Harwell Campus EnergyTec Cluster, based at the Oxfordshire science and innovation hub Harwell Campus, has seen 17 per cent grown since its launch in May 2018.
EnergyTec now hosts 35 industry, academic and public organisations working on the campus, employing 900 people between them. Companies including Siemens, EDF Energy, Ricardo Energy & Environment and start-ups Zap&Go and MIRICO have based themselves at the energy cluster.
A further 26 companies, which started off in Harwell’s Space or HealthTec Clusters, now also focus on the energy sector as a market for their innovative technologies
With a focus on energy storage, battery technologies and carbon neutral alternatives to fossil fuels, the technologies emerging from these 61 organisations will influence every aspect of life across work, travel and recreation, improving the environment and developing sustainable alternatives for the future.
The UK has set itself an ambitious target of reaching carbon-neutral emissions for industry by 2040. The government has invested £170 million in low-carbon research through its Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to encourage innovation and investment. Energy experts met at Harwell on January 24 to discuss opportunities for the UK’s energy sector arising from the government initiative.
Harwell Campus houses 200 organisations employing 5,500 people focused on commercialising scientific research and new technologies through space, heath and energy clusters.
On the energy side, the campus has a distinguished heritage in energy research including many world firsts – the modern lithium-ion battery was developed on campus in the Eighties.
The Faraday Institution, which has received a £78 million in government investment to accelerate battery technology in the UK, sits at the heart of the energy cluster.
“Harwell Campus’s uniqueness lies in its cross-industry collaboration,” said Dr Barbara Ghinelli, cluster and campus business development director at Harwell Campus “The 26 organisations from the space and health clusters that now have technologies or applications being used in the energy sector are testament to the powerful advantage of working in close proximity with organisations that have nothing to do with your original market.”
Angus Horner, Harwell Campus partner and director added: “Harwell Campus is an energy powerhouse with all the components available in one place to fast-track a company’s R&D and commercial growth, to meet the ambitious targets set forward in the Industrial Challenge Strategy. We will continue to grow the EnergyTec Cluster, attracting companies of all sizes and scales to the Campus and continuing our collaborations across the UK and the rest of the world.”
