Research Partnership Investment Fund announcement

Commenting on the Chancellor’s announcement of the latest round of RPIF funding Dr Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group, said:

“The Government is right to invest in research and infrastructure to boost the UK’s economy. The Research Partnership Investment Fund (RPIF) is a vital tool to help harness the UK’s research capability for the good of the country.

“As this latest round of awards shows Russell Group universities understand the needs of business and are laying the foundations for future research and innovation successes.

“These exciting projects demonstrate the strength of collaboration between the UK’s leading universities, businesses and other partners, which will drive economic growth and have a wider impact through medical and other advances.

“But it is important that investment in research facilities and infrastructure is sustained in the medium and long-term so we can capture all of the benefits that come out of our first-class research.

“We hope the Government will follow through on this investment with a spending review that continues to ring fence the science and research resource budget and paves the way for future economic growth.”

Notes to editors

The latest round of RPIF funding includes:

• A £33 million partnership between UCL (University College London) and the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in the Institute of Immunity and Transplantation. This will enable world-leading research and clinical trials to develop new treatments and patient therapies for a range of chronic diseases, such as cancer, HIV and diabetes.
• A £117 million partnership between the University of Manchester, BP plc, Rolls-Royce, AMEC, Sellafield, National Nuclear Laboratory, FEI Company, Xradia, Rapiscan Systems, AREVA, Westinghouse, EDF and TiSiC to establish the Multidisciplinary Characterisation Facility. This will accelerate research into advanced materials that can operate safely under increasingly harsh conditions, such as the extraction of difficult to access oil and gas reservoirs or aero engines operating at higher temperatures.
• A £63 million partnership between the University of Cambridge, the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability, Hitachi Ltd, the Herchel Smith Trust Fund and others to build The Maxwell Centre. This will be a centrepiece for industrial partnership in the physical sciences on the West Cambridge Science and Technology campus, increasing collaboration with SMEs and acting as a hub for doctoral training.
• A £43 million partnership between the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and manufacturing companies to develop the AMRC Factory 2050. This will be the world's most flexible factory, capable of rapidly switching production between different high-value components and one-off parts. It will support innovation in advanced manufacturing and meet the future needs of the market by integrating research and industry collaboration.