£128m of funding for Yorkshire institute announced

A MINISTER has confirmed £128m of funding for a hi-tech institute in Sheffield.

Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation Jo Johnson announced the funding for the Henry Royce Institute, which includes a wing at the University of Sheffield.

The Royce Institute will allow the UK to grow its world-leading research and innovation base in advanced-materials science.

The Institute, led by the University of Manchester with a satellite wing in Sheffield and support from other universities, is a component of the Government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative and an attempt to boost economic growth in the North of England and balance the UK economy.

The announcement includes £3.5m of funding for the University of Sheffield wing of the project, which includes a pioneering Sheffield Royce Translational Centre in a new building next to the University’s Factory 2050 at its Advanced Manufacturing Campus, and a research centre at the University of Sheffield’s city centre campus.

Professor Mark Rainforth, from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Advanced Metals Processing academic champion for Royce, said “The centre will enable Sheffield to lead on advanced powder manufacturing and processing to transfer knowledge and experience, gained from working with industry, to local SMEs active in the healthcare, energy, oil and gas, manufacturing and construction supply chains.”

Last year, the Sheffield Royce Translational Centre received a £4m grant from the European Regional Development Fund.

The centre will work alongside a second new Royce research centre, the Royce Discovery Centre at the University’s city campus, which will be focussed on earlystage research on materials discovery and processing.

The Translational Centre will then take these research discoveries and work with companies to help apply it to their manufacturing challenges.