UK’s Technology Strategy Board has a further £24M for manufacturing research

Funding opportunity

The UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is to invest a further £24 million in R&D in high value manufacturing. This new funding is the second recent investment in the field after the TSB’s announcement in August 2008 that it would invest £20 million in 27 projects developing products, systems and processes.

The new competition follows the launch in September 2008 of the UK government’s strategy for its manufacturing sector, ‘New Challenges, New Opportunities.’ Peter Flinn, TSB’s Head of Technology, said, “The challenge for UK manufacturers is to maintain competitiveness in a global environment where manufacturing often gravitates to countries with the lowest overall costs.  The TSB’s broad aim is to invest in UK manufacturing companies in order to maintain and develop their international competitiveness.”

“By major change we mean improvements of between 25 per cent and 50 per cent relative to current performance in areas such as overall manufacturing costs, whole life-cycle costs, whole life environmental impact and product performance, durability and reliability.”

Flinn added, “Investment in innovation must be maintained during the economic downturn. [...] Innovation cannot be turned on quickly and to secure our long term future we need to invest properly in innovation now.”

The following industries are invited to participate: Aerospace and Defence, Household Goods, Automobiles and Parts, Industrial Engineering, Leisure Goods, Chemicals, Oil and Gas, Construction, Personal Goods, Electronics and Electrical Equipment, Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, Food and Beverages, Support Services, General Industrials, Technology Hardware and Equipment, Healthcare Equipment, Utilities.

The competition closes on 30 April 2009 but the deadline for submitting initial expressions of interest is 26 February 2009. For more information, see the competition website.