Science access centres open to help innovative businesses with R&D

New centres that offer UK based businesses flexible and affordable access to cutting-edge scientific equipment and laboratory space for high-tech research and development work have opened at STFC Daresbury Laboratory, part of the Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus in Cheshire.

More than £3 million of cutting-edge equipment is available for businesses to use at the Innovations Technology Access Centres
Credit: STFC

Through the STFC's new Innovations Technology Access Centres, businesses can develop their innovative businesses by making use of more than £3 million of cutting-edge equipment in fully-equipped biological, imaging, materials and physical science laboratories.

The laboratories provide a range of flexible and purpose-built research accommodation to suit the needs of a wide range of businesses from ‘lock and leave’ exclusive use laboratories to multi-user laboratories available on an hourly basis.

As well as having access to high-end laboratory sample preparation and analysis facilities, the centres give businesses the opportunity to work alongside STFC’s own highly skilled scientists and leading academic institutions as they carry out their research and development.

The Innovations Technology Access Centres also complement the facilities that businesses can receive from the nearby Daresbury Innovation Centre, which offers high-quality offices and larger leasable space suitable for businesses wishing to set up their own laboratory. The Innovation Centre is already home to over 90 high-tech small businesses employing more than 300 people with specialist expertise in instrumentation, control engineering, medical devices and diagnostics, mobile telecoms technologies and software development.

Professor Keith Mason, STFC’s Chief Executive said: “These centres are great news for businesses and for Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus. In the current economic climate it can be difficult for innovative businesses to access affordable, ready to use, high specification laboratory space to carry out the much-needed research and development to make them competitive.

"The access centres have been made possible by re-using the high-end equipment that once formed part of Daresbury’s Synchrotron Radiation Source. I am delighted that that we are able to keep this equipment in the north-west and create a facility that will stimulate the local economy.

"This is another significant step forward in the further development of the Science and Innovation Campus as a place which encourages businesses, scientists and academics to work in collaboration with each other."

Businesses interested in finding out more about the Innovations Technology Access Centres can contact:

• Paul Vernon
  Head of New Business Opportunities
  STFC Innovations Ltd
  Tel: +44 (0) 1925 603 822

Images

A range of images of scientists using some of the equipment available in the Access Centres can be supplied by the STFC Press Office on request.

Contacts

• Karen Coles
  Press Officer
  STFC Daresbury Laboratory
  Tel: +44 (0)1925 603 232
  
  
• Paul Vernon
  Head of New Business Opportunities
  STFC Innovations Ltd
  Tel: +44 (0)1925 603 822

Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus

In 2006 the Government announced two locations, Daresbury and Harwell, as campuses for the focus of government science research and innovation investment as a key part of its 10 year UK Science and Innovation Investment Framework.

Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus (link opens in a new window) (Daresbury SIC) was formally opened in September 2006 by Lord Sainsbury, the then Science and Innovation Minister.

Daresbury SIC is an internationally recognised location for high-tech businesses and leading-edge science. It represents a fundamentally new approach to driving UK competitiveness in global science and innovation. Daresbury SIC was formed by the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the Science and Technology Facilities Council, Lancaster University, the University of Liverpool, the University of Manchester and Halton Borough Council.

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