27 Apr 2016
New £180m fund to accelerate energy research across the Midlands Engine
A major new fund designed to drive cutting-edge research, innovation and skills across the Midlands Engine has been officially launched with significant backing from Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.
The Chancellor set out a commitment at the Spending Review to deliver significant government investment in the Midlands across transport, energy and culture. This included £60 million to help establish a new Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) to help grow the region’s high-tech, high-skilled economy.
The ERA will receive £60 million of public money to unlock £120 million of private sector co-investment and it was launched on 26 April by the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury, Lord O’Neill.
The ERA is the first project to be delivered by the Midlands Innovation initiative, a collaboration of six leading universities across the Midlands.
The universities – Loughborough University, Aston University, the University of Birmingham, Leicester University, the University of Nottingham and the University of Warwick – will work alongside the British Geological Survey, local industry and others to create a global centre of excellence for energy research and innovation.
It will tackle some of the biggest energy challenges facing the UK and investigate how to make the best use of the resources available by being more efficient and innovative whilst producing affordable, safe energy.
The Midlands Innovation initiative has ambitious plans to apply the same vision to the nation’s transport, health, and biomedical science challenges in the future.
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