Proposals for ‘elite’ tech hubs could benefit UK plastic electronics

Sara Ver-Bruggen - 02 Nov 2010

Planned investment by the UK government in a network of elite technology centres could enhance support to efforts to commercialise plastic electronics and related technologies.

Over £200 million (€228 million) will be invested in the technology and innovation centres which will be established and supervised by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB).

As inspiration for such hubs of excellence the UK government has looked abroad, where institutions such as Fraunhofer in Germany have played a critical role in establishing world-leading industries for the country such as solar photovoltaics.

By May 2011 the TSB will unveil a strategy and plan for implementing the centres and details on its technology focus areas, which could potentially exploit advances in nanotechnology, organic and printed electronics, biotech and clean energy - all areas where UK universities have developed strong intellectual property.

UK capability

Specific technologies will be chosen where there is potential for it to grow into a large international market with significant UK capability. The centres will allow businesses access to equipment and expertise that would otherwise be hard to tap and allow them to conduct their own in-house R&D. This practice will place emphasis on the importance of technological experimentation and innovation in successful businesses and industries. The centres will also help businesses access new funding streams and point them towards the potential of emerging technologies.

The hubs will complement and link with other work that the TSB already promotes, by fostering collaboration between universities and business. The network of proposed innovation centres will build upon the activities of the UK Knowledge Transfer Networks (KTNs). These national networks, in areas such as plastic electronics and photonics, encourage cooperation between UK business and industry, and the academic and research communities, through funded project calls, events and publishing activity.

The plan for the innovation and technology hubs echo calls by venture capitalist Hermann Hauser at the end of 2009 for the government to throw its support behind emerging technologies in the UK, to aid their chances of developing into leading industries of the future.

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