New pioneering technologies set to be developed in the UK as part of 4 new partnerships between businesses and universities.

Published 10 July 2019 From: Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, UK Research and Innovation, and Chris Skidmore MP

New pioneering technologies to develop super-strong alloys in vehicles, cut noise from boats and speed up the manufacturing of medicines are set to be developed in the UK as part of 4 new partnerships between businesses and universities.

The news comes ahead of a landmark speech by the Science Minister Chris Skidmore at the Institute of Chemical Engineering. Later today the Minister will stress the importance of both government and industry contributing to the Industrial Strategy ambition of raising public and private investment in research and development to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

Projects announced today help ensure it is UK industry and academia that lead the way in bringing new products to market that contribute to tackling some of the biggest challenges of a generation, with products to address climate change and others to help meet the needs of an ageing society.

Welcoming the news, Science and Innovation Minister Chris Skidmore said:

The UK is home to world-beating businesses and researchers and these partnerships will grow that reputation, bringing together the best minds from industry and academia to create technologies that address generational challenges facing the globe.

Research and development is the cornerstone of our modern Industrial Strategy and we are spending record amounts to build on the strengths of this research base. Through it we are committed to making sure the UK blazes a trail in innovating and capitalising on the opportunities presented by the global transition to cleaner, greener economies. The partnerships we’ve unveiled today will help us do just that.

The new projects are being led by R&D intensive companies and include involvement from five leading universities in England and Scotland. They include:

• developing new materials that do not make noise underwater, led by BAE Systems with the University of Southampton, the University of Nottingham and Lloyd’s Register. Noise pollution can cut the life-expectancy of fish, dolphins and other marine life, while also affecting human health, and these new materials will help protect vulnerable marine life
• using AI and machine learning to speed up production of new medicines from vaccines to tablets in order to get them from the lab to the clinic faster, led by GlaxoSmithKline with the University of Strathclyde with University of Nottingham
• developing a new range of fully recyclable ultra-high strength aluminum alloys for the automotive industry, led by Constellium and Brunel University
• creating the next generation of household products using AI to pave the way for robots to complete advanced household tasks, led by Dyson and Imperial

The projects, which join the 11 earlier collaborations announced in 2018, will be funded with £12 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UKRI, and have leveraged £17.5 million in cash or in-kind contributions from industry.

The partnerships are an important step towards meeting the commitment of boosting private and public sector investment in R&D by 2.4% of GDP by 2027, as set out in the government’s modern Industrial Strategy.

Professor Lynn Gladden, EPSRC’s Executive Chair, said:

These 4 Prosperity Partnership projects link the UK’s world-class research base to some of the country’s most successful industries. As these proposals were advanced by business, they will address challenges that are relevant to industry’s need but will also advance science and engineering.

The value industry places on these collaborations is evident from the level of finance and resource committed in each of the partnerships.

The government’s modern Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. It sets out how we are building a Britain fit for the future – how we will help businesses create better, higher-paying jobs in every part of the UK with investment in skills, industries and infrastructure.

On Saturday 22 June, a new Santiago Pride March 2019 was held on the Alameda Avenue, the Chilean capital’s main street. As in previous years, the British Embassy was present at the event organised by Movilh and Iguales Foundations, to celebrate diversity and reiterate its commitment to LGBTI rights. Over 130,000 people attended the March this year, many of whom were able to enjoy the music of Scottish bagpipers performed by the Santiago Metropolitan Pipe Band and Rapsodia, the most famous Queen Tribute band in Chile.

The aim of the Embassy’s participation at Santiago Pride March was to promote the work carried out by the British Government, and particularly the Foreign Office, the Department for International Trade and Visit Britain, to support LGBTI rights globally. During 2019 and 2020, British missions overseas will participate in a number of events around the world, with 29 of them being organised in different cities across the Americas, including the March in Santiago.

In 2012, the Embassy in Santiago was the first diplomatic mission to raise the rainbow flag to mark the International Day against Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, which we continue to do every year as part of our contribution to promote a cultural change towards the end of violence and discrimination against the LGBTI community. Likewise, in 2015 our Consulate officiated the first marriage of a same-sex couple in Chile as part of the consular services that we provide to British citizens residing in the country.

Achievements in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is recognised as one of the most progressive countries in Europe on LGBTI rights:

• For more than a decade there have been civil union agreements and in 2014 equal marriage came into force in England, Wales and Scotland.
• In 2002, same-sex couples acquired equal rights in matters of adoption.
• Since 2005, transgender people can opt to legally change their gender, acquiring a new birth certificate.

GREAT Campaign

The activities to support the promotion of diversity and respect for LGBTI rights in Chile have received support from the GREAT campaign, a cross-Government initiative aimed to display the best of the UK and encourage people to visit, do business, invest and study in the UK. It is the Government’s most ambitious international promotional campaign ever, uniting the efforts of the private and public sectors to generate jobs and growth for Britain.

Further information

LLWR got ‘suited and booted’ at the annual NDA Stakeholder Summit to highlight the success of its flagship Decommissioning Programme.

The organisation is on the verge of completing the planned 10 year legacy Plutonium Contaminated Material (PCM) Programme to decommission five radioactive chambers, or magazines, on its Site in Cumbria in just over six years, under an accelerated schedule, saving the UK taxpayer around £20 million in the process.

To illustrate working conditions in air fed suits, which were worn by operatives in areas of greatest contamination, a volunteer was dressed in one of the single use suits during a plenary session of the summit in Anglesey, in front of an enthralled audience, who were treated to close ups of the action via a live video feed.

Paul Pointon, Managing Director of LLW Repository Ltd, also debuted a short film illustrating the success of the PCM Programme.

He said: “We are immensely proud of our achievement in completing the Programme, so we were delighted to be given the opportunity to showcase it at the Summit.

“In addition to the major savings made under the Programme, completion marks a long standing commitment made to our local community to remove all PCM from the Site and decommission the facilities, and our stringent commitment to safety meant not a single Lost Time Accident was suffered in more than 400,000 man hours of physical work.”

Today the Prime Minister spoke to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to congratulate him on his recent election victory.

She confirmed that the UK stands ready to work with the new Government of Greece to improve the trading relationship between our countries and support a more outward-facing Greek economy.

The two leaders also discussed other areas where the UK and Greece have a strong relationship, particularly security and defence. The Prime Minister expressed her confidence that her successor would continue to develop the partnership in these areas.

On wider regional issues, the Prime Minister said that she believed the Prespes Agreement with North Macedonia was an important step forward and welcomed Prime Minister Mitsotakis’s commitment to honour its implementation.

The intra-Afghan dialogue is an important and positive step in Afghan peace efforts. Crucially the dialogue in Doha, facilitated by Germany and Qatar, included Taliban members and representatives of the Afghanistan government, in a personal capacity, to discuss the future of Afghanistan.

The concluding resolution provides building blocks for future negotiations that we hope will form the basis of a peace process. We particularly welcome their broad and inclusive nature, which included women, minorities and civil society groups.

There is a long way to go but the commitments to reduce violence and avoid civilian casualties can help pave the way towards future common ground.

After decades of conflict, it is clear that the people of Afghanistan need, and want, peace. The UK has been clear that only an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned political settlement will enable the country to thrive and prosper.