December 2009

NEWS

Government prioritises nuclear for future energy needs
The Government has announced plans for the most ambitious expansion of nuclear power anywhere in Europe, and one of the largest in the world, with a new energy strategy designed to encourage the construction of new power stations and other large infrastructure projects.

Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband unveiled six draft National Policy Statements (NPSs) as part of reforms that will remove unnecessary planning delays facing large energy proposals. The NPSs include clear direction towards a huge expansion in renewables; a new nuclear programme based around ten sites assessed as potentially suitable for new build and the Government’s final Framework for the Development of Clean Coal. The other statements cover fossil fuels, wind farms (onshore and offshore) and infrastructure such as power transmission lines and gas storage sites. The NSPs are subject to consultation until 22 February, when they will be submitted to Parliament.

Mr Miliband said: “The threat of climate change means we need to make a transition from a system that relies heavily on high-carbon fossil fuels to a radically different system that includes nuclear, renewable and clean coal power. Change is also needed for energy security.”

The government expects that by the 2020s about 30 per cent of the UK’s electricity will be generated by nuclear power, compared with less than 20 per cent today, after the construction of 10-12 new reactors. One third of the generating capacity required to meet future needs must be built over the next 15 years to 2025. The NPSs are designed to give guidance to the new Infrastructure Planning Commission to help it make faster and fairer decisions The IPC is an independent body that will take decisions on large projects such as power stations, beginning from March next year.

As part of the nuclear power NSP, the Government has carried out a Strategic Siting Assessment to identify sites that are deployable by the end of 2025. Ten of the eleven sites nominated by industry in March have been assessed as potentially suitable: Bradwell, Braystones, Hartlepool, Heysham, Hinkley Point, Kirksanton, Oldbury, Sellafield, Sizewell and Wylfa. Dungeness was nominated but not listed due to concerns over environmental impacts. French-owned EDF Energy plans two reactors at Sizewell in Suffolk and two more at Hinkley Point in Somerset. Horizon Energy, the joint venture of the German groups E.ON and RWE, plans to build four to six reactors at Wylfa on Anglesey and Oldbury in Gloucestershire, while another consortium including Scottish and Southern Energy, Iberdrola, the parent of ScottishPower, and GDF Suez of France plans two more at a site near Sellafield in Cumbria.

The Government’s coal strategy includes a competition for official funds to back a pilot ‘clean coal’ plant using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions. Three consortia are thought likely to bid: one led by ScottishPower, another by RWE Npower and a third by E.ON, which hopes to secure backing for clean coal technology at its proposed power station at Kingsnorth in Kent. A programme of up to four commercial-scale CCS demonstrations will be funded by a new CCS Incentive. In addition, the European Commission has provisionally selected UK company Powerfuels to receive $270 million to develop a pre-combustion CCS power station at Hatfield, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire. The EC and Powerfuels are now negotiating the terms of the funding.

South West to host National Skills Academy for Nuclear
Bridgwater College in Somerset is to receive more than $6.8 million in funding to launch the South West Energy Skills Centre, a specialist nuclear skills training centre. The new facility will be the South West’s flagship delivery centre for the National Skills Academy for Nuclear and will provide high-quality specialist training facilities in science, engineering and specialist construction. Some of the funding will come from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the South West RDA (Regional Development Agency), while Magnox South Ltd, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and EDF Energy are also supporting the project.

At the height of construction, around 4,000 workers of various skill levels will be needed for the new-build programme at Hinkley Point. Construction work is expected to start as soon as planning consent has been granted. Fiona McMillan, principal of Bridgwater College, said: “There is only one other National Skills Academy for Nuclear flagship delivery centre in the country, in Cumbria, and it is a testament to the College’s track record that the Skills Academy has designated the Energy Skills Centre as its South West delivery centre."

New initiatives build on potential of renewables sector
Elsewhere in the energy sector, three UK-based banks have begun offering new loans to the developers of onshore wind farms. The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide up to $1.2 billion of new finance, with the remainder matched by RBS, Lloyds Banking Group and BNP Paribas Fortis. The loans will be available to eligible onshore wind projects with a total project cost of between $34 million and $170 million. The scheme, supported by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and HM Treasury, could enable around $2.4 billion of onshore wind projects to move to construction over the next three years.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The UK now has 4GW of wind capacity, and the pace of installation is picking up. It took us 14 years to build the first gigawatt, and just one year to build the last. But we still need a six-fold increase in renewables by 2020 to hit our renewables target. That target is vital if we are to be on course to cutting emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. So we need to pull out the stops, including making sure the capital is there to build the wind farms in the first place. This partnership of the EIB with RBS, BNP Paribas Fortis and Lloyds Banking group will address that problem.”

South West England’s ambition to be a global centre for marine energy research has received a boost with a $2 million investment in a new wave tank testing facility located at the University of Plymouth. The wave tanks will be funded by the South West RDA as part of a three-year, $12.4 million investment in the Peninsula Research Institute for Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMaRE). The main tank – expected to be completed in early 2012 –will measure 35 metres by 15 metres and will be 2 metres deep. The facility will enable the testing of scale models of wave and tidal energy devices individually and in arrays. It will be unique in the UK as it will allow model testing in both multi-directional waves and variable direction currents, and will also be able to model shallow- and deep-water conditions.

Business Minister Lord Drayson said: “This wave tank will play to the UK’s strengths –science, engineering, waves and tides – to help us establish a global lead in developing the technologies necessary to produce this renewable energy supply. Wave technology will be key to the future of energy generation and the South West, the UK’s first Low Carbon Economic Area, has the potential and expertise to make this happen.”

The DECC has granted consent to Peterborough Renewable Energy Ltd for the construction of an 80MW clean energy plant in Peterborough, Eastern England. The power station at Storey’s Bar Gate will be fuelled by waste glass, plastic and metal and by biomass. DECC Minister David Kidney said: “This plant will provide reliable, low-carbon energy for years to come. The UK needs to generate 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and energy from biomass could contribute as much as a third of that.”

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has outlined steps to boost locally-generated energy to cut carbon emissions, create ‘green collar’ jobs and save money on fuel bills. Mr Johnson unveiled a package of initiatives designed to attract investors as well as help developers and borough councils to build more local energy schemes, which could include renewable sources and combined heat and power (CHP) stations. This follows on from the announcement of ten Low Carbon Zones in September. The plans include a target to supply 25 per cent of London’s heat and electricity needs from local sources by 2025. Currently, the vast majority of the city’s energy comes from power stations many miles away, which can see up to two-thirds of it lost before reaching its point of use.

The Mayor’s ‘Powering Ahead’ prospectus also included a ‘London Heat Map’, an interactive web-based map designed to help investors pinpoint specific areas for decentralised energy, and a Decentralised Energy Centre of Excellence to provide expertise and support to boroughs. He said: “I want to position London as the world’s leading low-carbon economy. There are massive opportunities flowing from the shift away from our fossil-fuelled lifestyles, including new ‘green collar’ jobs and financial savings from becoming less wasteful.”

The London Development Agency has allocated up to $27.2 million for decentralised energy projects over the next four years and is currently working on 14 projects across the capital, including the London Thames Gateway Heat Network, which is set to capture low-carbon heat from Barking Power Station that will be used to supply up to 120,000 homes and properties with heating and hot water.


Brazilian Development Bank opens for business in London
The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) has opened its first overseas office in London, with an official ceremony attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson and the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Ian Luder. The BNDES is a federal public company associated with the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. Its goal is to provide long-term financing aimed at enhancing Brazil’s development. It controls a budget of more than $130 billion and in 2009 alone provided more than $60 billion in project financing.

Since the UK-Brazil Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) was established by President Lula and Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2006, bilateral trade between the two countries has risen by more than half. UK exports to Brazil were up 35 per cent last year and the number of UK firms looking to do business in Brazil has almost doubled. This year, the number of Brazilian companies setting up a presence in London has tripled compared with two years ago. The city’s development agency, Think London, has an established track record in assisting Brazilian companies to set up or expand, with notable examples including BWI Development, Banco Bradesco, Dabi Atlante and Alpargatas (Havaianas).

The BNDES is the latest in a series of banks opening up or expanding their presence in London, which in October was ranked by the World Economic Forum as the number one financial centre in the world. Other banks that have recently opened or expanded their presence in the city include the State Bank of India, China Merchants Bank and the China Construction Bank. A Russian delegation also recently visited the UK looking at improving cooperation in financial services.


Innovative sciences sector attracts new investment
Leading Indian pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy Laboratories is relocating its European headquarters to Chiswick Park in west London. The company, a unit of Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, markets a range of quality, affordable generic medicines in 125 countries. Ranked among the world’s top ten generic firms, it has ground operations in 49 countries and manufacturing facilities in a further 11. Following its tie-in with Daiichi, it ranks among the top 15 global pharmaceutical companies. Market analyst Henry Williams said: “West London is home to a cluster of pharmaceutical companies, and it’s a real coup for Chiswick Park to have secured one of the market leaders. It will be a near neighbour to Antisoma, another pharmaceutical company which moved on to the park last year.”

Australian biotechnology firm Biota has acquired antibacterial drug discovery company Prolysis, based in Oxford, South East England, as it looks to expand its range of treatments. The deal is worth $10.8 million in Biota shares and will see the Melbourne-based pharmaceutical firm attempt to develop therapies for multiple drug-resistant infections. If successfully developed, said Biota, these drugs would have the ability to treat hospital superbugs such as MRSA. Prolysis was originally founded on the work of University of Oxford Professor Jeff Errington, who specialises in bacterial cell biology. The company’s programmes will benefit from $25 million in investment from Biota over the next three years, while Professor Errington will join the Australian business’s board.

Life sciences firm TREK Diagnostic Systems has opened a new microbiology research, development and manufacturing centre in East Grinstead in West Sussex, South East England. Growing demand has led the company’s American owner, Magellan Biosciences, to build the $8.5 million facility to replace its old centre in the area. TREK Diagnostic Systems provides cost-effective improvements in workflow efficiencies, ergonomics and test result performance through blood culture, identification and susceptibility technologies. The UK site will manufacture products used to determine drugs and dosage levels needed to treat yeast and bacterial infections. “The UK not only has the largest life sciences industry in Europe, it is also the number one location in Europe for research and development,” commented trade minister Lord Davies.

A centre of scientific excellence at Colworth Science Park in Bedfordshire, Eastern England, has won $7.5 million of Government funding. Unilever and property group Goodman intend to “bring together academia, SMEs and other life-science companies to drive technology transfer and support economic growth in the UK”. The project, sponsored by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), is a collaboration between Colworth’s Institute for Food Research (IFR), Cranfield and Cambridge universities and the Institute for Food Research (IFR). The universities will move into a new 21,000 sq ft amenities centre, while IFR will establish lab and office space at a 35,000 sq ft innovation centre. Goodman and Unilever, which have formed a joint venture to develop the 1,200-acre site, hope it will create ‘easy in/easy out’ lab space. Goodman spokeswoman Dr Sally Ann Forsyth said: “The new facilities will form the foundation of Colworth as an enterprise hub and create a national centre of excellence in health and wellness.”

Technology companies tap into UK research base
Japan-based manufacturer Murata, the world’s largest manufacturer of electronic devices, has signed an agreement with the School of Chemistry at the University of Manchester, North West England, to work jointly on nanotechnology research projects. The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and national government agency UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) had worked closely with Murata since 2007 to identify a suitable UK university for collaboration. Mark Hughes, NWDA executive director of economic development, said: “This research collaboration is great news for the University of Manchester and testimony to the strength of the region’s reputation for R&D.” Murata’s senior corporate adviser, Yukio Sakabe, said: “We at Murata feel very happy and honoured to be able to start collaboration works with the University of Manchester, with help from the NWDA. I am convinced that new technology and business in the field of nanotechnology will be realised in future.”

Science City York is to proceed with major expansion plans that will create nearly 700 jobs, after securing $33.5 million in European funding. The project, in partnership with York University and the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA), is expected to boost productivity of high-tech industries in the Yorkshire and Humber region. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) investment will support the development of more than 118,000 sq ft of new business space for technology-based ventures, provide purpose-built knowledge exchange and business incubation facilities at York University and create an Innovation Campus at FERA’s Sand Hutton laboratory complex on the outskirts of York.

The Hub will house a new Higher York Creative Technology Centre, which will offer a custom-made environment for start-up and early-stage businesses. There will also be a new, on-campus business incubation facility, The Catalyst, which will support the development of businesses in the creative, digital and media sectors. Managed by York Science Park, this will contain 19,900 sq ft space to let in the form of 42 incubation units. The Science City York project will also provide specialist grow-on space for SMEs and R&D collaboration across the life sciences, biotechnology and environmental sectors. Finally, $3.4 million will be invested in two bio-refinery projects being undertaken by York University. The funding will support the creation of a semi-scale bio-refinery, enabling the scaling up of research examining the potential for producing chemicals and bio-fuels from waste materials.

Work under way on key manufacturing technology centre
Public funding of $68 million has been approved for the world-class Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), to be built at Ansty Park research and development site outside Coventry in the West Midlands. The MTC is part of a projected $221 million combined public and private sector investment over 10 years – one of the largest public sector investments in manufacturing for many years. It has the backing of some of the UK’s major global manufacturers and will support UK manufacturing companies and their supply chains to bring about major improvements in manufacturing competitiveness. It will enable industry partners to collaborate on key technological developments and will also facilitate knowledge transfer from research partners into industry.

Described as a new model of collaborative partnership between industry, universities and research and technology organisations, the MTC reflects the need for manufacturers to move away from competing simply on cost and to compete more on knowledge. Founder industrial members of the MTC are Rolls-Royce, Jaguar Land Rover, Aero Engine Controls and Airbus UK. Research partners include the University of Birmingham, University of Nottingham, Loughborough University and TWI Ltd, the operating division of The Welding Institute. The MTC will be housed in a purpose-built 129,000 sq ft facility. Construction will begin in the first quarter of 2010 and the centre will open in early summer 2011.

The MTC will provide resources and a high-quality environment for the development and demonstration of new technologies on an industrial scale. Peter Flinn, its interim director, said: “Research activity will focus on assembly, fabrication and joining technologies, including high-integrity fabrication, net shape manufacturing, advanced tooling and fixturing, and intelligent automation. This work will be underpinned by research into modelling and simulation. Research has already started, with 15 to 20 programmes already lined up to occupy space at the MTC.” Senior executives at the companies backing the centre emphasised its importance to the future of high value-added manufacturing. Simon Burr, vice president, engineering and manufacturing at Aero Engine Controls, said: “In the field of high-value electronics assembly, the MTC will become a key differentiator not only for us but for a whole UK industrial sector.”


Manufacturing picks up as innovative work continues
UK manufacturing recovered in October to its highest level for two years. The headline reading of the key CIPS/Market UK manufacturing survey of purchasing managers rose at a near record rate month-on-month to 53.7, back above the 50.0 mark, which indicates no change. This was the third highest one-month rise in the survey on record, following a 3.8 percentage point gain over output seen in September. The balance of new orders rose to 59.5, its highest reading since January 2004. “It appears that the manufacturing sector has turned a corner and is starting to pull itself out of recession,” said David Noble, chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, which sponsors the survey. Among other things, the survey found that companies have been encouraged by higher levels of new business and have re-started some production lines, while clients have moved closer to restocking after a sustained period of running down inventories.

The NTC is part of a global network of P&G research centres. It currently employs 342 permanent research staff, plus around 100 temporary researchers, making it one of the largest employers of scientists and researchers in the North East. It focuses on household care products, particularly laundry and automatic dishwashing products. It recently celebrated its 50th anniversary at its Longbenton site. However, like all technical centres in the P&G network, it has to compete with other sites for new research work, and winning such an important project for the North East is considered an exciting opportunity for the centre.

A company set up by Dr. Jeong Lee, a former NASA scientist who previously worked on microfluidics technology for US space shuttle missions, has won $35 million of investment with help from UKTI. Dr Lee’s company, Plumina, is working to develop ultra-low-energy LED street lights, which are claimed to last for more than 50,000 hours and to be up to 70 per cent more efficient than standard lighting. Current high-pressure sodium (HPS) street lights last for less than 8,000 hours. Plumina’s are also the only ‘green’ street lights that can tolerate outside temperatures of 50ºC. Through UKTI’s introductions, Plumina LED street lights have already been used for two years in Qatar and the company has plans to expand into other markets in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Plumina already has a factory in South Korea but is planning to establish its main manufacturing facility in the UK. The investment, backed by London-based Almas Capital, will initially create about 35 jobs. The company worked with UKTI’s Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP) to establish its global HQ. The GEP provides key strategic help to client companies to go global, and is able to leverage its global networks to accelerate their route to market by facilitating introductions to potential investors, partners, mentors and directors.

South Yorkshire’s Nicola Minichiello, one half of the current Two-Woman Bobsleigh World Champion team, is being helped in her bid to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics by technology developed by two companies at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham – Bromley Technologies Ltd and the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing (AMRC). She and Team Minichiello are among the athletes living in the Sheffield/Rotherham area who are supported by Bromley through the company’s Formula Ice 2010 athlete sponsorship initiative. The company gives them technical support and equipment developed through its R&D programme to help during qualification for February’s Vancouver Olympics.

AMRC apprentices worked with Bromley to produce high performance bobsleigh runners on the
Advanced Manufacturing Park, Rotherham, Yorkshire & Humber.

Bromley has received support from other companies at the Park. The latest contribution came from AMRC apprentices, who used their manufacturing and engineering skills to produce the latest sets of bobsleigh runners to come from the Bromley R&D programme. Bromley’s chief operating officer, Mike Maddock, said: “Our expertise in high-performance materials, engineering and aerodynamics, linked to understanding the requirements of the elite athletes, enables us to develop race-winning combinations. We work closely with the athletes to develop solutions to issues and challenges. That enables us and them to drive the limits of equipment and performance further.”
 

Prestige car manufacturers make their mark
The world’s largest Audi Centre – West London Audi – was officially launched in October with a party attended by many of the capital’s famous faces. The imposing new building, which represents an investment of $76.5 million by Audi UK, consolidates the brand’s position as one of the global leaders in prestige car manufacturing. Six years in the planning and execution, the 190,000 sq ft Audi Centre is prominently located adjacent to the elevated section of the M4 motorway. Its seven storeys incorporate three showroom floors capable of displaying as many as 116 cars and two basement levels housing a 32-bay workshop and extensive parking facilities. The top two storeys are given over to the Audi Quattro Rooms – a business and creative complex which operates as a conference centre.

West London Audi centre designed by Wilkinson Eyre architects.

The company is proud of the highly distinctive curved structure conceived by architects Wilkinson Eyre (famous for the design of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in North East England), which provides an impressive showcase for its fast-expanding 33 model Audi range. The building will house 100 staff and approximately 30,000 customers are expected through its doors in the next 12 months. “In its scope, size and complexity, West London Audi is like nothing we’ve built before. It is 100 times more complicated than a normal retail centre,” said Jeremy Hicks, director of Audi UK. “The sheer scale of this project is very emblematic of the increasing significance of Audi not only in the UK but globally.”

On the motor racing track, Mercedes-Benz will enter the Formula 1 World Championship with its own team in 2010, while Daimler AG and McLaren Group have changed their form of cooperation, following the introduction of new rules that limit expenditure for the design, construction and running of cars. Mercedes-Benz and McLaren will continue to co-operate with each other and the supply of engines could continue until 2015. Daimler AG, together with Aabar Investments PJSC of Abu Dhabi, has taken over 75.1 per cent of the UK-based Brawn GP team. The changes mean that Mercedes-Benz will resume its motor racing history on the 75th anniversary of the Silver Arrows racing cars. The company wants to continue the tradition of these iconic cars, which won the majority of the races they competed in.

Mercedes Grand Prix, the management team of the former Brawn GP team, will continue to work under the leadership of Ross Brawn, who in 2009 saw his team crowned Formula 1 champions. The Formula 1 team, as well as the engine team of Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines, will be co-ordinated by Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, headed by their vice president, Norbert Haug. The new Silver Arrow team, Mercedes Grand Prix, will compete in Formula 1 as a works team in its own right. Synergies between the 100 per cent Daimler-owned subsidiary Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire and the Mercedes Grand Prix team, based about 28 miles from there in Brackley, will create even greater efficiency, according to the company.

 

Electric and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles hit the road
The Government’s Technology Strategy Board has provided $7.7 million in funding for a UK project to develop a prototype small electric vehicle. Gordon Murray Design, based in Guildford, South East England, is working with Zytek Automotive Technology, which has headquarters in Lichfield in the West Midlands, on ‘Project T.27’. Zytek will supply electric propulsion equipment for the car, including the battery, while Gordon Murray will build the finished vehicle, using a new production system that promises to radically reduce costs. The T.27 will target the urban runabout market, although the design has so far been kept under wraps. The 16-month project will build prototypes prior to scaling up a manufacturing facility for mass production.

Zytek was an early entrant into electric vehicle propulsion. Bill Gibson, the company’s co-founder, began developing a high-powered motor and transmission in 1994. Since then, the firm has worked on projects with the likes of Lotus, Jaguar Land Rover and Daimler Chrysler. It has fitted 100 Daimler Chrysler Smart cars with electric drivetrains, and has agreed to fit another 1,000 vehicles at the company’s plant in Germany. It has another tie-in with Modec, a pioneering electric van company based in Coventry. In addition, a digital system created by Zytek has been deployed on Formula 1 racing cars. The company is also involved in the manufacture of high-performance engines and supplies systems to capture energy from braking on modern F1 cars.

A six-month regional trial has been launched in North East England to give more than 500 people the experience of driving electric vehicles for the first time. Four electric Smart cars have been delivered to the region by Cenex, the UK’s Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technologies. The trial was announced in September at the National Low Carbon Vehicle Event by Cenex and RDA One North East, which is responsible for delivering the UK’s first Low Carbon Economic Area for Ultra Low Carbon Vehicles. Cenex will deliver the trials in partnership with Newcastle-based consultancy Future Transport Systems and Newcastle University’s Transport Operations Research Group (TORG).

The cars will be equipped with specialist equipment from TORG, which will help researchers to understand typical usage patterns and help develop the region’s strategy for long-term transport sustainability. In the latter part of the trial, they will be based at the North East’s new Low Carbon Vehicle Research, Development and Demonstration Centre, which is being established near Nissan’s factory in Washington. This scheme will be followed by a separate trial of 35 electric passenger vehicles, including the Nissan Leaf, Smith Electric Vehicles’ people carrier, taxis and executive minibus, and a new AVID Vehicles saloon car.

Also in North East England, two hydrogen buses are being deployed in the city of Sunderland as part of the ECO2Trans project, which has converted two electric Gulliver U500EUK buses into hydrogen vehicles using a combination of fuel cell, battery and capacitor technology. The University of Sunderland’s Institute of Automotive and Manufacturing Advanced Practice (AMAP) has joined forces with experts from Shanghai’s Shen Li High Technology in China and AVID Vehicles, based in Cramlington in Northumberland, to carry out the work.

The project will provide a rolling test bed for local companies to develop hydrogen-related technology. It will demonstrate the possibilities of hydrogen as a fuel and the efficiency of fuel cells and, it is hoped, act as a catalyst for the development of hydrogen infrastructure in the region. In addition, One North East and Ineos Bio have announced that a feasibility study will be carried out at the latter’s Seal Sands plant into the conversion of household and commercial waste into biofuel for vehicles.


New planning policy framework for ports sector
The Government has launched a National Policy Statement (NPS) for the ports sector, giving ports in England and Wales a new planning framework in which to work when considering development. The NPS, which forms part of wider Government reforms to the planning system, sets out the need for additional ports capacity up to 2030 and beyond. It is designed to provide a clear framework for both port developers and the new Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), and will play an important part in any decisions taken by the Commission when considering applications for new developments.

Meanwhile Hull in Yorkshire and Humber is set to benefit from a raft of investments that will promote its port both nationally and internationally. Albert Dock has taken delivery of the region’s first MultiDocker, a huge material handler with a reach of 25 metres. The arrival of the $1.7 million MultiDocker CH65 is part of a joint enterprise with Goole-based RMS and Österströms from Sweden. The machine, which is capable loading and unloading ships of up to 9,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT), is the only one of its kind in the region. With its special quick-release attachments, it can load or discharge a wide variety of cargoes in record time and with precision control.

Both Österströms and RMS are intent on bringing new volumes of trade to Hull through Albert Dock, which is seen as being vital to the import of biofuels and for other environmentally-friendly energy solutions thanks to its close proximity to power stations such as Drax. Hull and Humber has the largest ports complex in the UK, handling 16 per cent of the UK’s total sea-borne trade. Recent years have seen rapid growth in port trade, with large investments in infrastructure; current plans include the construction of a new deepwater terminal.

Meanwhile, Team Humber Marine Alliance (THMA) has secured “significant” public sector funding to increase opportunities for its member companies and raise the profile of Yorkshire’s marine sector. The funds will enable THMA to increase business growth and employment by identifying business leads for members and expanding its networking role. The organisation will offer assistance in bidding for contracts, provide marketing and business development support and host sector-specific events. Opportunities will be sought in sectors such as defence, renewable energy, nuclear, offshore oil, inland waterways and commercial shipping. THMA now has more than 60 members, enabling individual firms to seek large or complex projects that would normally be awarded outside the Humber region.


Government outlines plans for universities and skills training
The Government has also unveiled a new framework for the future of higher education, setting out the important role that universities will play in securing the country’s economic recovery and long-term prosperity. The higher education framework, ‘Higher Ambitions’, sets out a strategy for universities to remain world-class, providing the nation with the high-level skills needed to remain competitive, while continuing to attract the brightest students and researchers.

Key measures include more competition between universities, giving greater priority to programmes that meet the need for high-level skills; greater engagement for business in the funding and design of programmes, sponsorship of students and work placements; a continued focus on excellence in research, concentrating funding to secure critical mass and impact; and encouraging collaboration between universities on world-class research, especially in high-cost science projects.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “We have decided to give greater priority to programmes that meet the need for high-level skills, especially in key areas such as science, technology, engineering and maths. … We will look to business to be more active partners with our universities. We want employers to be fully engaged in the funding and design of university programmes, the sponsorship of students and offering work placements.”

The Government has also published its Skills Investment Strategy 2010-11, which underpins the priorities announced in its recent national skills strategy, Skills for Growth. Total government investment in further education and skills for 2010-11 will be $7.5 billion, with additional capital investment of $918 million. The Government will spend nearly $6 billion on adult training places, an increase of nearly 3 per cent compared with 2009-10. This will enable it to deliver on its plan to increase Advanced Apprenticeships places.

The Investment Strategy will focus public investment on high-quality provision and on maximising the contribution from employers towards training as, according to the Government, it is employers who will benefit most from the skills system. Increased autonomy will be given to outstanding colleges and training organisations, allowing them greater freedom in setting budgets.
 

Swansea attracts trio of advanced research initiatives
Swansea University in southwest Wales is collaborating on a new $85 million research and training initiative with manufacturer Rolls-Royce in the development of gas turbines. The project, partly funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), is being driven through a strategic partnership in structural metallic systems for advanced gas turbine applications. It underpins the research in structural materials carried out at the university’s Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre (UTC). The funding will also help secure Rolls-Royce’s involvement in the university’s science and innovation campus.

The strategic partnership will harness key academic expertise via a three-way collaboration between Swansea, Cambridge and Birmingham universities. Over the next 10 years, the UTC will undertake fundamental materials research necessary to improve the efficiency and environmental sustainability of gas turbine engines, and will help to train the next generation of materials scientists and metallurgical engineers in structural metallic systems. Swansea University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard Davies, said: “The announcement clearly demonstrates that a 21st century campus which intermingles industrial research and development, academic research and postgraduate and undergraduate students, is being positively received by companies wanting to have a presence on the site.”

Dr Thierry Maffeis, a lecturer at Swansea’s Multidisciplinary Nano-technology Centre (MNC), said: “The most likely impact on our everyday life is going to be in the healthcare industry.... It’s going to have a massive impact on relieving pressure on the NHS.” Colleague Dr Owen Guy added: “Access to world-class facilities is critical to the success of any modern engineering department.”

Business parks unveil development and expansion plans
A new phase of development worth more than $340 million is planned at Stockley Park business park at Hillingdon, near Heathrow Airport on the outskirts of London. Stockley Park Consortium Ltd has submitted an outline planning application for the third and final phase of development of the site. The huge scheme – with a floor area of around 750,000 sq ft – includes a 450-bed hotel and could provide up to 2,500 jobs. Stockley Park was Greater London’s first business park, and remains its largest and best known one. It was created out of a large area of wasteland more than 25 years ago. Today it is home to many leading companies, with a workforce of over 7,500 people.

An $816,000 project to extend one of North East England’s premier business sites for science and innovation has received funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The North East Technology Park (NETPark) in County Durham will prepare 6.7 acres of land for the development of up to 64,500 sq ft of buildings suitable for high-technology companies. The northward expansion of NETPark’s facilities will involve the construction of road and drainage works, together with landscaping and provision for the extension of public utility services. Under the overall supervision of the County Durham Development Company, NETPark is already home to a combination of university research centres, spin-out businesses and high-tech companies, co-located with knowledge-based business support.

Global property group Goodman and RDA Advantage West Midlands (AWM) have unveiled plans for a major high-tech employment and mixed-use development, having secured full planning consent to develop the former Jaguar site at Browns Lane in Coventry. The 73.5-acre development has been named Lyons Park in recognition of the heritage of the site and its founder, Sir William Lyons, who started the pioneering Swallow Sidecar Company which evolved into Jaguar Cars after the Second World War. It will provide 800,000 sq ft of space for industrial and distribution uses, together with 75,000 sq ft of high-quality office space.

Lyons Park is located to the west of Coventry, just off the A45, and provides good links to the city and to Birmingham as well as to the M6 and M42 motorways and Birmingham and Coventry airports. The site will be divided into three areas of development, with Lyons Park West being owned by Goodman and providing units up to 100,000 sq ft and Lyons Park East being owned by AWM, with a focus on smaller units. The third area will be for residential development. Infrastructure works are now under way and are due to be completed in April 2010.


Regional news
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has intervened to approve a 63-storey tower in east London that will provide office space, apartments and a hotel. Plans for Columbus Tower were initially rejected by Tower Hamlets council on historical and conservation grounds, but under new powers the Mayor is able to rule on planning applications that affect the whole city. The developers of Columbus Tower will contribute $6.8 million towards the capital’s Crossrail infrastructure project. The tower will cost $765 million to build and at 237 metres will be the tallest building in London’s Docklands district – two metres taller than One Canada Square at Canary Wharf. Mr Johnson said: “The application will not only strengthen the success story of the Isle of Dogs, but will be hugely beneficial to the whole of London. As well as being suited to the Canary Wharf district with its distinctive tall buildings, the overall size of the development means that it will deliver a huge contribution to the cost of Crossrail.”

The 2012 London Olympic Games will include $1.2 billion of contracts in eight categories for goods and services, making the event as much about business opportunities as sporting achievement, according to its organisers. The categories are facilities management and catering, production, security, services, sports, technology, transport and logistics and venues and venue logistics. Companies seeking to bid for contracts must adhere to the rules set out by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Locog). Most of Locog’s procurement will go through the ‘Compete For’ website, an online service for matching games-related business opportunities with potential suppliers. Locog procurement director Gerry Walsh said: “There are many opportunities for companies of all sizes to get involved with London 2012 – whether it’s directly through Locog or through one of our sponsors, stakeholders or suppliers further down the supply chain.”

California-based Stratify, a leader in electronic discovery and disclosure for lawyers and industry, and a subsidiary of data storage company Iron Mountain, has opened a new office in London. The office will handle information needed for high-level litigation and regulatory investigations, giving the company’s UK clients immediate access to their electronic documents in a secure environment. A team of lawyers and a project management team provide around-the-clock support for data management, organisation, review and production. In the past year, Stratify has handled 600 complex projects for FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies and has produced tens of millions of individual files. Ramana Venkata, Iron Mountain’s boss and founder of Stratify, said: “Our worldwide clients want access to our e-disclosure and e-discovery solutions and services near at hand. Stratify’s new London data centre expands our capabilities and resources available to UK and EU clients, and enhances our position as a global leader.”

Leading insurance company Allianz has created more than 100 jobs by opening a new office in Bristol, South West England. Allianz said that the move was in response to increased demand from 850,000 small business customers of Lloyd’s Banking Group. The office, to be based in the Bristol Insurance Centre, will provide customer services to users of the banking group’s 17 commercial and engineering insurance products. The news comes shortly after a related expansion of Allianz’s branch in Maidstone, Kent, which is now its central unit for open market SME business. Between them, the two ventures have created 116 jobs.

Computer game developer Jagex, based in Cambridge, Eastern England, has won the Golden Joysticks UK Games Developer of the Year Award. The Golden Joysticks, now in their 27th year, are the oldest gaming awards in the world and are decided by gamers themselves. Almost 1.25 million votes were cast in 2009; the company called the award a “humbling achievement”. Jagex is responsible for RuneScape, a popular online adventure game which currently has 63,825 people playing.

Leading Indian business software company 5th Generation Technologies (5G) is to set up an office in Sunderland, North East England, with the help of a $340,000 grant from RDA One North East. The IT firm will use its new base at the city’s Evolve software business centre as a springboard to launch operations in the UK and Europe. Its staff of 25 will provide business intelligence tools for manufacturing and retail companies. Dr Ananth Seshan, chairman and managing director, said: “We were attracted to the native talent pool that was available in the North East from five top-class engineering schools, world-class infrastructure and the overall lower cost of operations in comparison to the other places we had shortlisted.”

Manchester Airport in North West England has been named the UK’s leading air hub at the annual British Travel Awards, for the second year running. It won the “airport of the year” award against competition from Gatwick, Heathrow and London Luton, among others. The prize was voted for by consumers, highlighting the high regard in which Manchester is held by its passengers. Andrew Harrison, the airport’s commercial director, said that 2009 had already seen the facility roll out more than $136 million of new investment in its terminal infrastructure, and expressed the hope that it is “on the road to becoming one of the world’s best airports”. In September, Manchester Airport was also named the UK’s top airport in the Travel Trade Gazette Awards.

US-based manufacturing and service group SPX Corporation is to open an office in Manchester, North West England. The centre, due to open in mid-2010, will handle key support operations such as human resources, finance and payroll for the company’s operations across 18 European countries. SPX pioneers flow technology, test and measurement and thermal equipment services for the power, infrastructure and automobile industries, and cooling systems for nuclear power plants. It has an annual turnover of $6 billion. Among the key factors in its choice of Manchester were a skilled workforce and nearby airport connections to Europe. Spokeswoman Mary Sczudlo said: “Manchester has everything we need: location, infrastructure, excellent transport connections and existing shared-service centres.” The company’s subsidiary APV, a supplier of process engineering and automation solutions, already has an office in West Sussex in South East England.

Liverpool’s emerging Creative Quarter is to have its own dedicated business hub to help ensure the future prosperity of the digital and creative sector, thanks to an $8.8 million investment from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and the Northwest European Regional Development Fund. The investment builds on the developing cluster of creative activity in the area, which includes visual arts, gallery space and live music and recording venues. A new Community Interest Company, Baltic Creative, will be set up to acquire and manage property assets. Each property will be converted on a phased basis to provide offices and studio spaces suitable for up to 60 creative and digital businesses. Steven Broomhead, NWDA chief executive, said: “Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle area presents a unique opportunity to develop a natural network of creative businesses in one location, building on the strong creative activity already under way in the area. Liverpool’s reputation as a business location is going from strength to strength, and this project will create another asset for the city’s business reputation, creating new jobs and levering in new investment.”

Wales was named the UK’s best environment for contact centres in this year’s UK Contact Centre Decision-Makers’ Guide, the largest and most comprehensive study of the UK contact centre industry. Based on analysis of hundreds of centres, the guide is written by ContactBabel, the world’s leading analyst firm for the industry. It examines a number of essential categories: quality, customer satisfaction, salaries, staff attrition and absence, technology, multimedia, cost savings and strategy. The contact centre industry in Wales is worth some $49 million a year and employs 24,000 people across 29 towns and cities. Steve Morrell, principal analyst at ContactBabel, said: “Wales has done a great job in nurturing its growing contact centre industry. It outperformed the national average in six of the seven categories and was in the top three in three of these: the availability of employees, the quality of support from the regional development agency and the quality of transport links.” Close behind at second place in the rankings was East Anglia, followed by the West Midlands, the North West, Scotland, the North East and Northern Ireland.

Odyssey Financial Technologies, a global wealth and asset management software solutions and services company, is to open an office in Glasgow, Scotland. It will initially recruit 20 workers from January 2010, but it is hoped that the number of jobs could rise to 200. The Scottish Government is supporting the company’s new Centre of Excellence for Software Development with a Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) grant of $3.8 million. James Thomson, senior vice president at Odyssey, said: “Scotland has a long-established financial services sector community, superb infrastructure, great universities and a wonderful can-do attitude. We are excited by the potential we have found here.”

Michelin Tyre plc has celebrated 40 successful years of production in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. The company’s plant in the town, which manufactures heavy bus and truck tyres for export, is its fourth largest site worldwide. It employs around 1,000 people, and some employees who started as apprentices in 1969 are still working there. Speaking at a reception in Ballymena to mark the anniversary, Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: “Michelin is a major economic force in Ballymena and the surrounding area and has a strong history of investment in capability and skills. It is one of the best-performing plants in the company’s heavy tyre group of factories and has also contributed significantly to the community, through its extensive programme of corporate social responsibility.”

Firstsource, a leading business process outsourcing (BPO) company headquartered in Mumbai, India, plans to create a further 150 new jobs in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The company already employs over 700 people at a site on Northland Road in the town and a further 500 in Belfast. As a result of securing a new telecommunications client, FirstSource now plans to begin recruitment for an additional 150 people in Londonderry, offering a variety of posts from customer support advisors to operations management. The company provides customised business process management services to global leaders across a number of sectors, including financial services, telecoms, media and healthcare. Its clients include FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 banks, telecommunications companies and healthcare companies.

Telecoms provider BT has chosen Northern Ireland as the location for all of its UK digital care-based business support and specialist enquiries, following a review of its global contact centre operations and the repatriation of customer service operations from India. The investment project will focus on the advanced training and development of over 600 BT customer care advisors, as the company moves from telephone voice-based customer service to more advanced forms of digital-based communications channels such as e-mail or Twitter. The training will involve staff in BT centres in Enniskillen and Londonderry, while employees in the Belfast centre will specialise in billing and enquiries. Invest NI has offered almost $3.4 million of support towards the project. BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and IT services, and in Northern Ireland has over 3,000 employees and agency staff across a wide range of disciplines.
 

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