Skilled technology jobs saved after university steps in

A dozen highly skilled jobs have been saved with the creation of a new technology company at St Andrews University.

Drochaid Research Services Ltd has taken on the employees of Sasol UK Ltd following the closure of its St Andrews laboratory.

And the university has stepped in with a financial package of £700,000 and the promise of access to key research equipment.

This will support the new company, which will carry out contract research and development in the areas of catalysis, materials science and chemical technology.

The name Drochaid, the Scots Gaelic word for bridge, was chosen because of the company’s ability to span the gap from invention to commercialisation, connect industry and academe and straddle important sectors.

This position is strengthened by the company’s co-location and ongoing partnership with St Andrews University.

Drochaid’s managing director Professor Robert Tooze said: “We are already getting significant industrial interest and further building our links with academia, both nationally and internationally.

“The need for the efficient utilisation of both materials and energy in the products that we all rely on is increasingly well understood.

“Catalysis is a key enabling technology in this process.

“This combined with its pivotal role in addressing societal challenges such as combatting climate change, providing clean water, low carbon energy, the conversion of renewable resources and pollution control means that catalysis will only grow in importance.”