The government has stretched a budget for technology and innovation catapult centres to fund two more specialist hubs and to increase the budget for another.
Catapults are research hubs covering several business sectors that were established by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to hothouse ideas and research.
Business Secretary Vince Cable has praised the work of the seven current hubs – and pledged to fund two more in 2015.
The current catapult network covers:
- High value manufacturing
- Satellite applications
- Cell therapy
- Offshore renewable energy
- Future cities
- Transport systems
- The connected digital economy
The new additions are energy systems, aimed at developing new ways of harnessing and delivering energy and diagnostics for stratified medicine, which looks at giving patients better treatments and cutting the cost of healthcare.
Hothousing research
An extra £7 million is also earmarked for the high value manufacturing hub, which has played a part in 830 projects involving 2,000 businesses in the past year.
Cable announced the new hubs and extra funding in a visit to the satellite applications hub in Oxford.
“Catapult centres have helped small businesses develop new products and technologies over the past year,” he said. “More investment is on the way and I am pleased to announce the first extra money today.
“These hubs are a foundation for new businesses and let them grow faster than ever before by clearing funding and other hurdles for them. They will keep Britain at the head of global innovation.”
The TSB has also issued details of projects by other hubs, like a software app for Rwandan farmers that lets them better manage coffee crops by monitoring the weather and a new £7.5 million lab at Guy’s Hospital, London, opened to research cell therapies.
Private investment
To date, the hubs have picked up a combined £1.4 billion from public and private investment.
Iain Grey, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board said: “Catapult centres are leading the way with technology development and innovation by making the process of taking research to market faster and less risky for small businesses.
“A lot of progress has already been made – and we’re sure that these hubs will lead the way in generating economic growth.”
Besides funding and managing catapult centres, the TSB has also launched five technology competitions under the CRACK IT banner to try to resolve research blocks that are holding up some projects.
See the CRACK IT challenges
Download the TSB annual report
