Funding success
Clean Growth UK members Lankelma, Falcon Coffees and the British Hovercraft Company were amongst a group of businesses recently awarded funding to carry out innovative business transformation projects in partnership with our South East hub, the University of Brighton.
KTPs (Knowledge Transfer Partnerships) help businesses improve their competitiveness and productivity through accessing knowledge, technology and skills within institutions like University of Brighton. These KTP projects are funded by UKRI through Innovate UK – which only awards funding where a research and development proposal demonstrates true innovation as a way to develop a unique new product or service. Their aim is to enhance innovation in industry to deliver real-world tangible impact for businesses.
To date, the University of Brighton has drawn on its vast range of expertise to deliver over 250 KTP programmes with companies across the UK. Recent awards bring the University of Brighton’s KTP awards so far in 2021 to just over £1m (£1,488,644).
The latest Clean Growth UK member projects include:
- Two projects with ground testing construction firm Lankelma on cone penetration testing, involving Brighton researchers Dr Maria Diakoumi, Dr Chris Garrett and Dr Goran Soldar
- A project with Lewes-based Falcon Coffeeson supply chain carbon measurement and mitigation, working with researchers Dr Tim Laing and Dr Sushil Mohan, alongside Brighton research students.
- A project with the British Hovercraft Company to develop an electric hovercraft and hone the design process in the company, working with researchers Dr Steve Begg, Dr Derek Covill, and Simon Walters.
Liz Johnson, the university’s KTP Manager, said: “It’s exciting to see so many businesses innovating their way out of difficult times, as part of their COVID recovery strategies. We’re looking forward to working with new businesses and academics on these novel projects.”
As an example of what a Knowledge Transfer Partnership can achieve, the project with Lankelma will apply the academic team’s geotechnical and sensor development knowledge to facilitate rapid design and development of innovative sensor combinations.
Chris Dimelow, General Manager at Lankelma, said: “The success of the project will enable us to offer a higher quality, improved reliability and a more bespoke solution to our client’s needs. It will also enable us to ‘future proof’ the technology and keep us on the fore front of advancing techniques. The contribution provided by University of Brighton will enable the results of the project to become embedded in the business.”
Find out more about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships here.