The Northern Accelerator partnership of the universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Teesside, Sunderland and York has secured an additional £4.3m across two funding streams to expand its support and create more businesses in crucial sectors.
In 2016 the Northern Accelerator partnership set out to increase the rate at which universities in the North East could translate their research findings into commercial products and services to make a social and economic impact.
Dr Tim Hammond with the founding team of Northumbria University’s EcoTech69, showcasing their innovative ‘Solar2Water’ and ‘OptimumAirCon’ devices. From L-R: Muhammad Mehroz, Dr. Muhammad Wakil Shahzad, Dr Tim Hammond, Muhammad Ahmad Jamil, Mohammed Sanjid Thavalengal
The programme introduced a range of support to ensure spinout businesses had the best chance of success, and it has created 47 businesses and set to deliver over £123m additional GVA (Gross Valued Added) to the region’s economy over a 10-year period.
Recognising the importance of this contribution to the North East’s economy, North of Tyne Combined Authority and Durham County Council awarded £2.79m UK Shared Prosperity Funding to continue Northern Accelerator’s best practice research-commercialisation model at Durham, Newcastle and Northumbria Universities, via the InTune project.
Last week Research England announced an additional £1.5m Connecting Capability Funding for the full six-university partnership to pilot new activity alongside the well-established existing offering, trialling new interventions and additional support programmes.
Today the Northern Accelerator universities have a strong pipeline of innovative commercial opportunities, with spinout businesses being created in a range of sectors from cancer-curing drugs to carbon-negative building materials.
Most of those businesses are based in the North East and North Yorkshire, creating high-value jobs in the area.
Northern Accelerator universities will work with partner organisations in key sectors to proactively develop solutions to crucial issues, and to ensure new businesses are embedded within the North’s innovation ecosystem. Working alongside partners in the digital sector, net zero, cancer research and pharma, focus challenge events will explore opportunities for improved collaboration and industry engagement around innovation.
“We have clear feedback from investors, our Technology Transfer Offices, and our nascent businesses that stronger engagement with key sectors would strengthen our business propositions,” says Dr Tim Hammond, Managing Director of Research and Innovation Services at Durham University..
More examples of Northern Accelerator spinouts can be found at https://showcase.northernaccelerator.org
