators, and similar locations. Collectively, these house over 6,000 high-tech companies with 120,000 employees, comprising some of the nation’s most skilled scientists and innovative business leaders. Together, these vital sectors play a fundamental role in driving productivity. They include

“ W ith these latest announcements unveiling a scaling - back on investment ambitions for R & D , we are urging the government to keep science and technology at the heart of the U K ’ s recovery from the pandemic by supporting the U K ’ s innovation capabilities .” hotbeds of innovation operating in cities, such as the Met Office and National Physical Laboratory, and hubs of activity in non-urban areas, such as the European Marine Science Park near Oban, the Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus, and Orkney’s European Marine Energy Centre.

Repeated call to building on our world-class existing capabilities In addition, to committing to revaluating the annual commitment of £20 bn for R&D by 2024/25, it is clear that the government has the opportunity to go further in strengthening two particular areas of the Innovation Strategy, by smart deployment of the funds announced in the Budget 2021 to programmes which: • Create more support mechanisms for boosting international collaborations – and in particular, taking steps to ensure that established and renowned UK entities continue to play their pivotal part in programmes like Horizon Europe. The UK’s international standing as a ‘Science and Technology Superpower’ will be hampered if we lose ground in our relationships with key collaborators in EU member states. • Boost investment in the innovation ecosystem, recognising that some of the UK’s non-profit distributing organisations that lie at the innovation ecosystem’s foundations and have a critical role to play in the levelling up agenda, offering living labs, test-beds and demonstrators, remain undercapitalised. For the UK’s innovation ecosystem to be truly world-leading by 2035, this under investment must be addressed. ■

For further information, please visit: www.airto.co.uk

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

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Growth

Sharing your success, best practice, and lessons learned

Red dragon flying high Pryderi ap Rhisiart, managing director of Menai Science Park (M-SParc), outlines his hopes, strategy and vision for the fast-growing location.

t’s something of a surprise to discover that Wales didn’t have a dedicated science park until M-SParc was created on the isle of Anglesey just three years ago, but it is already making the case for others to follow. M-SParc is owned by Bangor University and run as an arms-length commercial company. The £20m cost of the first phase came equally from the Welsh government and European Regional Development Funding. Just over 31,200 sq ft of lettable space was commissioned for office, lab and workshop uses capable of housing 700 people on a 20-acre greenfield site in the village of Gaerwen. The demand in the north Wales region was certainly evident long before the eye-catching three-storey hub was even completed. Willmott Dixon, which constructed the building to BREEAM Excellent standards, was contractually required to achieve an occupancy rate of at least 15% before the handover could be completed. The company created an array of digital construction solutions to show the ongoing development, and even provided VR glasses at the site’s viewing deck so potential tenants and other visitors could have deeper insight into the project’s evolution.

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CORE KPIS

More than a third of the space was secured before handover, and ap Rhisiart says the occupancy rate then increased swiftly to 85% before Covid reached the UK and the concept of lockdown was conceived. Intriguingly though, he doesn’t consider that figure to be one of his core KPIs for assessing M-SParc’s performance. “We knew there was significant pent-up demand for science space in north Wales, because although there was an existing eco-system due to of the long-term presence of Bangor University, there simply hadn’t been the physical space,” says ap Rhisiart. “Despite the impact of Covid, 2020 was our strongest period for revenue, and

we’re currently running at an occupancy rate around 80%, which I think is a sustainable level because we need to have available grow-on space, as well as space for new tenants. “For me though, I don’t think a science park (or innovation district) can be fairly assessed on the amount of space it has delivered, or the level of occupancy, but on the outcomes it has achieved. “How successfully and effectively it works with its tenants, with companies in the region, whether they be start-ups, SMEs or established corporates, and what it can achieve for the wider economy are to me more important.

“ more young people are thinking about science . . . S O I T ’ s G R E AT T H AT when T H E Y come here , and see the space and opportunities , T H AT they are inspired .”

“Our KPIs are more focused on the satisfaction levels M-SParc is achieving, what employment and wealth is being created, and what engagement levels we have, not just with the local and regional business communities, but also with teachers, pupils and all the other people who live here.” There’s certainly a strong case to be made that such outcomes better reflect impact than real estate data, and ap Rhisiart advances his rationale with a passion which confirms that the management board chose wisely when they needed a successor to Ieuan Wyn Jones. “I’d been involved since 2013 as the project manager, when we were buying the land, commissioning the access roads and

constructing the buildings, and was fortunate enough to step into the role as managing director,” he recalls. Impressively, the first phase was delivered on time and under budget, which must have impressed the interviewing panel before his appointment. Jones retired in 2018, though his experience hasn’t been lost as he chairs the management board, alongside a raft of senior academics from Bangor University, including Prof Sian Hope, its director of strategic initiatives, and a founding member of the Science Advisory Council for Wales. “We are a traditional science park in one sense as we’re owned by a university, but I like to think we’ve been very innovative in our approach, and the board has been very supportive of the various initiatives and policies

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

we’ve suggested,” admits ap Rhisiart. “Saying that, we’re still new to the science park community, and it’s been extremely useful to access the vast amount of experience and know-how on the board.” The university certainly has a long tradition of scientific research. Just eight years after the first Wright brothers’ flight, one of Bangor’s professors, George Bryan, published ‘Stability in Aviation’ and his algebraic equations still form the cornerstone of science about aerodynamics. One of its graduates, Dr Tom Parry Jones, invented the electronic breathalyser, and another professor, Edward Raymond Andrew, was a pioneer of the techniques of nuclear magnetic resonance, widely used now for medical diagnosis and in other science sectors.

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GROWTH

HACK TO THE FUTURE

They would surely have nodded approvingly to see ap Rhisiart and his team delivering a programme of ‘hacks’ to attract innovative tech-focused tenants. The most recent, Agri-Hack, held during Q1 2021, led to the arrival of two start-ups, Dewin-Tech and Micron Agritech. Both pitched solutions driven by artificial intelligence and shared £135,000 of government funding to commercialise their products and services in Wales. Dewin.Tech is also partnering with an existing M-SParc tenant, EvoMetric, to develop its IoT applications which include Dewin Moo, an automatic detection system to deliver real-time information to farmers about the behaviour of cows and calves during the breeding season. “The hacks have been tremendously successful, the regional farming community really bought into the last one because they could see how keen we were to help bring new solutions to resolve the challenges of their sector, and we’ll be having more in 2022,” says ap Rhisiart. “Our work with schools has also been very well received. We go into the classrooms, meet teachers and support staff, and try to get as many youngsters as possible interested in careers in science. “We get the impression that more young people are thinking about science, not least because of the impact of Covid on tourism which has driven this area’s economy for so long. “We also make the point to youngsters and careers advisers that jobs in science are well-paid. A typical job on our science park pays around £5,000 more than the typical job elsewhere in Wales. “Obviously, it’s not all about money, but it’s great to see that when young people come here, and see the space and the opportunities, you can see they are inspired.”

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The M-SParc site also has sections designed to attract interest from younger generations, with the ‘Hello Young Dynamo’ slot for those aged five to 12, and “Welcome Young Dynamos’ for teenagers, both featuring engaging videos from the Science Made Simple organisation, and from Bangor University, as well as M-SParc’s own ‘Clwb Sparci’.

vi rtua l tenancies

Whilst demand for permanent space remains high, ap Rhisiart recognises that some start-ups and SMEs might not yet require their own office or lab space, so there are ‘virtual tenancy’ deals, where companies can access business support and networking opportunities whilst working remotely. “It’s an option which has proved very popular, and around 20% of our tenants now operate away from M-SParc,” he says. “We are currently working with Innovate UK and a company based here to establish a platform to deliver our services differently, which we are confident will be an attractive proposition.

“During 2022, we’ll be developing both virtual services and hybrid services. We want to expand our footprint and be known to wider audiences for what we can offer, and for our contribution to the Welsh economy. Getting ourselves out there will be a key element of our strategy.” There’s no shortage of ambition by the university and the park’s management board either, with a 30-year vision already in place, and ap Rhisiart is starting to think about bringing forward a second building. “The tenants would have to be focused on energy and low-carbon models, but we already have the land and outline planning permission for six further buildings, which would represent a combined 194,000 sq ft,” he says. “As the economy starts to recover from the impact of Covid, and the demand for science space starts to really tick-up, I think we’re getting to close to the point of commissioning a second phase.” ■

Discover more about M-SParc and its tenants at: http://www.m-sparc.com/

A R E N O I T I W S I E U Q N C A A W E N A

GUARDTECHGROUP.COM

MEMBER PROFILES

he UK Life Sciences and Innovation sector is on a fast-growth trajectory and is now central to the UK’s economic growth throughout the 2020s. As the sector develops, so too will the real estate landscape that supports it. Knight Frank has a UK network of offices aligned with the Life Sciences sector, operating across the key Life Sciences and Innovation markets of London, Oxford, Cambridge and the Golden Triangle, as well as other key regional markets where innovation and research eco-systems thrive, such as Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff. Whatever your requirements, the Knight Frank team of market experts, supported by their in-depth research capabilities, can help meet your real estate demands. A range of services are available, under the branches of: • Leasing • Capital Markets • Valuation & Advisory

• Tenant Representation & Strategic Consultancy • Project Building Consultancy • Data Centres • Development advisory • Sustainability In 2020, the UK Life Sciences sector witnessed a 45% year-on-year increase in the number of companies incorporated in the UK, and between 2021 to 2022, the UK Government plans to invest £14.6bn in R&D grants and facilities. Public and private investment are expected to accelerate as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic. But this is only part of the picture. Technology and data,

open innovation, next wave manufacturing, ESG and emerging fields of science are also transforming the market. Not only are these forces shaping the sector, but they will have significant implications for landlords, investors, developers and occupiers. Knight Frank can be consulted to provide advice to each of these client groups and have a strategic relationship with specialist advisors if the service required is sector specific. ■ For further information, please visit: www.knightfrank.co.uk/life-sciences

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Premier House, 13 St Paul’s Square, Birmingham B3 1RB

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s a tier one technical services provider, Imtech Engineering Services deliver quality Mechanical and Electrical technical solutions within the UK’s built environment, from initial design through to project completion. With a lineage going back to 1913 Imtech have built a market leading reputation for engineering excellence, delivering an extensive range of projects across public and private sectors. As part of the wider Imtech UK Group, Imtech Engineering Services are one of five complementary businesses with the combined capability to design and manage all technical installations and energy systems providing specialist services in technical facilities management, mechanical and electrical engineering, energy performance contracting , systems integration and digital services.

S ustainabi l ity

Imtech enviably have EDF Energy, the world’s largest energy provider, as their parent company. This provides the financial stability, technical resource and innovative service capability to deliver improved energy efficiencies. In particular, there is a shared ambition

to achieve Net Zero Carbon which helps puts Imtech at the forefront of sustainability to reflect the current climate emergency. A commitment to NetZero carbon with the goal of balancing the emissions produced and emissions removed from the atmosphere.

S afety F i r st

Imtech have a Safety First approach and their award-winning processes are embedded in their culture ensuring that Imtech people, and those that are directly and indirectly affected by their work, remain safe. With an enviable health and safety record, an Accident Frequency Rate consistently below the industry average, the key objective is zero harm and making sure everyone goes home safe every day. SAFE OR NOT AT ALL is the Imtech mantra.

E n g inee r in g E xce l l ence

Imtech’s focus is on operational excellence through the proven design and delivery of innovative, sustainable and resilient solutions for their clients. They do this through their experience across all sectors and by making the most of synergies between the Group’s work streams. Early involvement in a project affords Imtech engineers the opportunity to add value during the pre-construction phase. By understanding the individual building from the outset, they are able to offer value engineered solutions utilising the latest in

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

digital tools and modern methods of construction, which can lead to a more cost and time effective installation.

C ustome r S atisfaction

Imtech’s approach to the delivery of a successful project is through collaboration. Working in partnership, leads to a better end result for all stakeholders and a better experience for all parties. The approach to quality management is fundamental to Imtech’s continued success. As part of the EDF group, they have access to resources and experience across the whole group that enables a tailored approach to quality management.

E X ceptiona l P eop l e

Imtech pride themselves in the quality of people at their disposal, ensuring that the technical services installed achieve project deadlines, drive innovative solutions and ensure the highest of standards are never compromised. That is why, Imtech are one of the UK’s leading Mechanical and Electrical service providers that can always be relied upon to consistently deliver an exceptional project in every aspect. ■ For further information, please visit: www.imtech.co.uk

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MEMBER PROFILES

Abingdon Science Park

bingdon Science Park, is located in the heart of the Science Vale, one of the largest science & technology clusters in Europe. Oxford is a global centre of excellence in life science innovation. The cluster is anchored by the University of Oxford which was recently named the number 1 university in the world (Times World University Ranking 2021). The University, supported by Oxford Science Innovation, has accelerated the movement of leading science out of the laboratory and onto the global stage driving increased real estate demand. Abingdon Science Park is a short walk to both Abingdon Town centre, which has an array of amenities and the newly extended White Horse Leisure centre; access onto the A34 and other main roads is around 2.4 miles to the north.

With Kadans expertise each building is transformed to suit both offices and labs to support the growing need in the cluster. The Science Quadrant sits at the heart of Science Vale, one of the largest science & technology clusters in Europe. Oxford is a global centre of excellence in life science innovation. The cluster is anchored by the University of Oxford which was recently named the number 1 university in the world (Times World University Ranking 2021). The University, supported by Oxford Science Innovation, has accelerated the movement of leading science out of the laboratory and onto the global stage driving increased real estate demand.

T h e S cience Q uad r ant

M ona r c h House

The Science Quadrant accommodates R&D focused organizations in various offices and laboratories. The modern cluster of accommodations has a campus look & feel, providing easy collaboration opportunities.

The Science Quadrant supports R&D focused organisations

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Monarch House is part of the Abingdon Science Park, located at the entrance to the park. After renovation the building will provide new, high-quality laboratory and office accommodation set over two floors. The ground floor will provide laboratory space suitable for CL2 & CL3 labs and the first floor modern open plan office space. Monarch House sits at the heart of Science Vale, one of the largest science & technology clusters in Europe. Oxford is a global centre of excellence in life science innovation. The campus is anchored by the University of Oxford which was recently named the number 1 university in the world

The modern cluster of accommodations has a campus look and feel

(Times World University Ranking 2021). The University, supported by Oxford Science Innovation, has accelerated the movement of leading science out of the laboratory and onto the global stage driving increased real estate demand.

P en lon House

Penlon House is located at the Abingdon Science Park campus, which is one of the leading locations in Oxfordshire for science and technology innovation. Penlon House is currently 100% let to world renowned medical device company Penlon. Penlon was established in Oxford in 1943 and develops, manufactures and exports anaesthesia and other medical products worldwide. They played a critical role in the COVID-19 pandemic response, manufacturing emergency ventilators from its site in Abingdon. ■ For further information, please visit: https://kadans.com/?lang=en

reate with Impact have been branding Science, Technology and Innovation Parks across the UK since 2006 and have been working in the commercial property sector since 1991. Significant brand projects include Granta Park for owners MEPC in 2008 and then again in 2012 for new owners BioMed Realty and TWI. 2014 saw the creation of a new brand for Silverstone Park, ready for launch at the 2014 Grand Prix. Silverstone Park has since become a global destination for engineering, innovation and business development. Other landmark projects include The Oxford Science Park, Haverhill Research Park, The Silverstone Technology Cluster, Kent Medical Campus, The Maurice Wilkes Building (St Johns Innovation Park) and the latest project, The Maidstone Innovation Centre. Impact believe that the true value in building space for business communities to grow, flourish and prosper is intrinsically linked to the power of brand. You need a great product,

however, if your proposition is not resonating its potential for tenants and engaging their aspirations, then you risk losing out to a brand who meets those expectations in your market. Wayne Hall, Impact’s managing director, is passionate about this sector and working with clients to generate success within it. “Brands need to do more now than visually appeal to their market. Whilst this is still crucial, you need to think more about storytelling to interest prospective clients. “Think of a brand like a friend. In a room full of people, we can instantly recognise those we will most likely get on with by how they look, it’s not, however, until we engage with them fully that we will make lasting relationships. Brands are exactly the same. If you are not interesting, then any initial attraction is short lived. “That’s why strategy is at the heart of everything we do. We want to understand you and develop a meaningful proposition that engages your market with the right personality.”

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

Impact’s involvement goes beyond brand creation and through to an entire suite of products and services to make marketing communications easy to produce and long-lasting. A full in-house graphics and digital studio ensures work is accurate, cost effective and responsive. Wayne also adds “Exceptional client service is at the heart of what we do. Our culture means not only do we have a team who are long-serving, we also have clients we have been working with for 31 years. And that doesn’t happen unless you are constantly delivering. Lasting relationships produce the very best work.” ■ A New Year is here, so if you are thinking of reengaging, refreshing or even creating a new brand, then speak to Impact with no obligation. If you are simply looking to improve your marketing communications then this can be done with a simple email to: wayne@createwithimpact.com or call him now on 07951 956 317.

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GROWTH

Simon Bond, Executive Director at SE Tsquared, tells Breakthrough how the enterprise par tnership has grown up and come out bigger and better.

he themes of this year’s Global Corporate Venturing symposium – sustainability and impact investing – capture the ‘let’s build back better’ attitude that I have seen emerging across our ecosystem as we start to re-imagine what our future could and should be like. Global Corporate Venturing symposium’s choice of theme’s has an uncanny knack of setting the agenda for the future – May 2019’s theme was ‘navigating through the turbulence’. How prophetic and what a timely call for preparedness! This year’s choices of sustainability and impact investing are similarly agenda-setting and I’m certain they will define our next decade and more. SETsquared has ‘navigated the turbulence’ of the last couple of years and is back, both bigger and better. In truth, SETsquared has always been growing - today’s ecosystem of spin-out, start-up and scale-up ventures is ten-fold the original scale envisaged when we were founded in 2002.

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SETsquared has built a thriving innovation ecosystem around the world-leading research portfolios at its six university partners

SETsquared’s annual Investment Showcase is now in its 18th year and attracts 200+ investors year on year, companies have raised over £120m directly through attending this event (below)

However, with Cardiff University joining last month, SETsquared is now an enterprise partnership of six research-intensive universities, and this really increases our scale. Cardiff’s new incubation space – Cardiff Innovations@sbarc – which opens next year will add significantly to our established network of innovation

Centres in Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey. Meanwhile the university partners continue to develop new facilities that attract high-growth companies by embedding SETsquared into their innovation and applied research initiatives. Two recent examples are the Surrey Heartlands Health Tech Accelerator of which the University of Surrey is a core partner and the University of Bath-led Innovation Centre for Applied Sustainable Technologies, both of which offer the companies they work with access to SETsquared. Cardiff increases SETsquared’s scope too. SETsquared member companies have always made an important contribution to the economic development of our region. As a partnership of six universities, SETsquared will now develop across a bigger geography which includes the south of the Wales as well as England, and undoubtedly our scope of activities will develop as a result.

The location & density of SETsquared member companies by county

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

Backing sustainable tech ventures The ambition of SETsquared has increased as well. The COP26 Summit focusses the world’s attention on the action required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and achieve NetZero by 2050. It’s a challenge that touches everyone and every organisation in the world. As a result, we’re doubling-down on our support of the innovation-led companies that we all need to be successful in order achieve these targets. • We are increasing the number of new university spin-outs and licensing opportunities with a new fast-track Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research (ICURe) programme which is exclusively for energy and environmental research. • We have launched a new campaign for Scale-Up Sustainable Technologies venture’s Research, Development, and Innovation projects with our universities. SETsquared has grown in scale, scope, and ambition. As a result, we are now more ready than ever to step-up to the most pressing challenges of our age and unlock investment for our ventures to deliver even more innovation, impact, and growth. SETsquared continues to be very much ‘open for business’ and we welcome ventures, entrepreneurs, and investors to our programmes and our ecosystem. ■

To find out more about any of the initiatives mentioned in this article, please visit: www.SETsquared.co.uk

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Impact

Taking care of your people, places and public perception

Courtney is ‘made smarter’ Chris Courtney, the Challenge Director for Manufacturing Made Smarter at UK Research and Innovation, discusses his organisation’s far-sighted ambitions.

ngineering has been in the Courtney family’s veins since Chris’s dad first clocked on at the historic Harland & Wolff shipyard which underpinned Belfast’s economy for more than a century. It’s no surprise that he embraced the innovative culture and ‘over the horizon’ ambitions of advanced manufacturing, although he chose aviation rather than shipbuilding for his particular career path. A first degree at his home city’s Queen’s University in aeronautical engineering was followed immediately by post-grad studies at Cranfield and topped up a decade later by an MBA from the Warwick Business School. Courtney is equally comfortable in the boardroom or lecture theatre, but it’s the thrill of front-line manufacturing which really sets his pulse racing. It’s more than 15 years since he led a $100m work package for the US arm of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme, but it could be yesterday when he’s asked to recall the project. “I’d been with Rolls Royce for five or six years on the civil aviation side before

Courtney led a major phase of the Joint Strike Fighter project

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getting involved with the JSF consortium, and everything about it was fascinating, the international dimension, the strategy, the technology, the culture,” he says. “I’ve been in advanced engineering and manufacturing in one form or another since the late-90s, right through the whole process from research and analysis to individual projects, to considering ways in which to improve productivity and implement change - so the full life-cycle. “The JSF was totally new and disruptive and very different, but I’ve always been interested in all aspects of manufacturing. It might be a new data source, a new technology, or just a new approach to an existing business challenge, I find it all exciting.” Courtney came to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in Q1 2020 to lead its Made Smarter Innovation challenge. It’s an ambitious concept aiming to accelerate the development and novel application of digital technologies, stimulate recovery, and increase productivity and sustainability across the sector.

“My role brings together every element of what I love about manufacturing. I get to talk to people who are genuinely innovative and have brilliant ideas,” he says. “I also engage with universities, to SMEs and really early-stage ventures all the way through to the big corporates wrestling with all sorts of complex challenges. “I also have opportunities to engage with their supply chains and discuss how we can make them more resilient. It is a joy really and I’m looking for disruptive innovation across all sectors, from chemicals and automotive, to aerospace and food and drink.”

T W I N P I LL A R S

Collaborative research and competitive challenges are Made Smarter Innovation’s twin pillars, and £10m has already been committed to its first innovation hub. The concept was conceived to support manufacturers and technology providers from international corporates to SMEs along their digital supply chain journeys, and others will follow. A £20m prize pot was unveiled in November to reward innovative projects which will reduce carbon emissions from manufacturing processes within ‘smart’ factories, and another £5m will add an economic and social dimension to the Made Smarter programme’s work. Courtney’s the latest senior UKRI hire to have demonstrated tangible achievements outside the public sector, and it’s clearly by design. “I think they wanted people who understood the dynamics of the private sector at its best to bring a new and more proactive mindset into the organisation,” he suggests.

“There is a parallel between the various elements of the Catapult network, how they operate and also the different level of outcomes which they deliver. “The basic principles of any structure can be transplanted, but sometimes (as in the private sector) there’s something special about the way in which individuals engage with their target sector and vice versa which can’t always be replicated elsewhere. “There are lessons to take from the Catapult experience, to ensure that you’re always focused on trying to fine-tune an operational model and discover what is working and what isn’t. “Equally, the achievements of any single Catapult will also be impacted by the level of support it receives from its corporate partners and the wider business community in its region, and it will be the same for the Made Smarter hubs.” Likewise, the collaborations which are so desired by the government won’t occur simply through happenstance and good intentions. “The core element of all our challenges is to ensure every organisation and institution we work with is fully engaged with the others. I had a great visit to Loughborough, for instance, and they were doing fabulous work, but equally, they can’t be operating in isolation,” says Courtney. “Getting the right funding in place is obviously important, but to me, the most critical aspect of a challengeled approach is to ensure that the various partners have a shared mindset and a shared vision. “Everyone needs to come out of their silos and to work together.

Sometimes, it’s a very easy and natural process, people just buy into the philosophy. On other occasions, it’s not, and you have to work really hard.” However, Courtney also accepts with a phlegmatic air that sometimes even the best-planned projects can be impacted because of intangible differences. “We found this at RollsRoyce, and it’s been seen many times at Ford’s automotive plants in the US for instance,” he says.

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

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“You take the same machinery, same training and same model from one site to another, and although the individual elements are the same, they don’t just work together as they did at the previous site.”

FLEXIBLE MINDSET

Not that he’s expecting anything to go awry as the various Made Smarter Innovation Hubs and other initiatives are rolled out, but having a flexible mindset will be crucial. “We have to be prepared to evolve the ways in which we implement new models and technologies in all sectors,” says Courtney. “Although we’ve made rapid progress launching the various interventions in the challenge, they’re largely based on proven concepts, best practice, and the combined experience of ourselves and our partners. “However, the rest needs to be flexible. It might be new research or data, it might be an innovative approach which has only just been conceived, but it’s important that the solutions aren’t rigid. “Partly, that approach always make sense whether you’re in the private or public sector, but also we were putting together the Challenge models during a period of unprecedented volatility. “No-one could know what might happen a few months or even a year ahead, and it will be the same for the innovation hubs. We’ll have the desire and the ability to flex our strategy as things change.” In mid-2021, UKRI announced that all its nine council websites would begin migrating to the new and integrated UKRI site and the process is expected to complete in Q1 2022. It’s long been said – often by SMEs and trade organisations – that access to government funding and initiatives remains a complex and often confusing landscape, so the decision was welcomed by all. “There is certainly scope for improvement. If I’m a large organisation then I have the resources to see what’s available and identify what is the best programme, initiative, or source of funding for me,” admits Courtney.

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Chris’s father worked at Belfast’s historic Harland & Wolff shipyard, famed for building the Titanic and her sister vessels

“If I’m an SME though, there’s a bewildering blizzard of opportunities out there, and to be honest, I probably can’t even decide which are the right opportunities for me. “You can’t afford to spend time applying for something, only to discover months later that for an obscure aspect of the way your business works you weren’t even eligible. “You’ve not only lost an opportunity to secure finance or other forms of support, but you’re also frustrated by the whole process. Bringing the nine councils together on one site is a good start, but we need to do more. “Myself and many others have worked very hard, and will continue to do so, to reduce the scope for confusion. The government needs to make it easier to navigate their business support system and structures.” However, Courtney’s upbeat tone returns swiftly though when asked how his post-lockdown series of visits to industrial partners and academic institutions is progressing. “It’s been wonderful. Inevitably, some of my role is about helping SMEs to implement best practice, around corporate governance and suchlike and it’s something we all embrace. “However, the aspects which really excite me are when you meet project teams from companies, universities or elsewhere, and they have innovative ideas and solutions for really difficult problems. “I heard recent research led by the universities in Nottingham and Sheffield, with an audience of industrialists, and it was genuinely exciting to hear about disruptive concepts and see people having ideas which you instinctively knew could deliver transformation. “I was listening to a presentation about the concept of a ‘motion factory’, where the environment could restructure itself to address different work-flows, and it was quite astounding.

“Every week, we hear about a broad range of interesting ideas across multiple sectors, which are so varied, they could be innovative pharma products, synthetic meats, drone companies or a new powertrain for electric taxis. “It’s exciting to hear about these concepts, and particularly when you come from a manufacturing background, because we have the capability to design and make these products here. “We don’t always have to compete with products coming from China or Korea, we have the talent, the desire and the capacity to make transformational products here.” However, and with a nod to the decline of Harland & Wolff and the impact on the local economy as thousands of its skilled engineers were made unemployed, Courtney is acutely aware of the need to address the challenges of two-speed economies. “It doesn’t matter if we call it the levelling-up agenda or something else, but we can’t continue to ignore the economic and employment inequalities which have existed for so long,” he says. “I live in Derby, where there is an abundance of high-skill and well-paid jobs relating to Rolls-Royce, Bombardier and their supply chains. “Below that layer though, there’s an employment void until you get down to working in retail or the hospitality industry. “If Rolls-Royce encountered problems, it would be an absolute disaster for the town. Just as we need to make companies and sectors more resilient, we need to do the same for local and regional economies.” ■

For more details about the Made Smarter Innovation programme, please visit: www.ukri.org/news/made-smarterinnovation-supports-sustainability-inuk-manufacturing/

IMPACT

The winds of change Partner and patent attorney at Potter Clarkson, Colin Baker, outlines how their cleantech team is addressing climate change issues to provide for a more sustainable future

ovember 2021 saw more than 100 world leaders and an estimated 20,000 delegates flock to Glasgow for COP26 where the agenda was simple; to undertake urgent discussions on how best to tackle the climate crisis. With the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warning that global warming has become a “code red for humanity” ringing in everyone’s ears, the need to address climate change has never been greater so the summit has set itself four key objectives: • To secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach. • To adapt to protect communities and natural habitats, specifically by protecting and restoring ecosystems and building defences, warning systems and resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods, and even lives. • To mobilise at least $100bn (£74bn) in climate finance per year.

• To work together to deliver on these goals by finalising the Paris Rulebook and accelerating climate action. Everyone involved in the summit has been asked to come with ideas and solutions specifically designed to help all the countries involved achieve these aims. Given climate change is a global issue, the solutions put forward will require genuinely global cooperation if they are to be implemented in a way and at a speed that will make the required difference to the environment. Facilitating this level of engagement won’t be easy, but it is hoped that COP26 will enable leaders, stakeholders, and activists to speak to the world and explain the position we have found ourselves in and what will need to be done to slow the effects of climate change. Given these discussions will play out under the glare of the world’s media and social media, there should not be a problem in maximising their global audience.

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

While we could cogitate on the legal and regulatory outcomes from COP26 – after all it is widely believed that if the types of targets that emanated from the Paris Agreement in 2015 are going to be enforced, the action required to achieve them should be binding and supported by penalties – as patent attorneys our primary interest is in the actual solutions being presented. Our specialist multidisciplinary cleantech team is working with more and more companies who are focused on helping the world innovate its way to meaningfully address climate change and provide us with a more sustainable future. While we have long been involved with the more traditional environmentally friendly technologies (battery technology, fuel cells and wind & wave and other sources of renewable energy), we are increasingly working with more of the newer solutions that are emerging quickly to combat climate change including carbon capture and hydrogen generation and storage.

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IMPACT

From a scientific perspective, all these technologies are of course fascinating. It never fails to amaze us just how creative those at the cutting edge are. Yes, many of these technologies have been generally known to us for some years but, as the climate crisis worsens, the way companies are attempting to use the full breadth of possibilities to find new ways to turn these ideas into real, workable solutions is spectacularly impressive. However, we can’t afford to simply sit back and marvel at the science. Part of the role of a patent attorney is to make sure the innovation that sits at the heart of these ideas grows into a viable business. Usually this is a process that is focussed on helping our clients achieve the maximum commercial value. Protecting their ideas is a major part of this process; after all, you can’t afford to hit the market only to find your competitors are copying or unlawfully using all your hard work for their own gain. There is also a large role for strategy to play. You need to know what you have, how and when to protect it and that your actions will deliver your business’ ultimate commercial objectives All these factors (and more) will impact directly on your future. If these are hampered or implemented in anything other than the right way, your ideas will never achieve what they should. For ‘normal’ science-driven businesses, this would mean missing out on revenue, market share and long-term commercial opportunities. However, when the technology has been developed to improve our environment and positively impact our fight against climate change, there is much more at stake. In our experience there are two additional factors we need to address when we are working with cleantech (for want of a better phrase) companies:

SCALING UP

Within the cleantech sector the question is not so much whether something will work, it is usually whether something can work on a scale that will make the difference to the environment it needs to. As well as making sure our clients’ IP strategies map to their business plans, we are always focussed on helping them work out how best to scale up their operations and scale up the level at which their innovations operate.

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“ when the technology has been developed to improve our environment and positively impact our fight against climate change , there is much more at stake .” enab l in g investment

Although investment is often linked to scaling up, the need to secure the funding to make sure an idea can develop into a fully functioning market-ready product is a vital component in almost every business’ journey. We have enormous experience of making businesses seeking investment look as attractive as possible to potential investors (in fact, we have packaged a lot of this experience into a new fixed price product, Kick-startiP, to make it as easy and cost-effective as possible for businesses to take full advantage of this insight). We also have a highly developed investor network and part of the added value we offer clients is to introduce

them to the investors and networks we know and know are actively looking to invest in much needed environmentally friendly projects. Many still look at intellectual property as a compliance exercise; your business is based on your ideas therefore you need a patent. We trust we’ve been able to show you a patent attorney actually offers so much more than that, especially when we are dealing with innovation that can help address the climate crisis we all face. ■

For further information, please visit: www.potterclarkson.com

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the innovation ecosystem

Trends

Collaborate to progress Breakthrough hears how the Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems aims to accelerate the pace of progress towards carbon-zero transpor t.

“ B attery technology is the key enabler for electrified powertrain across all applications with the pursuit of longer vehicle range and faster charge times .” S imon S hepherd, D I R E C T O R , C entre for A dvanced Low C arbon P ropulsion S ystems G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

here’s something just so right that a £50m research hub created as the catalyst for fast-emerging propulsion technologies should be based in Coventry. From the time Daimler built its Wagonette in the style of a Greek chariot, through the pre-war era of Triumph motorcycles, and from Sir Frank Whittle’s remarkable aviation research to the luxurious Jaguars rolling out of Browns Lane, the city has been a pioneer of transportation in all its forms. The strategic brief given to C-ALPS, when it was established through a partnership between Coventry University and the global engineering consultancy FEV, is equally wide-ranging. The 40,000 sq ft centre operates across the aerospace, automotive, marine and rail sectors to support the evolution and commercialisation of clean technologies. Powertrain systems specialist Simon Shepherd, who joined as director in early-2020, is tasked with developing collaborations between academic research, commercial expertise, and an array of industry partners. “It’s my job to be familiar with all the various strands of our research, engage with our partners, understand their needs, and find ways to support them through collaborative projects and training,” he says. “Over the last few years there’s been a significant investment in people and equipment, and in Q3 2021 we completed the installation of a dedicated laboratory, to develop propulsion systems based on hydrogen fuel-cells; an additional investment of over £2m.

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“Our team’s expertise spans battery energy storage, hydrogen fuel-cell and electric drives mainly in transport applications. “Battery technology is the key enabler for electrified powertrain across all applications with the pursuit of longer vehicle range and faster charge times, the main drivers of the core product advancement. “Hydrogen fuel-cells are primarily gaining favour in the heavier-duty truck and bus markets, as well as aviation, marine and rail, where there’s a growing recognition that battery technology cannot meet all of the operational requirements. “We’re also working alongside FEV, who are leading the EU-funded 7m euro CoacHyfied consortium, which is looking to identify solutions for challenges faced by operators running regional and longdistance coach services. “The goal is to develop hydrogen fuel cell-based powertrain suitable for newbuilt coaches, and ones which can be retrofitted to existing diesel-powered vehicles which have become outdated. “Decarbonising transport in all its different forms will require a blend of technologies, and hydrogen will play an important role in supporting the powertrain requirements of coaches and lorries, and also ships and aircraft.

“What makes us different, I believe, is the way we can connect academic research themes and industry needs in many ways. We have expertise at a subcomponent level in battery, fuel-cell and power-semiconductor devices. “Understanding of the science within these components is essential in advancing

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the engineering and manufacturing of the powertrain systems they make up.” Associate professor, Dr Alex Roberts, is the theme lead for energy storage and proudly points out that C-ALPS houses some of the UK’s most advanced facilities for the development of zerocarbon powertrain. “We engage with multiple international partners on R&D projects, particularly in the areas of battery cell development, and right the way along the journey from lab discovery, research and testing to the prototype phase,” he says. “We do win funding from several sources, including UK Research and Innovation, the Faraday Institution and Horizon Europe, but the quality and range of our facilities also allows us to engage with industrial partners for commercial R&D. “Our team operates as part of a number of Coventry University research centres focused upon Clean Growth and Future Mobility, which brings us together with experts working on vehicle design, connected and autonomous vehicles, cyber security and advanced manufacturing.” “Yes, I think that’s one of our special strengths,” adds Shepherd. “Although we are a separate centre within the university structure, we also operate within its wider research community and work very closely with academics across multiple disciplines which has huge benefits for innovation. “Equally, as we have engineers who work on battery-cells, super-capacitors and hydrogen fuel-cells, our team members can bring different perspectives to the challenges and construct a broader range of potential solutions.

“This multi-disciplinary approach enables us to win research projects and deliver excellent outcomes. At the same time, because we are independent, we can also work simultaneously with multiple OEMs, Tier One suppliers and SMEs.” Competition for talent is fierce within the fast-growing clean mobility sector, particularly in battery research, but Roberts says C-ALPS is working hard to address the skills shortage. “We always try to bring junior researchers on within our projects, and also look to engage people from industries that are aligned to ours in terms of their use of products and technology. “The parallels with sectors, such as food and printing, wouldn’t be obvious to those outside our niches, but we’ve assembled a very strong and international team here, which is a mix of home-grown staff and recruits.” It’s reassuring to hear, and also pleasing to discover, that whilst competition with other UK-based research organisations and academic institutions is understandably fierce when grant finance is involved, that there’s a different mindset on other matters. “We tend to see them as potential collaborators, rather than competitors,” admits Roberts. “Yes, when we’re all putting in grant applications, we’re competing for the same pot of funding, but that aside, I think we all realise that we’re on the same journey and there’s too much for us all to achieve without working together.” ■

For more information about the work of the Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems, please visit: www.coventry.ac.uk/research/areas-ofresearch/centre-for-future-transport-andcities/our-facilities/c-alps/

TRENDS

Building a better base for bioscience Breakthrough learns about Teesside University’s centre of excellence for the biosciences and healthcare sector, National Horizons Centre, from its director, Dr Jen Vanderhoven.

he North East has a rich industrial heritage from its famous roots in steel and iron, but in more recent years, a spotlight has been shone on the region as a thriving hub for the burgeoning bioscience and healthcare industries, providing a wealth of opportunities and jobs of the future in the area. Teesside University’s National Horizons Centre (NHC) is a state-of-the-art facility at the forefront of research, innovation and training, boosting bioscience in the region and beyond. The NHC brings together industry, academia, talent and world-class facilities to create real-world impact. Together with partners, it works to discover diseases earlier, develop novel treatments and deliver lifesaving medicines quicker, safer and more affordably. The £22.3m facility in Darlington’s Central Park aims to use its international reputation as a centre of excellence to raise the profile of the Tees Valley as a global leader in the life sciences sector and drive progress to build a better base for biosciences and healthcare.

r e g iona l bioscience ecosystem Building a strong base in the Tees Valley for the bioscience and healthcare sector is at the core of what the National Horizons Centre aims to achieve in order to consolidate its reputation as an international leader in the industry. The Northern Bio-Accelerator Partnership (NBioP) between Teesside University, CPI and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies plays a pivotal role in this ambition, helping to develop a bioprocessing, biomanufacturing and biopharmaceutical hub at Darlington’s Central Park.

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

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This marriage between three renowned institutions in the industry creates a perfect trifecta in which the Central Park hub can benefit from a wide array of expertise across the industry to optimise innovation. The National Horizons Centre brings the academic training and expertise in basic and applied research to the partnership, working to develop the next generation of bioscientists. CPI offers its important industry connections and facilities to accelerate the development and manufacturing process of biopharmaceutical products. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies brings its knowledge and experience in the development of pioneering technologies and applies them to biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Together, this unique collaboration aims to combine expertise to capitalise on the vast strengths of each party to create a ‘super hub’ in the Tees Valley which will attract further partnerships, opportunities and investments in the area moving forward. Central Park will drive forward new technologies helping the region to modernise and renew its industrial heritage for the 21st century.

Links w it h ot h e r pa r ks

Collaboration is key to driving progress, particularly in this industry, and partnerships with science parks both in the UK and overseas are instrumental in building professional relationships to work together to advance healthcare. One international partnership is with Shonan Health Innovation Park, based in central Japan and operated by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and Mitsubishi Corp.-UBS Realty Inc.

supported by the Mitsubishi Corporation. The National Horizons Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Shonan iPark which cements their relationship and reinforces the shared commitment to delivering real-world impact with bioscience innovations. It also allows for further research and collaboration opportunities across the continents with researchers at each centre to enable improved bioscience capacity. The agreement offers a great deal of collaboration potential in key areas such as training and development, sharing knowledge, experience and expertise, and academic networking opportunities. It extends international links between the UK and Japan through exciting research activity which forms part of the strategy outlined by the National Horizons Centre to enhance biosciences regionally, nationally and globally, building upon the aims of the NBioP. The NHC has also entered into a partnership with Discovery Park in Sandwich, Kent, which will explore ways to bring together the two organisations’ complementary life sciences expertise and networks in the north and south of the UK.

S uppo rtin g to g r o w

Since opening in 2019, the National Horizons Centre has been focused on working collaboratively with businesses to support their development, boost the economy and grow the bioscience industry. Its partnerships with businesses have been critical in developing important links within the sector to attract as

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many opportunities as possible to the Tees Valley, in line with the aims of the NBioP. The National Horizons Centre partnered with Hexis Lab, a North East skincare company which utilises its deep learning algorithms and a big-data computing platform to develop, validate and virtually prototype new products. This cost-effective new approach allows the company to efficiently combine human skin cell technologies with artificial intelligence to validate novel ingredients and formulations for skin repair, rejuvenation and protection, and to know what effect they can have for various skin types. The National Horizons Centre supported Hexis Lab with this innovative research, offering access to its cutting-edge facilities and expert academics to expand the business. Building business through the National Horizons Centre is crucial to Teesside University’s civic mission of growing the region’s economy by the creation and retention of skilled jobs within the Tees Valley. As a result of the innovative work of the National Horizons Centre, and the projects which have been made possible through key collaborations with industry, the Tees Valley is increasingly being seen as a key challenger to the hegemony of the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Oxford, Cambridge and London as the UK’s leading centre for bioscience. Robotics (IFR) listed the top ten countries for adopting automation in their manufacturing sectors - and the UK was nowhere. ■

For more information, please visit: www.tees.ac.uk/nhc/

TRENDS

UK needs to heed R2-D2

rom the moment R2-D2 hummed its way into Hollywood history through the first Star Wars movie, robots have always held a powerful place in popular culture. The realisation that mobile forms of advanced technology could transform the way business worked proved equally irresistible, and many nations have since future-proofed their economies by installing robots across multiple sectors and for a bewildering range of uses. However, a new report from the Coventry-based Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and the Industrial Policy Research Centre at Loughborough University suggests that the UK is failing to adopt industrial automation on anything like the required scale. The signs have certainly been there for anyone who cared to look. In 2018, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) listed the top ten countries for adopting automation in their manufacturing sectors - and the UK was nowhere.

Given manufacturing’s powerful presence in its economy, and the urgent long-term need to increase productivity across all sectors, the findings were both dispiriting and puzzling. Now the ‘Robotics and Automation – A New Perspective’ study suggests little has changed, and companies of all sizes, from industrial plcs to established SMEs and research-led start-ups, are still failing to invest adequately in advanced technology. “We took on board the views of a wide audience, including academics, research organisations, equipment suppliers, and specialists in training and education, to ensure that our conclusions were solidly-based and comprehensive,” says Mike Wilson, the MTC’s chief automation officer (right). “It’s very clear that the government needs to support and help UK companies at every stage of the automation process, from identifying opportunities right along the value chain to implementation.

G e t y o u r d i g i ta l c o p y at: w w w. b r eakt h r ou g h di g ita l . co . uk

“We need much greater knowledgesharing throughout the industry, targeted training programmes, and also a specific emphasis on SMEs to adopt automation and robotics technology, possibly through an extension of UK Research & Innovation’s Made Smarter programme.”

C O M P E LL I N G

The conclusions and recommendations are particularly compelling given the MTC’s accumulated experience at the MTC and Wilson’s expertise and insight. The former was established on Coventry’s Ansty Park in 2010, as an independent research and technology organisation to bridge the gap between industry and academia and offer vendor-agnostic advice on investment decisions for major corporates and SMEs alike. Wilson came on board in August 2020, after more than 30 years in the automation sector, including spells as MD of KUKA Robotics UK & Ireland, and senior roles with ABB Robotics and the Automation Advisory Service.

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TRENDS

“We are here to demonstrate what is the art of the possible now, and what it will be in the near future, typically looking between two and five years ahead,” he says. “We need to see where industry is heading and what particular companies and sectors might then require in terms of capacity and functionality. “The central challenges are around greater adoption, but we also need to educate the finance community so they can better understand the critical importance of automation and robotics and are more willing to support companies of all sizes when investment decisions are being made.” Wilson is an optimist by nature, but admits there is no quick fix to the myriad challenges facing the government, industry, the wider business community and skills’ providers. “Our report revealed that we are now 24th in the world for robot density (the benchmark for adoption) in manufacturing, which is why we lag behind in terms of industrial productivity,” he says. “Anyone in industry has been concerned about the resilience of supply chains for decades, but I believe the pandemic has changed public awareness of such issues. “The time is right for the government to take a lead, and to finally tackle the low productivity which has bedevilled our economy for so long.”

Wilson believes advanced automation and robotics must also take a central role as the government and the business community increase their focus on Net Zero, and companies, investors and institutional funds adopt ESG strategies. “There’s certainly scope for more research on all elements of this issue, and in the short-term would be good to see the government include automation mapping within its Net-Zero targets, which would underline its importance,” he says. “There will also need to be benchmarks established so it’s possible to compare different brands of robots. Individual manufacturers will certainly highlight the energy credentials of their new equipment, but there’ll have to be an external standard against which every robot can be judged. “However, there is no doubt that the robots being built and installed today are much more energy efficient than those from five years ago, let alone those manufactured even longer ago. “It’s also been interesting to see recently that when a company launches its latest robot they will highlight its energy efficiency, whereas say 10 years ago, that wasn’t considered important. “As a general order of scale, if you bought a large and reasonably sophisticated robot today, it would be 20% to 25% more efficient than its predecessor. The robot itself would be a more efficient design, as would its drive mechanism and its electronics.”

A W I D E A RR AY

Wilson believes a wide array of people, from individual management teams and outside observers to environmentalists and activist shareholders can play their part in increasing the pressure for change. “Even a few years ago, a typical customer considering investing in

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automation would be asking about such issues as cost, the projected payback period, speed of operations and the capacity, whereas now they will have energy efficiency on their list of parameters,” he says. “I don’t think that when they are assessing which robot to buy that its efficiency will be the crucial element, although I do think that as companies are pressured to reveal their journey towards Net-Zero shareholders and investors will want to know about this information. “We as an economy are coming from some way back with regard to robots and energy efficiency in general, so there’s certainly scope for us to take a lead in researching the issue, and then highlighting ways in which adoption and implementation can be achieved. “From an industrial perspective, a lot of aspirations around achieving NetZero relate to how and where we manufacture products, and if we’re looking to reduce our carbon footprint on a national level then we need to be making more products here and reducing our imports. “Learning from such countries as South Korea, Japan, Germany and Sweden about the benefits they’ve achieved from wide-scale adoption of industrial robots and advanced automation would be a start. “According to the latest IFR data, Chinese Taipei, Belgium, Denmark and Spain are currently way ahead of the UK, which really doesn’t make good reading.” ■

For more information about the work of the MTC and its research on robotics and automation, please visit: www.the-mtc.org/about-us/

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