Teesside innovation centre the Materials Processing Institute has secured a £750,000 Northern Powerhouse investment to boost its research credentials.
The Middlesbrough not-for-profit research and innovation centre has received the six-figure sum from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, which is managed by FW Capital and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).
Founded as the British Iron & Steel Research Association in 1944, the Materials Processing Institute is now a globally recognised centre for the innovation, development and commercialisation of technology.
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Its R&D is centred on advanced materials and achieving industrial decarbonisation through a low carbon and hydrogen future, as well as the use of new digital technologies and reducing waste through a circular economy.
The institute will use the investment to further its work, improving research capabilities and its ability to rapidly accelerate industrial innovations. It is also developing a leading capability in metallography and microscopy that is best in the 海角视频 and one of the best in Europe.
The investment will also help the institute to expand the support services offered by its SME Technology Centre, which sees it support small and medium sized enterprises in the Tees Valley and beyond, helping them to develop and commercialise innovations and technology.
CEO Chris McDonald said: “There has been a huge uptake in demand for new innovation and digital technologies in recent years, with more businesses also looking to decarbonise their operations.
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“I firmly believe we have the talent and means here in the Northeast to provide solutions to many of these contemporary challenges, and this funding from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund will help us to further that cause.”
To mark the investment, the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund’s Yorkshire, Humber and Tees Valley Regional Advisory Board hosted its quarterly meeting and a networking event at Wynyard Hall, where local stakeholders and partners discussed the impact of NPIF funding, as well as the future of finance in the region.
Ken Cooper at the British Business Bank, said: “It is an important focus of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund to provide support to a range of businesses, of different sizes and sectors. The Materials Processing Institute is a hugely important organisation to local enterprises in the Tees Valley and aligns with the core principles of NPIF – to create economic prosperity in the North of England.”
Alexandra Gent, investment executive at FW Capital, said: “The Materials Processing Institute is at the forefront of Europe’s research and development activity, helping to encourage modernisation in an industry ready to embrace change through new circular, decarbonisation and digital technologies. Working with the team at the MPI has been a pleasure and we are proud to play a role in their future success, as it emerges strongly from the pandemic and gears up to assist .”
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen said: “Organisations like Materials Processing Institute are hugely important to continuing that legacy and it’s fantastic to see the Institute secure this funding from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. Investments such as this are key to creating new opportunities here in our region.”
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