Work starts on £25m research base
Work has begun on the £25m Bioenergy Centre research facility at the University of Nottingham.
The centre, which will focus on biofuels and food and drink processing, will cost £6.5m to build but provide nearly £20m of research to industry. It will encompass more than 33,000 sq ft of laboratory, demonstration and incubation facilities.
It has been funded by a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant of £2.7m provided through the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), global brewer SABMiller and The University of Nottingham.
Professor David Greenaway, vice-chancellor of the university, said: “The University of Nottingham is pioneering research into new and sustainable sources of bioenergy. It has formed partnerships with global energy companies to local farmers, driving innovation through collaboration.
“This new centre with its cutting-edge facilities will enable the university to bring together many of the world’s leading experts in this field and help us tackle some of the major challenges of harnessing power from sustainable sources.”
Stuart Creedy, head of ERDF at EMDA, said: “We are happy to be supporting this project through the East Midlands 2007-13 ERDF Competitiveness Programme. The Programme supports innovative and fledgling businesses. This unique facility will support much needed research and development that will benefit small and medium-sized businesses in the food and drink industry — a priority sector for the East Midlands.”
