North-west secures £98.5 million UKRI investment

Businesses and researchers in the North-west have secured £98.5 million in investment from government agency, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Funding is being directed towards projects and organisations addressing major societal challenges being faced today, and in the future. Nine researchers and 118 businesses have secured UKRI investment for projects across a diverse range of topics, from manufacturing innovation, agriculture and action on climate change and carbon emissions.

One Greater Manchester-based project has been granted over £1 million to improve crop yields on farms worldwide. The project, led by Aeh Innovative Hydrogel Ltd, seeks to develop a material that conserves water and protects plants by incorporating a new device that allows remote monitoring of conditions in vertical farms.

Mike Biddle, ISCF Programme Director at UKRI said:

The projects we’ve seen so far in the North-west will help tackle the industrial challenges of the future and contribute to the UK reaching its Net Zero 2050 target. Many of these projects also look to bring skilled jobs and inward investment to the region.

“We’ve seen 63% of all project participants anticipate that annual turnover will increase as a result of engaging with the Challenge Fund. We encourage the top minds in industry and academia across the North-west to come together and apply for funding to help bring research to life and develop real-world applications that will see benefits on a local and national level.”

UKRI seeks to drive business investment in R&D and multi and interdisciplinary research, improve business-academic engagement on innovation activities, encourage collaboration between companies and attract overseas investment in R&D in the UK.

ISCF has identified 23 key challenges facing UK businesses. From transforming food production to self-driving vehicles and commercialising quantum technologies, the investments made are already transforming existing industries by refining and creating new technological innovations.

With 231 projects completed and 1,600 funded so far, UKRI has already injected £1.7 billion into 1,544 businesses across the UK with an additional £567m invested by private industry. It is anticipated that ISCF funding will result in over 6,000 jobs created over the next five years.