Research England is investing £221 million in 11 brand-new university research facilities across the UK.

These will support cutting-edge research and innovation in a wide range of specialist areas — from accelerating the development of satellite technology and the next generation of semiconductors to the advancement of treatments for cardio-respiratory disease, eye disease and cancer.

The funding is from Research England’s flagship UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF).

Furthermore, nearly 100 businesses, charities and philanthropic donors — such as BT, Siemens, South West Water and the British Heart Foundation — have committed an additional £500 million on top of Research England’s investment, bringing the total to £721 million.

Research England (www.re.ukri.org) says the new investment “will enhance the UK’s world-class higher-education research capabilities, strengthen and develop specialist industrial clusters, and generate local economic growth in South Wales, the South West, the East Midlands and the North West, as well as in London and the South East”.

Research England’s executive chairman, David Sweeney, said: “Our UKRPIF scheme plays a vital role in fostering long-term strategic partnerships between universities and research stakeholders, including business and philanthropic donors.

Capital funding is crucial in establishing the UK as a place where world-leading research can take place, and
in realising — and delivering — the UK’s research and innovation capabilities.”

The new research project allocations include: £16 million for Brunel University London’s Future Metallurgy Centre; £14 million for the University of Leicester’s Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology and Earth Observation Research Centre (METEOR); £30 million for Swansea University’s Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials; £10 million for the University of York’s York Global Initiative for Safe Autonomy; and £11 million for the University of Leeds’ Institute for High Speed Rail and System Integration.