Multi-million pound investment to build university innovation centre
The University of Hull’s biggest commitment to tackling climate change yet has reached a major milestone as the £12m Aura Innovation Centre is completed.
Due to officially launch in early 2020, the centre at Bridgehead Business Park, Hessle, will deliver ground-breaking low-carbon projects and kick-start ideas by bringing together experts at the University of Hull with businesses in the Humber region and beyond.
The Aura Innovation Centre will provide a “front door” for the University of Hull, giving businesses easy access to cutting-edge facilities, specialist funded support and a space to innovate and collaborate with academic and industry experts – driving clean business growth. In addition, the centre will deliver a number of other benefits for the region:
- Accelerate the development of new renewable/low carbon products and technologies
- Continue to build a strong supply chain for the renewables and low carbon sectors, boosting economic growth and job prospects
- Enhance the region’s reputation as the place to develop low carbon and offshore wind innovation
- Bring opportunities through the UK Government’s Offshore Wind Sector Deal, in which Aura and the university are recognised as major delivery partners
Sarah Clark, programme manager, said: “As the global economy shifts towards a low-carbon future, the green energy transition opens up a myriad of challenges and opportunities for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
“More than 180 dynamic, high growth businesses have already engaged with the Aura Innovation Centre to find out how the University of Hull and Aura can help them accelerate their sustainable innovation projects.
“Four funded projects are currently live and are being delivered with colleagues across the University of Hull, with over 30 more in the pipeline before the centre has even opened.
“The AIC is another example of how Aura and the University are delivering on the UK Government’s Sector Deal in Offshore Wind.”
Over £1.1 m of cutting-edge research facilities are now being installed at the centre, before official opening next year. These include an augmented reality and large green screen area, virtual reality capabilities, a materials characterisation suite, high tech 3D printers capable of printing recycled plastic, carbon fibre and metal as well as a mechanical workshop area.
Aura team members will move across to the offices during November. Teams from the university’s Faculty of Science and Engineering will move in when the centre opens.
The University of Hull applied for and won funding of £12m from the European Regional Development Fund, Regional Growth Fund’s Green Port Growth Programme alongside match funding from the university.
The innovation centre is the latest state-of-the-art facility at Bridgehead business park, which is owned and developed by Hull-based Wykeland Group.
Dominic Gibbons, managing director of Wykeland Group, said: “The centre underlines further Bridgehead’s value to the region as the home to an ever-growing number of blue chip businesses and as a collaborative cluster of innovation and enterprise.
“Investments such as this are delivering on the long-term vision for Bridgehead as a business location of choice and a major driver of the region’s economic growth.”
