Additional £95 million announced for the Henry Royce Institute

The funding will help to deliver the next stage of the EPSRC-backed institute in advanced materials research.

The UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Grant Shapps has announced that the Henry Royce Institute will receive an additional £95 million in funding to support its work in advanced materials research.

The Royce was formed in 2014 with a £235 million government investment through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Its mission is to support the growth of world-recognised excellence in UK materials research, accelerating commercial exploitation and delivering positive economic and societal impact.

Royce works across the UK’s regions with academic and industry partners to stimulate innovation and the development of robust local economies that can operate in a global environment. To date the Royce has worked with 295 small and medium sized enterprises and industry users and facilitated 350 collaborations between academia and industry. Partners include Johnson Matthey, Rolls-Royce, Siemens and Tata Steel.

Examples of projects supported so far include:

• New cladding for nuclear reactors to improve safety, cost efficiency and carbon reduction.
• Developing materials needed for quantum computing.
• Utilising surplus materials from the shellfish industries to replace plastic in feminine hygiene products.
• An innovative method for manufacturing titanium that greatly reduces the amount that goes to waste.
• Using robots to develop revolutionary new materials from medicinal materials to catalysts for plastics recycling.
• Use of 3D bioprinting techniques in the development and manufacture of bioengineered systems and devices for application in:
  • Tissue engineering.
  • Regenerative medicine.
  • Drug development.
  • Other more traditional areas of healthcare.

The new funding is designed to support further groundbreaking work conducted by Royce and support the UK’s role as a leader in advanced materials research, development and innovation.

EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Dame Lynn Gladden said:

“Advanced materials are crucial to driving growth across our key industries, from energy and transport to health, and ensuring they are sustainable for the future.

“This funding will build on the success of the Henry Royce Institute so far, to unleash the potential of this transformative technology for the benefit of the economy and the environment.”

Further details of the announcement are available here.

(This report was the subject of a ResearchConnect Newsflash.)