KCMC collaborates with the Henry Royce Institute to help connect innovative SMEs to the Institute’s facilities and expertise
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Use 4th October 2018
The Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry, the UK’s innovation broker in materials chemistry, announces its collaboration with the Henry Royce Institute for the upcoming Materials Accelerator Forum. The event, taking place on the 13th November in Manchester, will help to connect SMEs using materials chemistry in the development of advanced materials. The Henry Royce Institute, the UK national centre for advanced materials, has designed the forum to help SMEs developing advanced materials connect with the UK’s largest portfolio of equipment and expertise in advanced materials research, simplifying and facilitating their route to commercialisation. A flagship for the accelerated discovery and development of new materials systems, the Royce represents nine founding partners across the UK. These include the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and Imperial College London, as well as the National Nuclear Library and the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Each partner champions a core research area and works collaboratively with the other institutions to share their facilities and expertise. The breadth of research areas includes health and medicine, electrification of transport, improving electrical devices and safer air travel. Royce Chief Scientist, Regius Professor Philip Withers, says “Start-ups and SMEs are a driving force for innovation in materials in the UK, but it can be difficult for them to afford and access scientific support, particularly if they don’t have networks within universities and other research organisations. The Royce wants to provide SMEs with open-access to the research capabilities typical of a large multinational company. Our facilities can be accessed at reasonable rates by SMEs, and we also provide funding for proof-of-concept research projects.” Through their extensive network of contacts, including SMEs utilising materials chemistry in the development of advanced materials, KCMC can complement the existing arrangements for business engagement at the Royce. KCMC has worked with the University of Manchester for over nine years, helping them to establish and deliver mutually beneficial collaborations with companies. This relationship means they can support the interaction of the institute with companies across a number of industrial sectors. On the 13th November, the first Royce Materials Accelerator Forum will be hosted at the National Graphene Institute in Manchester and will welcome SMEs, funders, advisors and supporters from across the country. This forum is the first in a series of proposed events and will be a way for the community of SMEs to connect with leading academics and innovators. Matthew Davis, Communications and Engagement Manager at the Henry Royce Institute, says “The Materials Accelerator Forum is an opportunity for SMEs to build their network and find out how to access funding and support. By the end of the event, SMEs will have learnt about the opportunities available at the Royce and understand more about accelerating their innovations from discovery to application.” Mike Holmes, Knowledge Transfer Manager at KCMC, says “We are proud to work with the Henry Royce Institute and to help SMEs utilising materials chemistry in the development of advanced materials connect with the Royce and thereby accelerate their R&D programmes.” The Materials Accelerator Forum on the 13th November will be the first in a series of events aimed at engaging SMEs with the Henry Royce Institute. Find out more at http://www.royce.ac.uk/materials-accelerator-forum-2018/Notes to the Editor
About KCMC
Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry (KCMC) is an industry led partnership between universities, hosted by the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), and is the UK’s leading innovation broker knowledge transfer organisation for materials chemistry. The KCMC team work closely with its partner universities, Bolton, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Southampton, STFC and research institutions across the UK, offering in-depth knowledge and experience of materials chemistry innovation in both academia and industry. This enables collaborative projects between UK companies and the KCMC partners. Leading to the development of valuable innovations in advanced materials at reduced cost and risk. For more information, please visit: https://www.materialschemistry.org.uk Follow us on Twitter ### Contact information:kcmc@uk-cpi.comAbout the Henry Royce Institute
The Henry Royce Institute is the UK national institute for advanced materials research and innovation. The Royce works collaboratively with industry and academia to accelerate the innovation of materials systems, in order to create economic and societal benefit. With its hub at the University of Manchester, and more than £330 million invested in capability across its nine Partner institutions, the Royce is making a step change to research capability in the UK. www.royce.ac.uk Twitter: @RoyceInstitute For media enquiries contact: Matthew Davis Matthew.davis@royce.ac.uk 07850924779About CPI
The Centre for Process Innovation is a UK-based technology innovation centre and part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. We use applied knowledge in science and engineering combined with state-of-the-art development facilities to enable our clients to develop, prove, prototype and scale up the next generation of products and processes. Our open innovation model enables clients to develop products and prove processes with minimal risk. We provide assets and expertise so our customers can demonstrate the process before investing substantial amounts of money in capital equipment and training. New products and processes can be shown to be feasible; on paper, in the lab and in the plant before being manufactured at an industrial scale. By utilising our proven assets and expertise companies can take their products and processes to market faster. There is no down time in production as all of the process development is completed offsite and our technology transfer and engineering teams can help companies to transfer the product or process into full scale production at speed. Editorial follow-up: Pranika Sivakumar, Notch Communications pranika.sivakumar@notchcommunications.co.uk +44 (0) 161 457 7230
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