A partnership led by Scottish Enterprise - with support from Forth Valley College - has recently been announced as one of eight new Innovate UK Launchpads across the country.
This exciting opportunity will give businesses in Scotland’s growing bio-based manufacturing industry an opportunity to apply for support packages of up to £1million – and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the in the Bio-based Manufacturing field are invited to register their interest prior to Wednesday 13 December 2023.
The Scottish Launchpad which is supported by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) and FVC, will focus on developing bio-based manufacturing, giving small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) a chance to access support and funding for their innovative bio-based products and ideas.
The packages, ranging between £25,000 to £100,000 and £150,000 to £1million, are available to support outstanding innovation projects which will promote the growth of the bio-based manufacturing cluster in Scotland.
The Launchpad programme is funded by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation. It is designed to build on innovation clusters around the UK that have significant growth potential and to deliver jobs, growth, and higher productivity, supporting the UK Government’s levelling-up agenda.
Innovate UK CEO Indro Mukerjee said: “Innovate UK has been building strong regional partnerships across the UK to support local innovation and commercialisation. The launch of the Scotland biobased manufacturing Launchpad is an important step and another example of active collaboration with regional partners to deliver growth and productivity through innovation.”
Colin McMurray, FVC’s Vice Principal Business and Innovation, said: "We are excited to be part of this partnership supporting bio-based manufacturing in Scotland, which will provide SMEs with significant opportunities for innovation and growth. It aligns perfectly with our commitment to fostering a thriving bio-based manufacturing cluster in Scotland, and we look forward to collaborating with our partners to achieve this vision."
Pauline Jackson, Development and Fundraising Manager, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Scottish Enterprise and IBioiC on the Launchpad which will bring exciting opportunities for skills development in our area. The College has an excellent reputation for providing some of the best science and engineering courses in Scotland and with its state-of-the art new Falkirk Campus facility providing cutting edge work spaces in this area, it is ideally placed to support industry partners in the growing bio-based manufacturing sector.”
The ambition of Scotland’s Industrial Biotechnology strategy is to grow company turnover beyond £1.2 billion by 2026 and accelerate innovation in industrial biotechnology, biomass supply chain development and sustainable production and manufacturing.
More information and competition links: https://iuk.ktn-uk.org/programme/launchpads/
Alternatively visit Competition overview - Launchpad: bio-based manufacturing in Scotland – R1 CR&D - Innovation Funding Service (apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk)
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