The awards form part of the National Materials Innovation Programme (NMIP), funded by UK government and delivered by Innovate UK and EPSRC.
NMIP, part of UK Research and Innovation’s Industrial Strategy 8 Advanced Manufacturing Programme, brings together people, expertise and investment to help UK materials innovation become real-world impact.
From discovery to deployment
The UK has world-class research, internationally recognised expertise, outstanding facilities and ambitious businesses.
However, materials innovation can be slowed by fragmentation, making it harder for organisations to find the right expertise, partners, facilities and opportunities at the right time.
NMIP is helping to address this challenge by connecting the people, expertise, infrastructure and investment needed to move materials innovation from discovery towards deployment.
The latest EPSRC investment supports this approach through two complementary approaches.
National networks
The four Network Pluses will establish national networks to connect research communities and industrial stakeholders, supporting collaboration, knowledge sharing and skills development.
They will build connected communities around areas of strategic importance spanning:
- energy solutions
- healthcare
- advanced surface technologies
- next-generation electronics, telecommunications and sensors
Together, they will help promising ideas move towards application by improving access to partners, facilities and opportunities across the UK’s materials ecosystem.
Research partnerships
Alongside the national networks, nine Materials Innovation Partnerships will support ambitious collaborative research programmes co-created and co-delivered by academic and business partners.
Alongside the grant funding, participating businesses will contribute over £11 million in cash and in-kind support, demonstrating significant industry commitment.
By involving businesses in the design and delivery of the research, the partnerships will help ensure that projects respond to real industrial needs and have clearer routes towards application.
The nine partnerships span the high-growth opportunity themes identified in the National Materials Innovation Strategy, spanning:
- materials for energy harvesting
- metallic materials
- materials for hydrogen transport, storage and use
- materials for low-carbon construction
- materials for sustainable structural systems (composites)
- materials and modelling for surface engineering and tribology
- materials for connectivity and telecommunications and materials for power electronics
- materials for sustainable packaging
Turning innovation into impact
Jane Nicholson, Executive Director for Research at EPSRC said:
The UK has outstanding materials research and ambitious businesses with the potential to turn new discoveries into better products, services and technologies.
This investment will create the connections needed to bring those communities together, helping research address real-world challenges and progress towards economic, societal and environmental benefit.
Further information
Materials Innovation Partnerships
Rare earth fluorides: closing the critical gap in UK circular permanent magnet manufacturing
Lead: Queen’s University Belfast
Designed STABLE
Lead: The University of Edinburgh
Uranium used differently: materials innovation for advanced chemical storage of hydrogen
Lead: University of Bristol
Extraction of reactive aluminates from water treatment residuals for manufacturing next generation ultra-low carbon Calcium Aluminate Binders (W2-CAB)
Lead: Queen’s University Belfast
Cornwall sustainable material partnership (CARN)
Lead: University of Exeter
Surface engineering and tribology for silicone-free consumer care products
Lead: The University of Sheffield
Data-driven control and valorisation of scrap steel and aluminium (DCVS): Enabling high-value circular manufacturing
Lead: Coventry University
RESONANT: Resilient software-defined materials for pnt (positioning, navigation, and timing) RF (radio frequency) front-ends
Lead: Queen Mary University of London
Next-generation mycelium composites for high-performance, biodegradable protective packaging (My-Pack)
Lead: University of Nottingham
Network Pluses
Electrochemical entrepreneurship Network Plus: accelerating spinout led innovation for UK energy solutions
Lead: University of Surrey
The Electrochemical entrepreneurship Network Plus will accelerate spinout led innovation for UK energy solutions. The network will connect energy materials communities and focus on translating and de-risking technologies for real-world use.
Responsible and resilient electronic and electromagnetic (RaRE) materials Network Plus
Lead: University of Glasgow
The RaRE network will connect materials and electronics communities and support sustainable and circular electronics.
Surfaces for a sustainable future: the UK Network+ for circular materials innovation
Lead: Newcastle University
Surfaces for a sustainable future is the UK Network+ for circular materials. The network will connect expertise in surface technologies and support more sustainable manufacturing.
Healthcare interfaces Network+ (HCI+)
Lead: Manchester Metropolitan University
The HCI+ network will bring together researchers, clinicians, industry, regulators, policymakers and patient groups around healthcare materials.
Top image: Aerial view of a crowd connected by lines.
