Innovation by Maritime Media

INNOVATION • INNOVATIONUK • INNOVATIONeurope •

• INNOVATIONUK • INNOVATIONeurope •

2011

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Our unique offer of design, measurement, simulation and testing for leading brands and sports organisations impacts positively on both the UK economy and the outstanding performance of its athletes. Working in partnership with Loughborough University’s globally respected engineers and sports scientists, the £15M Sports Technology Institute shares its location with one of the UK’s highest concentrations of elite athletes and world class training facilities. We enter into collaborations to gain access to highly specialised knowledge … the development of the Jabulani football … was based on comprehensive aerodynamic research conducted at Loughborough University adidas Annual Report, 2009

www.sports-technology.com

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INNOVATION

Contents

FOCUS

key technologies

Future perfect

Challenges, data and tools to support open innovation & community needs from Ordnance Survey

Everything happens somewhere, at some location, affecting the relationships between natural and man-made phenomena, people, processes, and places; that is geography.

The Innovation Union aims to turn ideas into jobs, green growth and social progress

Europe’s innovative bank Philippe Maystadt, President European Investment Bank, explains how the EIB is meeting the challenges of the economic downturn with strong support for the Knowledge Ecomony

Turning innovation policy into reality

Enabling collaboration throughout the nation 12

Military green

UK Innovation 17

Manufacturing Technology Centre

Mycosafe

How the Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology solves problems

Nano Packaging

Connecting technology, catalysing innovation

A gateway to market

As world-class experts in nanomaterials technology, NanoCentral offers a range of solutions and services to help business get their goods to market

Committed to growing its business while reducing its environmental impact, Unilever embraces an open approach to innovation – and has made scouting for partners a priority

A new burst of energy

The Energy Generation & Supply Knowledge Transfer Network was launched as a completely new KTN last year and is going from strength to strength

Eric von Hippel explains in an interview with Innovation Europe the best innovations, the ones that eventually win in the marketplace, are those brought about by “lead users”

Going beyond the boundaries To reach the EU’s objectives, there are a number of nontechnological barriers in the way of success for renewable energy and energy efficiency. Patrick Lambert of EACI explains how Intelligent Energy – Europe is putting innovation to work to achieve the goals

The skills required for Open Innovation success

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The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network hosts a range of events that encourage networking between key market players

open Innovation

Unilever’s Open Innovation Learning Programmes

Developing new technology for low thermal resistance interfaces and electrical interconnects, Nanopack provides nano packaging technology for interconnect and heat dissipation

Jonathan Kestenbaum, Chief Executive, NESTA, looks at how developing a high-tech manufacturing sector and investing in innovation across the economy will lead to economic growth

Has a lead user already developed your next product?

Innovation in Industrial Mycoplasmology

From Innovation to Commercialisation in printable electronics and sustainable processing

Scouting for opportunities

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is a world-class manufacturing research, development and demonstration organisation helping industrial companies and their supply chains to achieve major improvements in their manufacturing competitiveness.

With a business climate that attracts companies from across the globe, the UK is Europe’s top spot for R&D activity – and UK Trade and Investment is here to support them every step of the way

Holding the key to the UK’s economy

The Digital Communications Knowledge Transfer Network is working hard to ensure the whole of the UK has access to enriched broadband services

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) Limited

Meeting demands

As one of only six Science City Regions in the UK, the West of England is also a hub for the new green economy

University of Greenwich

A coherent industry voice

The Cyber Security Challenge is crucial to answering the UK’s need for cyber security professionals, says Tony Dyhouse, Cyber Security Director of the Digital Systems Knowledge Transfer Network

The world’s number one choice

Meeting the Challenge

With it’s unique and pioneering innovation programmes, the University of Wales is giving innovation in Wales a huge boost – and an international presence

Going for green

Innovative knowledge management in the energy sector The Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network aims to accelerate the rate of knowledge transfer within the UK chemistry-using industries

Now is the time to focus on the growth agenda and the part innovation has to play, comments Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the UK’s Technology Strategy Board.

Building global partnerships

Dinesh Chandramouli, Technical Project Officer, Research & Technology Directorate, European Defence Agency examines the European approach to environmentally responsible crisis management

For those SMEs who invest the time and effort to get involved, FP7 can offer the key to success, says Philippe Vanrie, CEO European BIC Network

Innovation for growth

A look at the work of the Aerospace and Defence KTN

Gernot Klotz, Executive Director for Research and Innovation, European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), takes a look at what is needed to take the EU’s Innovation Union strategy forward in a concrete and meaningful way.

FP7 – is it really for SMEs?

Loughborough University Sports Technology Institute is uniquely placed to drive innovation and enterprise in the sport and leisure sector and develop cutting edge technology to support elite athletes

Transport: the innovation challenge ahead A look at the work of the Transport KTN

Institutionalising innovation

ECO Innovation

Denmark’s largest cluster initiative up and running

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Putting people first

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Research Councils UK invests in people and skills to maintain the UK’s world-beating research base

Strength in synergy

Giving business a new energy

Richard Tuffs, Director of European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN), explains why regions have a crucial role in ensuring the Innovation Union’s success

Innovation in wind resource assessment

Corvinus University of Budapest

A recent injection of funding aims to put this popular university at the forefront of international research

The Environmental Sustainability KTN works across all industry sectors to catalyse innovation in environmental technologies A look at how The Energy Institute helps to deliver professionalism and good practice in energy management Herbert Schwartz, anemos-jacob GmbH

University of Greenwich

With its research into renewable energy, biofuels and more, the work of the University’s Bio-Energy Research Group will have a positive effect on African countries in particular

The next industrial revolution

Astrid Severin, Greenovate! Europe’s managing director, examines innovative resource and material efficiency

Regional development

Pasteur Infectious Diseases 81

Rethinking water in a sustainable way

Innovation: the key to a better built environment

Deborah Pullen, Director of the Modern Built Environment Knowledge Transfer Network, looks at the challenges of tackling big carbon-producing activities

Driving towards an electric future

Leading the way to a sustainable future

Learning the skills for successful sustainability

Towards a low carbon future

Is Europe ready for an electric cars market? Françoise Nemry and Christian Thiel, Scientific Officers at the Joint Research Council Institute for Prospective Technological Studies The National Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage is a collaborative institution that aims to lead the world in research and training in a growing and increasingly vital global industry. Businesses play a major role in driving sustainable innovation, as Simon Lee of Business in the Community explains Bringing together renowned expertise and state-of-the-art facilities, the Centre for Low Carbon Futures promotes innovative practices for a competitive low carbon economy

The UK Science Park Association is dedicated to raising the standards of science park provision through an inclusive membership policy and improvement of membership services, ensuring that the brand of Science Park in the UK is maintained as a distinct property and business development offering, not just a real estate initiative

Kuopio Science Park

A health and cleantech innovation hub, whose success has attracted world-class players

University of Liege Making ideas a reality Incubator

112 113

115

Building bridges between research and science, tech2b is creating foundations for success

University of Eastern Finland

116

With its high standard of competitive research, the university is well placed to face the challenges of the global research landscape

University of Malaga

117

Environment and Climate Changes at AGH University of Science and Technology

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The Open University of Cyprus

120

This new and expanding university aims to accommodate the ever-growing demand for lifelong learning and quality-driven programmes at all levels

Innovation management & business services How can the international trademark system help SMEs?

121

Do you want to protect your trademark/brands abroad, but are unsure of how to do it in a swift, efficient and cost-effective manner? Do you want to know what your competitors are up to? Debbie Ronning, responsible for the legal development and promotion of the Madrid system at the World Intellectual Property Organization explains how

Can the public sector buy innovation?

Research collaboration & technology transfer Raising the standards

108

A key player for innovation and regional development

SusChem has joined forces with the Water Supply and Sanitation Technology Platform to look for solutions to the increasing challenge of water supply for industry and urban areas, as Ger Spork, Innovation Manager SusChem, explains

107

Fostering health through outstanding research

A platform for efficiency

The East-West Transport Corridor Association aims to develop an important logistical link

101

With its flexibility and willingness to adapt to needs, the European Research Council (ERC) is contributing towards institutionalising innovation as a vital part of Europe’s future, says its President Helga Nowotny

123

Over the past year, a scheme to harness the power of procurement to drive innovation has been gaining ground in the UK. Mark Glover of the Technology Strategy Board explains

The continent of innovation

124

Europe is a hotbed of new ideas and inventions that contribute to its progress and prosperity, and the European Patent Office is the cornerstone to their success

100

Romania – Innovative Developments in the National Trademark Law

127

Calendar

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Contents

Driving innovation in sport

Institute for Advanced Manufacturing Innovative Manufacturing Solutions The Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (IfAM) at the University of Nottingham, UK is an internationally leading multidisciplinary research centre supporting industry in the aerospace, defence, medical, pharmaceutical, automotive, rail, photonics and energy sectors. Research is concerned with developing new technologies and systems for costefficient, knowledge-intensive, high-value and environmentally friendly production. It addresses the full product lifecycle from development through to manufacture, usage and disposal. Expertise includes fast ramp-up intelligent automation and assembly, reconfigurable systems, laser processing, high-precision machining and condition monitoring, metalforming, brazing, automated drilling, fastening, sealing, riveting and welding systems, near net shape manufacturing, robotics, digital engineering, precision and micro/nano manufacturing.

The Institute hosts the following centres: Nottingham Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre (NIMRC)

Funding to date of over £20 million from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and industrial collaborators allows NIMRC to deliver world-class manufacturing research, create high-value products, new sustainable technologies and cost-effective processes for global manufacturing operations. NIMRC’s expertise falls within three areas: Advanced Manufacturing Technology - delivering next-generation manufacturing technologies. Lightweight Structures – developing technologies and design tools based on polymers, composites and lightweight metals. Sustainable Manufacturing – focusing on future manufacturing solutions that deliver robust, innovative, and resource-efficient global manufacturing operations.

Rolls Royce University Technology Centre in Manufacturing Technology

The UTC uses advanced academic research techniques to tackle engineering challenges and provide innovative solutions that yield step-change improvements in products and processes. Research includes abrasive flow machining, conventional machining optimisation, process monitoring, and rapid manufacturing.

Waterjet Machining Technology Centre

A world-class facility funded by the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) and Rolls-Royce to support aerospace companies and now used by a wide range of industries. The highly accuracy six-axis machine cuts through difficult-to-machine materials, creates 3D components, carves cavities and removes coatings at pressures up to 55,000 psi and speeds up to 2,000 mph.

Centre for Aerospace Manufacturing (sponsored by Airbus)

Provides advanced tooling, jigs and fixtures for advanced low-cost aircraft wing structures and metrology, assisted assembly and digital manufacturing for aerospace research.

Precision Manufacturing Centre

Supports industry with the latest ultra-precision equipment, facilities and technical expertise. Equipment includes micro moulding and machining, rapid prototyping, evolvable ultra-precision assembly, metrology, focused Ion Beam, EDM and SEM. Services range from developing new product designs and manufacturing techniques to analysis, measurement and validation, and pilot productions of low-volume, high-value products. PMC has developed Advanced Manufacturing Technologies East Midlands as a technology transfer arm with funding from the European Regional Development Funding (ERDF) to support local businesses with advice, training and access to its facilities and engineers.

Centre for Sustainability in Global Manufacturing

Utilises the University of Nottingham’s three campuses in the UK, Malaysia and China to create a hub for sustainable, cross-disciplinary manufacturing research and build new global partnerships. The Institute also has a key role in the recently established Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) for next-generation manufacturing technologies. The MTC has £60 million funding from EPSRC, academic partners the Universities of Nottingham, Loughborough and Birmingham and TWI, and industrial partners such as Rolls Royce, BAE Systems and Airbus to bridge the gap between academic research and commercial production (Technology Readiness Levels 4-6) and meet the needs and requirements of industry. Nottingham is leading on advanced tooling and fixturing systems research.

To find out more, please contact: The Institute for Advanced Manufacturing University of Nottingham Engineering Faculty, Coates B35 Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK E-mail janet.walters@nottingham.ac.uk www.nottingham.ac.uk/manufacturing

Strength in the face of adversity Despite the current economic conditions, the UK continues to have the strongest research base in Europe and the second strongest globally, says Sir Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive, UK Trade & Investment

“Everyday, the top 1,000 UK-based companies invest over £72 million in research and development.” Sir Andrew Cahn KCMG, Chief Executive UK Trade & Investment. The last year has been extremely challenging for the global economy. But, while the world is experiencing some of the toughest business conditions for generations, inward investment into the UK has continued to be strong, with 1,619 projects recorded in 2009/10.

Our economy is resilient and holds the confidence of our international investor partners. The strength of the foundations upon which the UK has built its standing as the leading investment location in Europe remains evident. The UK’s long-established and exceptionally strong science base puts it in a unique position to attract and serve the world’s investors in R&D. An outstanding national reputation for discovery, innovation, science and technology has meant the UK continues to be ranked independently as having the strongest research base in Europe and the second strongest globally. Today, the UK is one of the most effective and dynamic environments for technology driven research, development and innovation in the world. The international competitive environment to win high-value R&D investment is intense – the top 1,000 companies in the world that are most active in R&D invest approximately £400bn annually, with 80% of this investment highly concentrated in just five locations – the UK, Germany, France, Japan and the US. There is no question that the UK economy that succeeds through and after the economic recovery will be driven by knowledge. Building awareness and positive perceptions of the UK as a location for successful international business growth to potential investors, intermediaries and opinion formers in key overseas markets is central to UK Trade & Investment’s work.

UK Trade & Investment UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the government department that helps UK-based companies to succeed in the global economy. It also helps overseas companies bring their high-quality investment to the UK’s dynamic economy – acknowledged as Europe’s best place from which to succeed in global business. UK Trade & Investment offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. It provides companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage.

For more information, contact: Tel: +44 (0)20 7215 8000 Website: www.ukti.gov.uk

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Welcome

uk trade & investment

Focus

Innovation Union

Future perfect The Innovation Union aims to turn ideas into jobs, green growth and social progress

A flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 Strategy, the Innovation Union sets outs a comprehensive innovation strategy for Europe. Focusing on challenges such as climate change, energy and food security, health and an ageing population, the Innovation Union will revolutionise the way public and private sectors work together â&#x20AC;&#x201C; notably through Innovation Partnerships â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and remove the bottlenecks that stop ideas reaching the market, such as lack of finance, expensive patenting, market fragmentation, slow standard setting and skill . It pursues a broad concept of innovation, not only technological, but also in business models, design, branding and services that add value for users. It includes public sector and social innovation as well as commercial innovation, and aims to involve all actors and all regions in the innovation cycle.

Why does Europe need an Innovation Union? Boosting its research and innovation performance is the only way for Europe to create good and well-paid jobs that will withstand the pressures of globalisation and support sustainable growth. Currently, Europe has many strengths, but is in danger of lagging behind the US, while other countries are catching up fast. Every year, it spends 0.8% of GDP less than the US and 1.5% less than Japan in Research & Development (R&D). It has not yet achieved its target of investing 3% of GDP in research and innovation. Instead the current rate is under 2%. Private sector R&D is increasingly outsourced to emerging economies and thousands of Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best researchers and innovators have moved to countries where conditions are more favourable. Although the EU market is the largest in the world, it remains fragmented and insufficiently innovation-friendly. Too few of its innovative SMEs grow into large companies.

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Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science and Vice-President Antonio Tajani, responsible for industry and entrepreneurship said: “As we emerge from crisis in the teeth of fierce global competition, we face an innovation emergency. If we do not transform Europe into an Innovation Union, our economies will wither on the vine while ideas and talent go to waste. Innovation is the key to building sustainable growth and fairer and greener societies. A sea change in Europe's innovation performance is the only way to create lasting and well-paid jobs that withstand the pressures of globalisation.”

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Ten key elements of the Innovation Union

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European Innovation Partnerships will mobilise stakeholders – European, national and regional, public and private - behind well-defined goals in areas that combine tackling societal challenges with potential for Europe to become a world leader. The Partnerships will step up R&D, co-ordinate investment, speed up standards and mobilise demand. The EC will provide "seed corn" funds to attract stakeholder funding. A pilot Partnership on active and healthy ageing will be launched by early 2011, aiming to extend by two years by 2020 the proportion of our lives in which we enjoy good health. More partnerships will follow on areas such as energy, "smart" cities and mobility, water efficiency, non-energy raw materials and sustainable and productive agriculture. The EC has assembled 25 indicators in an "Innovation Union Scoreboard", and a checklist of the features of successful innovation systems. A new indicator will be developed on the share of fast-growing innovative companies in the economy. The EC will support an independent ranking system for universities. Measures to improve access to finance will be brought forward. The EC will propose a cross-border venture capital regime, work with the European Investment Bank to scale up EU schemes like the Risk-Sharing Finance Facility and appoint a leading figure to strengthen cross-border matching of innovative firms with investors. Existing research initiatives will be stepped up. The EC will propose measures to complete the European Research Area – a legal requirement under the Lisbon Treaty – by 2014. This means more coherence between European and national research policies, cutting red tape and removing obstacles to researchers’ mobility, such as the lack of transferability of pension rights. It also means maximising open access to results of publicly-funded research. FP8 will be designed to support Europe 2020. The European Research Council and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology will be further developed. The EC will reinforce the scientific base for policy making through its Joint Research Centre. A European Design Leadership Board and a European Design Excellence Label will be set up in 2011. In 2011, a major research programme on public sector and social innovation and pilot a European Public Sector Innovation Scoreboard will be launched by the EC. It will launch a European Social Innovation Pilot to provide expertise for social innovators and propose social innovation as a focus of European Social Fund programmes. It will consult social partners on spreading the innovation economy to all occupational levels. Governments will be encouraged to set aside dedicated budgets for public procurement of innovative products and services. This should create a procurement market worth at least €10bn a year for innovations that improve public services. The Commission will offer guidance on joint procurements between contracting entities from different Member States.

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Early 2011, the EC will make a legislative proposal to speed up and modernise standard-setting to enable interoperability and foster innovation. Europe's intellectual property regime needs to be modernised. Agreement on the EU Patent would save business €250m a year. The EC will make proposals for a European knowledge market for patents and licensing. Structural funding and state aid frameworks will be reviewed to boost innovation. The EC will assist Member States to use better the €€86bn of structural funds programmed for research and innovation for 2007-13. It will propose a framework for post 2013 Structural Funds with more focus on innovation.

Strengthening Europe's knowledge base Research and education nurture innovation. Europe would require at least one million more researchers in the next decade to reach the target of investing 3% of EU GDP on R&D by 2020. The Innovation Union proposes measures to complete the European Research Area by 2014. This means more coherence between European and national research policies, cutting red tape and removing obstacles to researchers' mobility. It also means open access to data and publications from publicly-funded research. In education, the Commission will support business-academia collaborations to develop new curricula addressing innovation skills gaps. It will also support an independent ranking for universities.

Getting good ideas to market The EU market is the largest in the world but the reality is too often one of fragmented national markets with costly procedures. The Innovation Union proposes to create a genuine single market for innovation which would attract innovative companies and businesses. To achieve this, several measures are proposed in the fields of patent protection, standardisation, public procurement and smart regulation. The Innovation Union also aims to release private sector investment and proposes among other things to increase European venture capital investments which are currently a quarter the level of the US. Current EU schemes show that a contribution from the EU budget can leverage more than twenty times the amount of investment from private capital. The Commission proposes scaling up these successful schemes and creating a regime to allow crossborder Venture Capital Funds.

Maximising regional and social benefits The Innovation Union aims to involve all regions to avoid an “innovation divide” between the strongest innovating regions and the others. The Commission will assist Member States to use better the E86bn of structural funds programmed for 2007-2013 for research and innovation projects. Social innovation is another important theme of the Innovation Union. Social innovation is about tapping into the ingenuity of charities, associations and social entrepreneurs to find new ways of meeting social needs that are not adequately met by the market or the public sector. The Commission will launch in 2011 a major research programme on public sector and social innovation and pilot a European Public Sector Innovation Scoreboard

Focus

Innovation Union

Focus

Innovation Union

The Entrepreneur The Innovation Union will make it easier for entrepreneurs to commercialise ideas and grow their companies. The Innovation Union means Improved access to finance Innovation-friendly rules and regulations Accelerated interoperable standard-setting Cheaper patenting Innovation supported by the public sector Innovation Partnerships to give EU businesses a competitive edge »» Easier participation in EU research and innovation programmes

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The Researcher The Innovation Union aims to make Europe a world-class science and research performer The Innovation Union means: Attractive careers for researchers High-standard training Improved cross-border mobility A more open access to research results Enhanced public-private collaboration Easier participation in EU research and innovation programmes

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Pooling efforts for breakthroughs Innovation Partnerships are a new approach to EU research and innovation. They will mobilise stakeholders – European and national, public and private – behind well-defined goals in policy areas that combine tackling societal challenges with potential for Europe to become a world leader. The Partnerships will step up R&D, co-ordinate investment, speed up standards and mobilise demand. The Commission will provide seedcorn funds for the launch of the first partnerships, to leverage stakeholder funding. A pilot Partnership on active and healthy ageing will be launched by early 2011. It will aim to extend the proportion of people’s lives in which they enjoy good health. More partnerships are also due to follow on water efficiency, non-energy raw materials, smart mobility and liveable cities, and sustainable and productive agriculture.

Collaborating internationally

By 2012, agreement should also be reached with international partners on the development of research infrastructures which, given their cost/complexity, can only be developed on a global scale.

The Innovation Union proposes that the EU treat scientific cooperation with third countries as an issue of common concern and develop common approaches, notably on intellectual property protection and standardisation. This should go a long way to contributing to global approaches and solutions to societal challenges and to the establishment of a level-playing field.

For more information about the Innovation Union, visit: Website: www: ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union

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Europe’s innovative bank Philippe Maystadt, President European Investment Bank, explains how the EIB is meeting the challenges of the economic downturn with strong support for the Knowledge Ecomony to the economic and financial crisis and followed a request from our shareholders, the 27 Member States, to lend more in support of the real economy. A large part of this extra lending concerned private sector investments in research and development, which risked being cut as companies had to cope with the sudden change in business conditions caused by the credit crunch. Overall, the EIB increased lending in 2009 to what we call broadly the “Knowledge Economy” to €18.2bn from €12.5bn in 2008. The EIB was able to draw on a decade’s worth of experience in supporting RDI through its traditional loan products and more recent instruments, such as the Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF), developed jointly with the European Commission in 2007. As Europe emerges from the downturn, it is natural that EIB lending also adjusts as traditional sources of finance become available once again to businesses and the public sector. Overall, we expect total loan signatures this year to decline to around €66bn from €79bn in 2009. However, Knowledge Economy lending is projected to remain above pre-crisis levels and will stay one of the Bank’s six priority areas in 2011.

Philippe Maystadt, President European Investment Bank

Research, development and innovation hold the key to longterm growth in the European Union. That is why the European Investment Bank Group is committed to working with the European Commission and Member States in meeting the goals of Europe’s 2020 strategy. Following the financial crisis of the past two years, the challenge of how to return economies to durable growth without over-burdening budgets already heavy with the cost of bank rescues and stimulus package is more pressing than ever. Past experience has shown us that corporate spending on research and development (R&D) tends to follow economic ups and downs and that recessions, especially severe ones, can pose a serious threat to the financing of innovation. Governments and public institutions – such as the EIB – therefore have a role to play in safeguarding R&D spending. This explains why European Investment Bank lending in support of public and private sector innovation projects grew a record 46% in 2009. The increase was part of the EIB’s wider response

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The EIB has had a specific lending window for the Knowledge Economy since the European Council in Lisbon in 2000. This covers not only research and development, but also investments in information, communication and technology (ICT) and support for higher education institutions, all of which are important and interactive ingredients in helping improve European competitiveness. The EIB also provides support for research infrastructures to keep Europe at the forefront of science and technology. This year, for example, we are financing the construction of a 4th generation free electron laser at the large electron-accelerating synchrotron facility in Trieste, completing the second phase of a project we helped support already in 2004. The Bank has also approved a €300m loan for the European Southern Observatory's planned 42-metre Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) – the biggest such telescope in the world. The E-ELT is one of the flagship projects identified by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures in 2006 as being of crucial importance for European science. Between 2000 and 2009, out of total lending to support the Knowledge Economy of €87bn , R&D projects accounted for some €46bn, split between the private sector and public-sector facilities, universities, and science and technology parks. Lending for education and training, usually infrastructure like school buildings, amounted to €18bn, while €20bn went to projects in ICT, including advanced telecommunications networks and state-of-the-art ICT production facilities, such as semiconductor production plants.

Focus

European Investment Bank

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European Investment Bank

On average in 2007-09, the EIB provided €7.6bn annually in loans for research and development, accounting for around half its total Knowledge Economy lending, and corresponding to three percent of EU27 investments in R&D during the period. While encouraging public and private sector R&D is an EU policy goal in itself some of this lending has a dual aim, notably securing energy supplies while combating climate change. Projects financed in 2009 included a €250m loan to Danish wind turbine makers Vestas Wind Systems A/S for research and development into new turbine generators. This project should result in reduced costs for generating renewable energy. The nexus between RDI and Europe’s climate policy was also a key motivator in launching the “European Clean Transport Facility” at the end of 2008 as part of the European Economic Recovery Programme. This €8bn lending window was specifically designed to help industry meet new CO2 and other emissions targets and maintain levels of private sector R&D throughout the downturn. Apart from cars, ECTF addresses also the air, rail and maritime sectors. In 2009, EIB signed €3.1bn of loans to car manufacturers under the ECTF window, out of total lending to the automotive sector of nearly €6bn. Projects varied from R&D to improve traditional combustion engine technologies to the development of new electric vehicles. We also provided support to aerospace companies developing next generation planes and technologies. A €300m loan to French engineering company Safran will finance research into new jet engines that should burn 16% less fuel, be quieter and emit fewer nitrogen oxides. In addition to projects that qualified for support under ECTF, the EIB also helped support RDI for greener and safer buses and trucks, as well as safety technology. For more information, visit: Website: www.eib.org

Risk sharing finance facility 2009 showed a rapid increase in the number of projects approved under the Risk Sharing Finance Facility. This special window for more risky RDI loans was created in 2007 together with the European Commission. €1bn from the 7th Research Framework Program of the EU together with €1bn from the EIB was set aside to create a capital cushion for possible losses on these loans. Sharing the risk of losses in this way enables the EIB to lend several billons over the years for the benefit of RDI. In 2009, lending under RSFF grew rapidly to nearly €3bn, compared to €1bn in 2008 and €500m in 2007. The current pipeline includes projects for around €2bn. Part of the increase was explained by higher demand from the automotive sector: signatures included a €60m to loan to Spanish auto parts manufacturer CIE Automotive SA for R&D into weight-reducing designs and materials. However, the RSFF portfolio is well-diversified between the life science (23%), engineering (40%) and renewable energy (18%) sectors, with the balance made up by research infrastructures and small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). RSFF is a good example of how limited EU budgetary funds can be leveraged through loan finance for the benefit of Europe’s economy. We are looking forward to discussions in the European Parliament and Council of Ministers about replenishing the RSFF window for the period 2011-13 and other ways in which the EIB Group - the European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund – can support the “Innovation Union” initiative within the framework of Europe’s 2020 strategy. One idea could be to expand the size and scope of RSFF to help better address the needs of some target groups, such as research infrastructures.

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fund raising The EIB raises finance by issuing bonds on capital markets. Thanks to its owners – the EU’s 27 member states – and its own solid capital base it can raise this money on favourable terms. It aims to pass on this financial benefit to project promoters, its customers, either directly, in the case of larger loans, or indirectly via partner banks and financial intermediaries. Part of the indirect lending of the EIB is directed at SMEs and Mid-Caps, acknowledging their importance as early adopters of more innovative processes as well as innovators. However, the risk profile of small innovative companies, such as start ups, often demands equity-type financing rather than loans. The EIF, whose shareholders are the EIB (with 62% of the capital), the European Commission (30%) and several European banks (8%), fills this gap by providing equity finance via venture capital funds that support in particular early-stage and technology-oriented SMEs. In 2009 its equity commitments amounted to some €733m, bringing net commitments to €3.9bn at year end. For venture capital investments, EIF uses its own resources, as well as resources from the European Investment Bank and from the European Commission’s Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP), from Member States and regions through the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises (JEREMIE) initiative and other third parties. With investments in over 300 funds, the EIF remains the leading player in European venture capital, as well as small to mid-cap funds and is constantly broadening its investment strategy. In 2009 it conducted a strategic review of technology transfer funds, paving the way for new activity in this area in 2010. The EIB Group thus provides support across the entire value chain: investing upstream in the innovation process to promote technology transfer in partnership with universities and research centres, supporting start-ups and high-growth SMEs through venture capital and financing research, development and demonstration activities of larger companies, from mid-caps to blue chips. Smart sustainable and inclusive growth requires the prioritisation of investment in education and skills, R&D and innovation and networks and, as the EU approaches its next budgetary period starting in 2014, the EIB and EIF stand ready to further develop new instruments in support of the Europe’s 2020 strategy.

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It began as an idea looking for cash to support it and could now hold the key to Europe’s energy security. In 2004, the EIB was approached by Solar Millenium AG to help fund the development of concentrated solar power technology in southern Spain through the financing of Andasol 1. That first project has been followed by others including three different types of CSP technology. CSP now stands ready to be exported to large parts of northern Africa amid hopes that one day the sun over the Sahara can help generate clean power for the whole of Europe. In the USA European companies are being awarded important contracts to develop CSP plants.

The EIB's in-house economists have taken a close look at the interplay between RDI and economic growth. In Innovation and productivity growth in the EU services sector (published in July 2010 and available for download from www.eib.org), senior economists Kristian Uppenberg and Hubert Strauss argue sustained investment over time to expand Europe’s R&D capital stock is needed to raise Europe’s growth potential and that lack of innovation in some parts of the services sector helps explain growth differentials with the US. Most firms in the services sector are small and small firms tend to devote less resources to in-house innovation, be it R&D or other types of intangible investment. Surveys show that service companies rely extensively on external sources for new knowledge, most notably through their ties with customers and other firms. However, a widespread lack of patenting of non-technological innovations limits the dissemination of such knowledge.

EIB support for innovation is not just limited to EU countries. Pre-accession countries also benefit from EIB finance for the Knowledge Economy, as do other countries in the EU neighbourhood. In March 2010, the EIB-run Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) organised a conference on research, development and innovation in Tunis. In March 2010, the EIB also signed a €200m loan for public sector research and development in Serbia. Projects signed in 2009 include a €335m loan to support R&D at the top-15 public universities in Turkey. In a proposal currently before the European Parliament, the European Commission has urged EIB support for the development of social and economic infrastructure, including ICT, be made one of the cross-cutting objectives for projects financed outside the EU on the basis of an EU budget guarantee.

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insider view

Turning innovation policy into reality Gernot Klotz, Executive Director for Research and Innovation, European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), takes a look at what is needed to take the EU’s Innovation Union strategy forward in a concrete and meaningful way

other stakeholders, to work together with the EU institutions to put the meat on the bones of this strategy and to make it work for the benefit of all. For innovation to work in today’s world, we need to move quickly. If Europe wants to keep its lifestyle and competitiveness, we have to be ready in the next five to 10 years with new products and technologies. Innovation is a real life discussion. It is not just about funding, subsidies, tax breaks or industrial policy but also about output by which I mean wealth creation to benefit society as a whole. The Innovation Union strategy plans to implement Innovation Partnerships in a number of areas. As an industry, we have offered our assistance with most of them. We are ready to take the lead, for example on areas like water use, mobility and smart cities, where the chemical industry has the potential to develop breakthrough solutions. But we have also put on the table concrete proposals in key areas, such as resource efficiency and sustainable production. For these partnerships to be both useful and accountable, broad and transparent cross-industry participation will be required. We urge the European Commission to embrace a cross-sectoral approach in the Innovation Partnerships. Where innovation is concerned, no one sector should act in isolation.

Gernot Klotz, Executive Director for Research & Innovation, European Chemical Industry Council

That the European Union has stepped up and presented its Innovation Union strategy is clearly excellent progress and few would disagree with the strategy’s fundamentals. We have a proposal on the table that has all the bells and whistles and, while we welcome any initiative to make Europe move faster on innovation, the next step is to make sure this happens in concrete terms. Sometimes you could be forgiven for thinking that Europe has just woken up to innovation, both in policy and industry circles. We need to ensure that innovation does not become just another buzzword, interchangeable with research, competitiveness and sustainability. But let’s be positive. The Innovation Union strategy is the most ambitious and farreaching innovation policy we have seen in Europe – even though it still puts too much emphasis on research, has to demonstrate stronger links with the EU industrial policy, and must have job creation as its core objective. It is up to all of us, industry and

value chain captain Because the chemical industry stands out as a solution provider to major societal challenges, it also commits to its offer to take the role of “value chain captain” in three Innovation Partnerships: “Water efficient Europe”, “Smart cities” and the potential future one for “Sustainable production”. It would be a natural fit for this industry to be a member in the high-level governance bodies of these Innovation Partnerships. One example comes to mind: the partnership for “Water Efficient Europe”. In our view, there is more to it than just the water industry. Last year, the chemical industry set up a joint agreement with the Water Technology platform to solve the upcoming challenge of competition between drinking water and industrial use of water for the chemical manufacturing sector. Innovation has to be initiated and supported – both politically and financially – at various key segments of the value chain simultaneously. And all future policies should help activate the

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value chain. For instance, requests for innovative buildings should not only address the construction industry, but also provide incentives for other parts of the value chain, with the overall target of speeding up the delivery of real-life products on the market. The healthcare industry is not the only stakeholder in the debate on “healthy ageing”, the first Innovation Partnership to be implemented. There is more to healthy ageing than just disease management: it is about healthy living, advanced materials, housing, prevention and how society takes care of its ageing population. We should be talking about a healthy lifestyle. We must find a way to break it down into manageable pieces to include the necessary parties without drowning the whole thing in bureaucracy. Here, there is also a strong role for policymakers to guide innovation Europe-wide and avoid fragmentation in national policies, particularly as many Member States do not yet have a specific innovation policy. We believe that policymakers should be the glue which brings together value chains and promotes certain priorities. Particularly in this time of economic crisis when both public and private sectors are feeling the pressure, public-private partnerships are the answer. Moreover, innovation doesn’t mean only new mechanisms and projects. It is also about a more efficient use of what we already have put into place. Technology Platforms, among which SusChem, the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry, are tools which are already running smoothly and should play a key role to balance research, education and innovation. Combining the strengths of industry and academia, with a solid network of 12 national platforms, SusChem has a proven record of working together with other sectors along the value chain, including water, manufacturing and mobility. Given their multistakeholder nature, technology platforms truly have the potential to become innovation forums. SusChem has also been working across the value chain to help define the innovation needs for the future. SusChem is already collaborating with the Water Supply and Sanitation Technology Platform (WSSTP) on integrated urban water management systems. The chemical industry is the second largest user of water and it is clear that if an innovative approach to water management in urban areas is not found, industry and society will be competing for the same dwindling resources.

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Education is the third essential piece of the knowledge triangle. We have recently released the Cefic “Skills for Innovation” report, which highlights the skills scientists and engineers need to make them more receptive to innovation. Communications, entrepreneurship, team working and problem-solving skills are just some of the skills required now and in the future. The study suggested that higher education curricula should be expanded to include more practical experience and better interaction between the education system and industry to develop scientists and engineers with multidisciplinary and broad skill sets, rather than highly-specialised experts. Industry will continue to work with the education sector to turn this “wish list” into practice. Finally, Consumers and society at large should not be left behind in these debates. What Europe has to offer in the future global marketplace are sustainable solutions, to beat the challenges which society faces today. There is a wealth of experience and also a proximity of ideas and companies in Europe. We need responsible innovation to deal with the challenges without leaving society behind. Societal acceptance is something which industry has been working on through the Longrange Research Initiative (LRI) at global level, bringing together academics and researchers to look at the acceptance aspect of new technologies.

Strengthening our roots There is no Plan B where innovation is concerned. If we do not get our act together in Europe in the next five to ten years, we will almost certainly lose our edge. Strengthening our roots – education, existing policy tools and industrial policy in process and manufacturing industries, and the Innovation Union strategy should rejuvenate the sectors where we are already front-runners and have a lot to contribute to the sustainable production agenda. The Innovation Union policy must link to other policy initiatives, particularly the new EU industrial policy. Innovation should create added value. We hope that by working together with the European institutions and other stakeholders, we can achieve a workable and dynamic innovation policy for Europe. For more information, visit: Website: www.cefic.be

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FP7 – is it really for SMEs? For those SMEs who invest the time and effort to get involved, FP7 can offer the key to success, says Philippe Vanrie, CEO European BIC Network Ask an SME about FP7 and most likely the response will be “not for me”’. Yet a recent report on SME participation in FP7 shows that over €€€1bn of funding has already gone to SMEs in FP7 with up to 20,000 SMEs expected to participate in FP7 before the end of the programme, drawing down some €€6bn in funding.1

The “Research for the benefit of SMEs” initiative enables SMEs who do not have in-house research capabilities to outsource research work to research performers anywhere in Europe. Research performing SMEs or SMEs interested in demonstrating and accessing new technologies being developed can participate directly in the Co-operation work programme.

FP7 continues to suffer from bad press as far as SMEs are concerned. Either SMEs are unaware of it and dismiss it as some inaccessible and bureaucratic Brussels-based initiative or they have taken the time to explore it and been put off by factors such as the need to involve partners from other Member States, the lengthy application and negotiation process or the relatively low success rate, which inevitably leads to questions about return on investment.

SMEs can access grants of on average 75% of the cost of participation in FP7 projects. Grants are not awarded to individual SMEs, but to a consortium of partners who submit a proposal for funding in response to a call for proposals issued by the EC in most cases on an annual basis. Proposals submitted are evaluated by an independent team of evaluators in a highly competitive process.

Yet for those SMEs who do invest the time and effort to get involved, the feedback is positive, with a feature of SME participation being the “return customers”; the SMEs who come back call after call, year after year, increasing their involvement until they are often in the position of co-ordinating projects themselves.

what is FP7? FP7 – the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development – has two major objectives: »» to strengthen the scientific and technological base of European industry »» to encourage its international competitiveness, while also promoting research that supports EU policies.2 FP7 will last for seven years from 2007 until 2013 and has a total budget of over €€50bn. Funding is divided up into five major building blocks with the majority of funding (64%) going to the Co-operation programme. For SMEs, the most interesting opportunities are in the “Research for the benefit of SMEs” initiative under the Capacities programme and in the Co-operation work programme, which funds research in 10 key thematic areas: »» Health »» Food, agriculture and fisheries, and biotechnology »» Information and communication technologies »» Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production technologies »» Energy »» Environment (including climate change) »» Transport (including aeronautics) »» Socio-economic sciences and the humanities »» Space »» Security

New Opportunities in FP7 For newcomers to FP7, now is a very good time to get involved – on 19 July 2010, Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn announced nearly €6.4bn of European Commission investment in research and innovation.3 The package, the biggest ever, covers a vast range of scientific disciplines, public policy areas and commercial sectors. Top priority is given to SMEs, which represent 99% of all European businesses. SMEs will receive close to €€800m and, for the first time, there will be ring-fenced budgets in several areas. For example, in health, knowledge-based bio-economy, environment and nanotechnologies, SME participation must reach 35% of the total budget for a number of topics.

Supporting industry participation in FP7 Over the years, numerous support measures have been put in place at both national and European level to raise awareness and involvement in FP7. The National Contact Point (NCP) network4 is one of the main providers of advice and individual assistance in Member States and Associated States. The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)5 is another pan-European network that can help small business to access EU finance and EU funding. The European BIC Network (EBN)6 is another network working more proactively to involve SMEs in FP7 projects in FP5, FP6 and FP7. The areas of agro-biofood, health, ICT, energy and environment have been identified as of high priority and interest in the regions in which the Business Innovation Centres (BICs) operate. In response to regional priorities, BICs from across Europe participate in thematic working groups which meet several times a year to identify specific opportunities of interest to SMEs, and to proactively seek out interested SMEs and to help them form European partnerships to respond to calls. BICs also contribute to the consultation process, providing input on SMEs interests with regard to the content of future FP7 calls.

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FP success stories ICT success

through the BIC network across Europe. In response, 15 SMEs expressed an interest and three were involved in the final consortium of partners.

Supporting highly adaptive network enterprise collaboration through semantically enabled knowledge services (SYNERGY)7

Health success

Background and objectives The next phase of enterprise interoperability is the sharing of knowledge within a Virtual Organisation (VO) to the mutual benefit of all VO partners. Such knowledge will be a driver for new enhanced collaborative enterprises, able to achieve the global visions of enterprise interoperability. The SYNERGY project envisages the delivery of Collaboration Knowledge services through trusted third parties offering web-based, pay on demand services, exploitable through interoperability service utilities (ISUs). The overall aim of SYNERGY is to enhance support of the networked enterprise in the successful, timely creation of, and participation in, collaborative VOs by providing an infrastructure and services to discover, capture, deliver and apply knowledge relevant to collaboration creation and operation. Specifically, SYNERGY aims to: provide semantic ontology-based modelling of knowledge structures on collaborative working »» develop the service-oriented self-adaptive SYNERGY holistic solution for knowledge-based collaboration services »» facilitate the testing and evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the SYNERGY solution in concrete case studies.

»»

The SYNERGY proposal was submitted in the first ICT call of FP7 and following a positive evaluation this three-year project, started in February 2008 with funding support of €€3.95m.

Involving SMEs The project co-ordinator was supported by their local Business Innovation Centre (BIC) and EEN partner, Coventry University Enterprises (CUE), in finding European partners. CUE helped the co-ordinator to prepare a partner search which was disseminated

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Novel MS-based strategies to discover and evaluate cancer biomarkers in urine: application to diagnosis of bladder cancer (DECanBio)8

Background and objectives In clinical studies, proteomics and transcriptomics allow the comparison of samples from different patients and hold special promise for the discovery of novel biomarkers and the development of personalised medicine approaches. Yet, translating recent discoveries into daily medical practice takes time and despite intensified researchers’ interest and investments, the rate of introduction of novel biomarkers in clinical practice is, in fact, extremely disappointing. The main aim of DECanBio is to implement a strategy for protein biomarker discovery and validation relying on the use of state of the art mass spectrometry instrumentation for quantitative analysis of proteins. For the first time, the potential of MRM-Mass Spectrometry (MRM-MS) will be tested in the scope of a large scale validation protocol of cancer protein biomarkers. This analysis will be performed in parallel to the application of miniaturised high-throughput ELISA tests for protein quantification. DECanBio strategy will be applied to issues related to bladder cancer. Specifically, a restricted number of urinary protein biomarkers enabling the detection of recurrences during the monitoring period of patients treated for bladder tumour will be validated. The work will be performed in priority for the follow-up of low-grade superficial bladder tumours (Ta stage), which, after initial resection (without BCG therapy), are likely to evolve towards remission, recurrence, or progression to a high-grade tumour. The MRM and ELISA tests developed herein aim at

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the high-throughput quantification of these markers in urine. Collectively, the project has the ambition to settle a whole experimental pipeline, from the search for new bladder cancer biomarker candidates, to their thorough evaluation and validation in clinical environment.

dramatically the overall project chances of funding and then success from a commercial point of view. This fact was very nicely summarised by consortium partners saying that “beyond good sciences, writing good research proposals is above all a business of people”.

We anticipate that the tools and knowledge that will be developed here will greatly facilitate translational studies for other diseases as well.

In fact, scientists and entrepreneurs have to be part of networks. They have to meet, exchange, share ideas and points of view to generate new projects and build contact for future potential consortia. A key issue is the type of network considered. Usually, scientists have academic contacts all over the world in their field, but very often they do not have access to industrial or industry orientated networks.

The DECanBio proposal was submitted in the first Health call of FP7 and following a positive evaluation and negotiations, the four-year project began in March 2008 with a budget of €€2.91m.

Involving SMEs Translating recent discoveries into daily clinical practice is a long, tedious and costly process. In putting together the consortium for DECanBio the partners recognised that a broad spectrum of skills and competencies would be required, which it was unlikely to find within a single institute or company.

In developing the DECanBio consortium, the partners were supported by the EBN network and tools, in particular by CIMARK, the BIC partner in Switzerland. On one hand, they were able to use the network to search for partners with specific skills or technologies, and on the other they were able to meet with potential partners through brokerage events.

Former experiences from SMEs showed that mastering the whole value chain from research to market (clinical phases) increases

This support was very useful to complete the consortium and to generate new research ideas.

Notes 1. “SME participation in FP7 report” Spring 2010 See: www.kowi.de/Portaldata/2/ Resources/fp7/report-smes-infp7.pdf 2. “FP7 in Brief” See: www.ec.europa.eu/research/ fp7/pdf/fp7-inbrief_en.pdf 3. Extract from EC press release See: www.ec.europa.eu/research/ index.cfm?pg=newsalert&lg=en& year=2010&na=na-190710

4. Network of National Contact Points (NCPs) in Member States and Associated States See: www.cordis.europa.eu 5. Enterprise Europe Network See: www.enterprise-europenetwork.ec.europa.eu/index_ en.htm 6. The European BIC Network See: www.ebn.eu 7. See: www.synergy-ist.eu/ 8. Information and contact details See: www.decanbio.eu

For more success stories visit: Website: www.ec.europa.eu/research

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UK Innovation

Innovation for growth Now is the time to focus on the growth agenda and the part innovation has to play, comments Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the UK’s Technology Strategy Board and encouraging new products to satisfy these future market needs, such societal problems are unlikely to be tackled in time. Such challenges are creating the major growth opportunities of the future – and in the UK many of them are the subject of focused effort by the Technology Strategy Board. For innovation to drive this growth, we need a climate that encourages collaboration and entrepreneurship, where people in business find it easy to connect and share knowledge with each other and with researchers, whether looking for new ways to work together or to find funding, customers or suppliers. We need to foster business networks and partnerships which enable these exchanges and partnerships – such as the UK’s Knowledge Transfer Networks and their new online forum at www.innovateuk.org/connect.

Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the UK’s Technology Strategy Board

The UK government’s determination to tackle the spending deficit has been clear, and its actions in the period since the election have been decisive. But, at the same time, it has repeatedly been emphasised that in rebalancing the economy, laying the foundations for future growth is vital. As Vince Cable said in his first speech as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills: “An agenda for cuts has to be offset by a clear focus on policy designed to be a stimulus to growth.” It is often argued that innovation – turning new ideas into products and services for which people will pay – is the single most important factor in economic growth. Innovation can create new products, markets and whole sectors. According to one report, studies of developed countries have shown increases in inputs such as employment and investment accounting for a fifth of growth in GDP, with the remaining four fifths due to technological progress or innovation. Innovation is a source of global competitive advantage, and many countries are investing heavily in these areas – some even more so in response to the economic downturn, as they recognise the importance of knowledge exchange and innovation in the recovery. The challenges facing our society over the coming years are urgent, and will not just go away. Our carbon emissions will have to be cut dramatically, our energy use must be more sustainable, and our old people will have to be looked after in different ways to the current care model. Without finding better ways of doing things

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There also needs to be a catalyst for new developments and progress. Sometimes this involves investing money to enable research projects or developments which the market on its own could not do, or could only do slowly. A good example is the ultra low carbon vehicles demonstrator programme which the Technology Strategy Board launched in 2009, and is now well under way. With over 340 new low carbon vehicles on trial with drivers across the UK, providing data for future rollout plans, a demonstrator project on this scale – involving manufacturers, local authorities, power companies and universities working in partnership – could not have happened on its own. The initiative has taken the UK an important step forward in the journey towards electrification of road vehicles, as Nissan recognised when they announced that their Sunderland plant would manufacture the Leaf electric car. Another example is our “Retrofit for the Future” programme, which is enabling business to develop new technologies to transform the environmental performance of social housing. Many companies are finding that the programme is opening up new areas of opportunity for them, and this is also a great example of government procurement becoming a driver for innovation, using the SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) process. The economic situation is focusing minds. We are operating in a moving landscape, with changes under way in areas such as local support for business and innovation. But I am sure of two things: that accelerating the pace of innovation is vital to underpin the growth we need for the future, and that the enterprise and ingenuity of our world-class businesses and universities are up to the challenge. With focused support, these assets can be channelled into a wave of innovation that will not only drive growth within a rebalanced economy, but will help ensure the UK plays its part in the global industries of tomorrow.

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For company enquiries, contact: E-mail: powis.business@wales.ac.uk For scholarship enquiries: powis@wales.ac.uk For international partnership enquiries: global.academy@wales.ac.uk

Building global partnerships With it’s unique and pioneering innovation programmes, the University of Wales is giving innovation in Wales a huge boost – and an international presence Since May 2009 when HRH Prince of Wales, the Chancellor of the University of Wales, launched our first unique and pioneering innovation programme – the Prince of Wales Innovation Scholarships – we have developed over 40 major collaborative R&D projects with companies across Wales. We have also begun to develop meaningful partnerships with some of the top universities across the world. The Prince of Wales Innovation Scholarships (POWIS) is a £11.4m initiative, supported by the European Regional Development Fund, to increase innovation within Welsh companies. We do this by building a global team to support the commercialisation of new ideas within a company by: »» Placing top global doctoral graduates researchers within participating companies on a full-time basis »» Finding expert academic supervision from Welsh and international universities to support the company’s R&D project

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Assigning one of our specialist project managers to steer the R&D project from idea to market as quickly as possible Providing free access and membership to some of world’s leading innovation thinkers and open-innovation programmes.

Through collaborating with the University of Wales Global Academy, companies are finding time to undertake detailed R&D they wouldn’t otherwise manage to undertake, they are able to reduce the costs of R&D, they can spread the R&D workload through the support of our project managers and they are already benefitting from increased investment, increased profits and recruitment of high-calibre international graduates. For example, POWIS is working with a pioneering stem-cell company founded by Nobel Prize winner Sir Martin Evans – Cell Therapy Ltd based in South Wales. They are working on a treatment that could help “hundreds of thousands” of heart-attack victims in the

Photo: Rhys Webber

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HRH Prince of Wales meets Prince of Wales Innovation Scholars from Cell Therapy Ltd and UW Vice-Chancellor at his official Welsh residence in Llwynywermod, West Wales in July 2010

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Awarding winning technologies from SmartKem, which is working with University of Wales Global Academy

UK, which could be available as early as 2011. It is believed to be the world’s first medicine that reduces the size of scarring induced by heart attacks and has the potential to massively increase the life expectancy for millions of sufferers worldwide each year. Dr Reginald, CEO of Cell Therapy Ltd, said that the POWIS scheme has enabled the company to benefit from “exceptional expertise from across the globe, with recruits from San Diego, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany relocating to work in Wales. For a venture like this, you need money and strong expertise – and that is difficult to get here – it does happen in Boston and San Francisco but it is quite unusual in the UK. We have also been strongly supported by POWIS and the quality of the graduates. We’ve benefited from the expertise of these young people and we’re lucky to attract these people from all over the world to come and work with us in Wales.” Another company working with POWIS is SmartKem Ltd, based in North Wales. The company has just won Gold at The Inaugural Best of British Innovation Award at Venturefest 2010. SmartKem Ltd is a developer of novel materials and processes that create high-resolution microelectronic components directly onto thin flexible materials. This prestigious award recognises SmartKem as one of the year’s most exciting technology businesses for its innovative new printed electronics solution. Steve Kelly, CEO of SmartKem Ltd, recently said: “Initiatives such as POWIS are valuable to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the technology sector. For SmartKem, finding a suitable scholar wasn’t the only attraction of the scheme. An additional benefit was the support system provided by the participating University and the wider POWIS team.” POWIS also prides itself upon supporting and rewarding its international scholars with an unrivalled package of benefits and opportunities. Not only is the scholarship worth £100,000 over the three-year period, but POWIS scholars are provided with tailor-made innovation training courses and residential summer schools, run by some of world’s leading innovation experts, including academics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Feedback from the first summer school speaks for itself: “POWIS is a great success! This summer residential was outstanding, and I know every one of the POWIS scholars feels the same way,” said Ina Laura Pieper, POWIS scholar at Cell Therapy Ltd. Phillip Harter from Germany, another POWIS PhD scholar working at Cell Therapy Ltd, who attended the summer school, said:

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“The POWIS residential programme was a brilliant experience. There are a lot of clever people out there with degrees who’ve got a great academic background, but who need guidance and support in making the transition from education to the world of business. And this is what the Global Academy does so successfully.” Helping both our POWIS scholars and companies to build global partnerships is also a key aspect of our work. UW Global Academy is already working with several leading universities in Asia and the USA, such as University of Texas Austin and Texas A&M, to bring expertise and open-innovation networks to companies in Wales. At MIT, we are working with their Industrial Liaison Program to provide free access for our participating POWIS companies to cutting-edge knowledge, expertise and innovation education programmes. “I found the whole event [summer school] very rewarding and as an industrialist it is encouraging to learn that there will be a number of well-rounded experts entering key industrial sectors in the future. I can also confirm that my company will be taking advantage of the MIT Industrial Liaison Program set up as part of POWIS,” said Roderick Thomas, Thermography Programme Manager, TWI Technology Centre Wales. Stephen Brown, President of Innovate4Growth and also a senior academic at MIT, who led the first summer school, spoke of the value of integrating academia with industry, and suggested that each POWIS scholar has the potential to be the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, given the right support and business acumen. He commented: “It’s absolutely critical to energise young people and innovative thinkers to take the risk to make things happen, because the economic growth that comes from just one success can transform the economic geography of a whole nation. This programme is designed to reach for that same level of accomplishment.” Within just one year of its establishment, the University of Wales Global Academy has made significant steps towards helping the Welsh economy become more innovative. We have put in place over 40 long-term R&D projects with companies ranging from small technology start-ups to global corporations; we have recruited some of world’s brightest young brains from four continents around the world, thereby driving innovation through creating more diverse teams within Welsh companies; and we have started to build long-term relationships with top universities globally. We are actively recruiting new companies and scholars to take part in POWIS all the time, with a target of 100 R&D projects up and running by the end of 2011.

UK innovation

university of wales

For more information, contact: Tel: +44 (0)117 9036863 E-mail: investwest@westofengland.org Website: www.investwest.org

Going for green As one of only six Science City Regions in the UK, the West of England is also a hub for the new green economy

The West of England, already recognised as the economic powerhouse of the South West, is also becoming a hub for the new green economy.

introducing to their model range. This project has potential environmental benefits in reducing carbon emissions and commercial benefits to Ford.

One of only six Science City Regions – this title is designated for outstanding achievement in world-class scientific research and innovation in academic and industrial sectors – the West of England is a centre for cutting-edge design and innovation. Alongside well-established expertise in aerospace, silicon design and creative industries, the area is enhancing its reputation as a hub for environmental technologies and services. Garrad Hassan, the world's largest renewable energy consultancy, and Wind Prospect, one of the most successful independent renewable energy developers, are already based in the West of England.

There is also a strong presence of environmental focused consultancy, legal and financial services. These include Triodos Bank, a pioneer of social banking, working exclusively with organisations that bring real benefits to people and the environment – from renewable energy projects to social enterprises.

Major breakthroughs in renewable technologies include SeaGen, developed by Marine Current Turbines based in Bristol. SeaGen is the largest and most powerful tidal turbine in the world with twin rotors each sweeping over 200 square metres of flow. SeaGen, installed in Northern Ireland in 2008, has achieved a power output of 1.2MW. Globally, the ICT sector is thought to be responsible for significant carbon emissions, which has prompted efforts to reduce the sector's carbon footprint. Bristol-based Gnodal is developing groundbreaking technology for use in data centres to reduce energy consumption and increase overall efficiency. Companies are also developing ways to enable emission reductions. These include Horstmann Controls, one of the UK’s leading designers and manufacturers of controls for domestic heating systems and advanced metering equipment, helping individuals and organisations to keep track of their energy usage.

The West of England is leading the way in the development of highquality sustainable workspace. The Bristol & Bath Science Park (SPark) will be a new £300m science park at Emerson’s Green in South Gloucestershire. SPark will offer sustainable state-of-the-art facilities for science and technology businesses, including test-bed facilities, laboratories, office space and semi-industrial workspace. A new dynamic network, Low Carbon South West, supports the sector. With a business-led Board and close links to education and research providers, Low Carbon South West works to support the development and adoption of environmental technologies and services, facilitate networking, knowledge exchange and practical business collaborations and promote the South West, and the West of England in particular, as a hub for Environmental Technologies and Services. Comprising of Bristol, Bath, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, the West of England has a well-qualified workforce and superb quality of life. Excellent transport links, including the M4 and M5 motorways, Bristol Port and Bristol International Airport, make business connections at home and abroad rapid and simple.

The West of England also has some of the highest-quality university education and industry research in the UK, including innovative work on high-precision evaluation of vehicle fuel consumption for reduced CO2. Bristol City Council

UK innovation

west of england partnership

Academics from the University of Bath will be transferring and embedding procedures, techniques and tools developed at Bath to Ford's carbon emissions laboratory to assist them improve the precision of their CO2 measurements. This will enable them to more accurately assess the effects on emissions of any potential vehicle enhancements, which they might be considering

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The world’s number one choice With a business climate that attracts companies from across the globe, the UK is Europe’s top spot for R&D activity – and UK Trade and Investment is here to support them every step of the way

With a business climate that attracts companies from across the globe, the UK is Europe’s top spot for R&D activity – and UKTI is there to support them every step of the way The UK’s continuing reputation for innovation and the strength of its knowledge-based economy is clearly demonstrated by its standing as Europe’s leading recipient of Research and Development (R&D) related inward investment. UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the government department that helps UK-based companies succeed in international markets and assists overseas companies bring high quality investment to the UK. Quite simply, the UK is the place in Europe that the world’s companies choose for their R&D activities. With world-class universities and research institutes involved in undertaking leading-edge R&D in all business sectors, many leading companies have already made considerable investments in R&D activities across the UK. Indeed, the UK has the fifth highest concentration of the world’s top 1,000 international companies for R&D expenditure, including companies such as Ford, Pfizer, Airbus, Eli Lilly, Eisai, Nokia, Roche, Syngenta, Shire and Nissan.1 The UK has a business climate which attracts individuals and companies at the leading edge of their sectors, and from which they can go on to achieve a wider global impact. It has facilities, services and infrastructure, and a business and regulatory environment which let innovators bring new technologies to market.

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For international companies, the benefits of locating in the UK to access the world-class R&D base remain clear. Overseas entities own 37% of patents in the UK, compared with just 11.2% in the USA and just 4.4% in Japan. With just 1% of the global population, the UK produces 8% of the world’s scientific papers and has a citation share of 12%.2 One key sector for the UK’s R&D is life sciences. Twenty-three Nobel prizes have been awarded to UK-based scientists in the last 40 years in the field of biomedical research alone. The UK understands that strong collaboration between industry, the NHS and academia is core to the UK’s future success in maintaining and growing R&D in this sector, as well as delivering patient and economic benefit. The UK attracts almost 10% of the world’s pharmaceutical R&D funding alone. Two of the world’s six largest pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, are based in the UK, with many others having research activities or European headquarters here. The UK has a substantial drug development pipeline based on a positive approach to clinical trials, a robust regulatory regime, a performance-managed infrastructure, and world-class expertise in experimental medicine. Around 20% of the world’s top medicines were discovered and developed in Britain.3 The UK energy sector is thriving. Globally the UK is the most attractive destination for offshore wind investments and is in joint

UK innovation

UKTI

UK innovation

UKTI

The European Business and Innovation Centres (BIC) Network provides business support for innovative small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and entrepreneurs across the European Community, and is well represented in the UK.

Research Councils, Knowledge Transfer Networks and Innovation Relay Centres, R&D collaboration opportunities across the UK, and policy initiatives and opportunities introduced by national and regional government organisations across the UK.

UK BICs work with local development agencies and in partnership with regional, national and international organisations, including UKTI, to undertake collaborative working, exchange of best practice, technology transfer and SME internationalisation. They offer strategic guidance for innovative projects, including incubator and business resource centres dedicated to innovation.

UKTI also helps businesses by providing customised information on key UK commercial considerations, such as company formation, the labour market and skills, real estate, transport, utilities and regulatory issues, advice on financial assistance (including R&D tax credits and grants support), and comprehensive national, regional and local location analysis to help companies choose the right place to do business. Our worldwide teams work closely with investment agencies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to help our client companies maximise their business and R&D objectives.

In the UK there are 10 accredited full members of the European BIC Network along with several associate members, located from Northern Ireland to Kent, where world-class business support and facilities are available to give clients the best advantage. More information on the EBN’s aims and objectives and on membership can be seen at: Website: www.ebn.be

For more information contact UKTI on: Tel:44 (0)20 7215 8000 Website: www.ukti.gov.uk Source: BIS 2010 2. Source: Evidence 2009 3. Source: ABPI

second position as an investment location for renewables. The UK is also a technology leader for wave and tidal power through the country’s universities and facilities such as the Orkney-based European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), which is at the forefront of the development of marine based renewables.

Case study: Korea Railroad Research Institute

Information and communications technologies (ICT) is another sector where UK innovation has been historically outstanding and still continues to make an enormous impact as the rate of technological change accelerates. There are over 8,000 industrial electronics companies in the UK and the UK is at the forefront of electronics design.

In November 2009, the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) decided to form an R&D partnership with the University of Sheffield in its first major overseas research investment.

UK Trade & Investment has over 65 market sector and technical specialists, providing highly flexible expertise in both trade and inward investment activities. The network of specialists helps to deliver the R&D, Fiscal Stimulus, Sector Champions, R&D Partnerships and Global Entrepreneur programmes. They provide dedicated, professional assistance tailored to the needs of individual companies and in support of UK Trade & Investment operational teams in the UK and overseas. UKTI provides potential investors with information on the expertise and leading-edge technologies available in the UK’s universities, the UK’s private and public sector research organisations, the

Sector: Engineering Location: Sheffield Country of origin: Korea

KRRI was keen to secure an academic partner in the UK as part of its drive to expand its technological advantage and international presence. Following assistance from UKTI in accessing the UK’s rail research base, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Sheffield and opened a joint research lab there. The two organisations will work together on a series of projects aiming to develop important core rail technologies. KRRI’s Alex Yang said: “UKTI’s support helped us decide to work with the University of Sheffield. It was a great result.” For more information, visit: Website: www.krri.re.k

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Fore more information, contact: Greenwich Research & Enterprise E-mail: enterprise@gre.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 8331 7867 Website: www.gre.ac.uk/enterprise

University of Greenwich How the Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology solves problems The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology is a department within the School of Engineering at the University of Greenwich and has specialised in solving materials handling problems since 1973. The Centre began its existence researching problems associated with pneumatic conveying of powders and granular solid material in pipelines and has since expanded its areas of interest to include hopper and silo design, powder characterisation, wear of plants and components, handling and storage of particulates and instrumentation and control of bulk solids handling systems. The Wolfson Centre’s extensive test facilities are housed in over 450m2 of floor space. These facilities are continuously being updated to meet the research and test requirements of industrial clients, and include items such as pneumatic conveyors; pharmaceutical dosing rigs; belt and mechanical conveyors; screening machinery; presses; transport simulators; drying test facilities; granulation and pelleting facilities; size reduction facilities; environmental test facilities and control system rigs.

powders and blends for compaction, such as powder metallurgy, magnetics, ceramics and pharmaceuticals. This project is part funded by GlaxoSmithKline.

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The Centre’s industrial consulting experts have many years’ experience of problem solving and are backed by a large team of researchers, engaged in pushing back the boundaries of bulk solids characterisation. These are examples of the work currently undertaken at the centre:

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Development of a toolkit to predict the intensity and scale of air-induced segregation in powder handling and flow for compaction processes. The aim of this project is to deliver a ‘toolkit’ to predict the intensity and scale of segregation caused by the air flow through powders during handling between blending and compaction processes. As part of the project, instruments are being designed and produced, able to subject a small sample of powder to the mechanisms which occur during the flow of powder and air at differential velocity. This will be used to determine characterisation coefficients from the test results from the instrument (to calibrate the model to the powder tested), then to predict the level of segregation which will occur in real industrial processes of specified geometry. The toolkit is to be used by non-specialist engineers and product developers involved in all industries that handle

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Improved discharge equipment performance for coals with poor handling characteristics. Some coals handled at steelworks and power stations in the UK exhibit flow characteristics that adversely impact upon their efficient transport and storage. In many cases the cause is that the equipment used hasn’t been designed appropriately, giving rise to unreliable flow, variable discharge rates and undesirable flow stoppages. However, the redesign and rebuilding of existing equipment is rarely economically justifiable. This project aims to develop cost-effective alternatives to solve these problems, concentrating on the use of inserts and on the design and production of a discharge control device to help improve discharge regularity and repeatability for different materials. This project is funded by British Coal Utilisation Research Association (BCURA), in conjunction with CORUS UK Ltd.

As well as providing expert research and consultancy services, The Wolfson Centre also delivers short courses relevant to industry. The Centre has been delivering these courses for over 25 years, both at the university and in the workplace. The courses have all been designed to suit the needs of engineers, whether in the pharmaceutical industry, food processing, minerals, power generation, or recycling industries. The courses provide participants with the knowledge to identify bulk solids handling problems and teaches them the techniques to overcome them. They are designed for engineers, managers, skilled operatives, maintenance crew or anyone involved in using powders or particulates.

UK innovation

university of greenwich

UK innovation

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) Limited

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) Limited Wilton Centre, Wilton, Redcar, Cleveland, United Kingdom, TS10 4RF Tel: +44 (0) 1642 455340 E-mail: info@uk-cpi.com Website: www.uk-cpi.com

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) Limited From Innovation to Commercialisation in printable electronics and sustainable processing

A world class technology innovation centre providing the vision, tools and expertise to support the chemistry using industries CPI has the market and technology understanding to develop and prototype material and processes quickly, efficiently and with minimal risk. It focuses primarily on two technologies: printable electronics and sustainable processing. CPI is a national technology innovation centre providing the UK’s business and academic communities with the vision, tools and expertise to develop and test new technologies and innovations quickly and help position them for commercial exploitation. CPI has designed, built and manages a range of development laboratories, prototyping facilities and pilot plants that enable

clients to prove and scale-up processes from the laboratory stage through to commercial reality. Commercially experienced scientists and engineers on site offer their expertise and guidance and a multi-disciplined team is available to work with clients on project management, investment and market opportunities to ensure each business fulfils its potential. CPI has created some of the world’s only open access facilities with such an extensive combination of specialist equipment and knowledge. They provide the assets to prove concepts and develop technology in order to reduce the risk to industry of scaling up and developing new processes.

Our technologies:

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Printable Electronics Industrial Biotechnology Anaerobic Digestion Smart Chemistry Sustainable Engineering

Our facilities

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The National Printable Electronics Centre (PETEC) – includes the Flexible Electronics Substrate Centre and Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) National Industrial Biotechnology Facility (NIBF) – includes development laboratory, pilot testing facility and scale up and manufacturing testing facility Anaerobic Digestion Development Centre (ADDC) Continuous Processing Facilities

Our services

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Prototyping and scale up Fabrication Materials development Strategic technology partnerships Commercialisation support Process development

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Cumbria boasts the perfect package for energy investors In Cumbria, international business, unspoilt beauty and an unrivalled quality of life create the perfect place to mix business and pleasure. Home to world-leaders in energy, specialist manufacturing and engineering, construction and logistics, the commercial landscape is as magnificent as our natural assets. Along Britain’s Energy Coast in Cumbria, we are harnessing the power of the environment and a world-class skills base to become a major generator of low carbon and renewable energy – presenting an abundance of opportunities for businesses directly and indirectly involved in the energy sector. Invest in Cumbria is the lead organisation for domestic and international inward investment activity in one of Britain’s most vibrant and diverse business locations. We take the lead role in marketing Cumbria as an investment ‘destination’ and provide a wide range of free and confidential services to help companies looking to establish new or expand existing operations. Working in partnership with a network of support agencies, local authorities, education providers and business professionals, the Invest in Cumbria team can offer everything from project management services and advice on the best business sites and premises to guidance on grant-assisted investment packages and access to high quality training and recruitment support. Now is the time to join Cumbria’s ‘green industrial revolution’. Inspire, innovate, imagine... Invest in Cumbria. For more information visit

www.investincumbria.co.uk

UK innovation

NESTA

Holding the key to the UK’s economy Jonathan Kestenbaum, Chief Executive, NESTA, looks at how developing a high-tech manufacturing sector and investing in innovation across the economy will lead to economic growth

What will it take? NESTA carried out in-depth analysis on how the UK could generate growth away from a continued dependency on financial services towards other sectors. We found that the UK’s best chance of achieving economic growth – of at least 2% ¬ and greater regional parity over the next decade lies in developing a high-tech manufacturing sector and in investing in innovation across the economy. The UK already has a strong competitive advantage in high-tech manufacturing: 35% of aerospace engines are made in the UK, second only to the US, led by Rolls-Royce, and over 50% of all large aircraft sold have wings made in the UK. Equally we are second only to the US in the satellite industry. Then there’s our healthy life science sector comprising biotechnology and pharmaceutical and healthcare and medical technologies. As the largest in Europe and second globally only to the US, we are home to two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies in AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline. If government policy boosts the country’s high-tech manufacturing sector, the economy could grow by as much as 3% and could create 2.4 million additional jobs. The UK’s commitment to this industry has been demonstrated with the announcement of a number of initiatives.

Jonathan Kestenbaum

The UK is the sixth-largest economy in the world, ranked as world-leading in a number of important manufacturing areas. While we are undergoing a challenging economic period with the urgent need to reduce our public deficit, and restore healthy capital markets, the big prize will be in generating sustainable economic growth. But economic growth doesn’t happen by accident. We only need to look to Finland and Israel as proof of how intelligent government policy can make the difference between transformed economies or hapless economies.

These include the creation of the UK Life Sciences Super Cluster which will bring together industry expertise, academia and the NHS to develop the next generation of life-changing medicines, the creation of five Academic Health Science Centres, which are partnerships between a healthcare provider and a university to generate advances in healthcare research, and the creation of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, a world-class research centre that will tackle some of the biggest medical challenges facing us. But growth needn’t be restricted to our high-tech sectors. Growth can be found in every part of our economy – and a focus on investing in innovation across the entire economy would generate 3.2% growth in GVA and an additional 2.7 million jobs by 2020. How do we know this? The answer lies in research we conducted last year which proves conclusively that innovation drives growth.

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Between 2000 and 2007, innovation was responsible for twothirds of UK productivity growth, increasing productivity by an average of 1.8 percentage points per year. Innovative firms ¬ measured by the percentage of sales from new products ¬ grew twice as fast as non-innovative firms. NESTA also demonstrated that a small number of high-growth companies have a disproportionate effect on employment and the economy: only 6% of high-growth innovative businesses generated over half of all new jobs between 2002 and 2008. So we know that growth is critically dependent on innovation. But in today’s modern economy, innovation can no longer be defined by what we would term a “linear model of innovation”. This is outdated, as it implies that innovations emerge from a process of formal research and development undertaken in a university or industrial laboratory before being commercialised by far-sighted management in business.

on competitors. But business can’t do this alone. Public policy has an important role to play: to encourage growth, government needs to foster a supportive financial architecture, including a thriving venture-capital sector, encourage effective links between business and universities, and use the clout of its £140 billion procurement budget to drive demand and support innovation. Procurement is the single biggest lever available to government, with the potential to drive more growth businesses than any other mechanism it has to hand. Successful innovative procurement puts as much emphasis on the wider social and economic value of proposed procurement, rather than going for the lowest costcreating new job opportunities and demanding innovation as a by-product. The MOD’s Defence Industrial Strategy has shown how when government works closely with industry, it can drive innovation and meet long-term, strategic goals.

hidden innovation

support to grow

Instead, we must take account of other forms of “hidden innovation”, which are as critical to the way businesses grow as formal R&D, and this is something many companies which rely heavily on research are beginning to accept. Innovation is also about the processes and people who develop innovative products and services, technology development, organisational innovations, business model innovation, local adaptations and “micro-innovations” – continuous improvements and new applications of existing ideas or technologies.

The government has also paid special attention to high-growth businesses by offering them the right support to help them grow. The UK has great examples of private sector-led programmes that incubate and support high-potential businesses. It has demonstrated that this needn’t be costly and can make all the difference to a business trying to overcome the obstacles to growth.

When these factors are included, UK and foreign companies are estimated to have invested £133bn in innovation in the UK. Investment in innovation has been growing over the decade, and the levels compare favourably to countries like France and Germany and are similar to the USA. It may account for why the UK has enjoyed higher productivity growth in recent years than France or Germany: 2.0% compared to 1.3% and 1.1% respectively. Early indicators already show that companies in all sectors continued to innovate during the recession, seeing this as a fundamental strategy to hold onto their markets and gain an edge

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The UK has no shortage of entrepreneurial ability and we have a long tradition of applying our technical know-how and creativity to meet big challenges. This is why the Prime Minister took the cream of the UK’s innovators to India recently, companies ranging from publishers developing new solutions to educating rural villagers to new energy providers. He demonstrated that when government works together with business, it can create the best possible environment for innovative companies to flourish. Jonathan Kestenbaum is Chief Executive of NESTA, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts For more information, visit: Website: www.nesta.org.uk

UK innovation

NESTA

THE RENEWABLES SHOW IN THE ENERGY CITY

All-Energy 2011 – the UK’s largest

11th year

renewable energy exhibition and conference – looks forward to welcoming you as an exhibitor or visitor. More than 7,000 people from 55 countries attended All-Energy 2010 with its 450+ exhibiting companies from 16 countries and more than 270 conference speakers.

The major exhibition features technology across the full range of renewable energy devices; and the free-to-attend conference looks at issues and challenges facing the industry and at renewable energy sources from multi-million pound offshore projects to microgeneration. Networking opportunities abound. BE THERE!

Regularly updated information on all aspects of the show at

www.all-energy.co.uk ABERDEEN 18/19 MAY 2011

OPEN INNOVATION

Open innovation

Unilever UK

For more information, contact: E-mail: open.innovation@unilever.com Websites: www.unilever.com www.unilever.com/innovation/collaborating

Scouting for opportunities Committed to growing its business while reducing its environmental impact, Unilever embraces an open approach to innovation – and has made scouting for partners a priority

As one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, Unilever has the power to reach millions – approximately 160 million times a day, someone, somewhere in the world buys a Unilever brand. From feeding families to keeping homes clean and fresh, Unilever brands are part of everyday life, and at the heart of our commitment to consumers we aim to improve the quality of life for people every day, everywhere. This has been the vision of Unilever, right from its founding days at the end of the 19th century, but more recently the company has also committed to grow the business while reducing its environmental impact. With this new mission, an open approach to innovation is essential now more than ever. However, as more companies embrace open innovation to realise business strategies and differentiate from the competition, more and more organisations are seeking the same technologies. Our ability to articulate our needs, find

creative solutions and develop winning partnerships is crucial, in an ever-more crowded arena. This is why we have identified scouting as a strategic priority and where we are focusing considerable effort. While we have a small, experienced and senior central team in place to manage the open innovation capability, it is important to us that open innovation is not just something that a small group of people does at the fringes of our innovation efforts. To succeed, it has to become a way of working that many in the organisation are comfortable with. Roger Leech, Scouting Director at Unilever, explains: “The open innovation capability supports the whole of R&D. We work on a want, find, get, manage framework and our innovation scouts are key in both defining the ‘want’ and finding the right partners. However, the R&D scientists have a huge role to play in ensuring success. “First, and on a very practical level they need to be 100% clear about what they really want. Second, they have ownership of the want. This serves to embed the open innovation ethos within the organisation, building key skills and capabilities through real-life projects.” Once we are clear about what we want, the scouting activity kicks in. We always start by scouting inside. With a broad portfolio of brands and products, a wealth of patented technologies, not to mention our world-class scientists, there is a rich vein of technology and expertise to be tapped into. In a company the size of ours, it is really important to know what we know, and this approach really keeps ideas and technology transfer alive. We have some great examples of this, such as transferring soapprocessing technology to ice cream and deposition technology from hair to skin. Many of our leads or solutions come from our suppliers, and particularly our strategic suppliers. Building and maintaining strong, trusting partnerships with our suppliers is something that we take very seriously. As well as these avenues, our scouting strategy also involves working with a selection of partners who are experienced in this area.

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different from what we were used to and so we then had to scout for a partner to help us develop a machine that used ultrasonic sealing technology to make the actual teabag. Next, we needed to change how we handled bigger fruit and tea pieces to prevent them breaking down or degrading during handling and packing. For this challenge, we had to go to other industries that faced similar issues but with different products. We faced similar challenges finding partners to develop new blending systems and click-top cartons.

Foundations for collaboration The way we worked with the flavour houses as the project progressed set the foundations for how we collaborate with them now. We shared consumer insights, which established a window where we wanted the product to end up. We pooled our knowledge so, after several rounds of improvements, we arrived at very competitive alternatives. We introduced the new pyramid teabag to Europe in the late 1990s and have been making continuous improvements since. It has been a great success and is now available in over 40 countries worldwide, which is great for us and for our partners. We couldn’t have done it alone.

Case study: fruit tea bag This can be particularly fruitful when we are searching for solutions from other industries. Our collaborations on the development of the pyramid fruit tea bag are a case in point. Of course, it all starts with the consumer; they are at the heart of everything we do.

Collaborative success story Here are some quotes about what it was like to collaborate with Unilever on this project.

Insight from consumers suggested that they were experiencing an expectation gap. The teas sounded and smelled great, but they weren’t delivering enough fruit taste. As market leader we wanted to be the first to respond and in a way that the competition would struggle to match.

“As the leader in this sector, our greatest challenge is to co-operate with the leading company. This kind of co-operation is extremely motivating and encouraging as it allows us to combine the highly skilled and professional resources of both parties, sharing the same targets and a commitment to obtain the best results possible.”

So we set about developing a whole new proposition: great flavours, new-look packaging and a novel bag that contained large, visible pieces of fruit. Articulating these wants was incredibly important to the success of the project. We wanted bags with greater transparency as well as a string and tag, plus a click-top carton to package them, as well as the ability to manufacture them at the usual high speed, which proved difficult.

“As a supplier, the insight we got into the customer’s strategy helped us a lot in understanding the customer needs. It creates a feeling of trust in which people are much more motivated to do the particular innovations. That trust is the basis for everything because, without it, you can’t have open communication.”

The scale of the challenge was huge and much more multi-faceted than just the flavour – we had to reinvent everything.

A new understanding Prototyping alone took six months because the technology simply wasn’t there, and it was obvious that we wouldn’t be able to crack this alone, and that we would have to think very differently about the way we innovate, harnessing a new understanding of flavour chemistry, new partnerships and new technology.

“From our point of view the key elements that made this project a success were: clarity of brief, openness, transparency of relationship and detailed action standards. The team had a very well-developed idea of what they needed and gave us a very clear brief – it sounds obvious but it isn’t in practice, because sometimes the client doesn’t want to say what the flavour is for, or for what kind of consumers.”

Some existing suppliers said it couldn’t be done, so we stepped back and talked to companies in other industries, companies that were not immediately obvious to us. We went about it by first scouting material suppliers for the transparent teabag and identified our partner. The material was

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Open innovation

Unilever UK

Open innovation

eric von hippel

Has a lead user already developed your next product? The best innovations, the ones that eventually win in the marketplace, are those brought about by “lead users”, as Eric von Hippel explains in an interview with Innovation magazine Innovation magazine: Can you describe the difference between user and producer innovation? ERIC VON HIPPEL: User innovation occurs when users build the products and services they need for themselves, rather than waiting for a manufacturer to do it for them. In contrast, producer innovation occurs when producers develop new products and services for users. Producers sometimes call what they do in product development “user-driven” innovation. In that model, producers develop new products by paying close attention to user needs – but they still develop products for users. Producer innovation, whether user-driven or not, does not take advantage of the strong research findings that most functionally novel innovations – the ones that start new markets – are developed by users and not by producers.

IM: Is the traditional producer innovation process beginning to change? EVH: What's happening is a revolution from the edges. Companies in fields like computer games are discovering with surprise that they can systematically profit from user innovation. Online games are a perfect example. Producers in this field were operating in a standard mode of creating games and selling them to users. Then, much to their surprise, some discovered that users were cracking their games and modifying them to be more to their liking. And then – and this is really the difference – some of those companies said: “Gee, that's a good idea.”

When Eric von Hippel looks around him he sees innovation taking place everywhere: in hospitals, in classrooms, at sporting events, on customer websites. That's why von Hippel, a professor of management and T Wilson Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, called his latest book Democratizing Innovation (MIT Press, 2005, and available free on the web under a Creative Commons license at http://mit.edu/ evhippel/www/books.htm). In his view, lots of users are innovating all the time, in all kinds of fields. And the best innovations, the ones that eventually win in the marketplace, are those brought about by “lead users”. Sadly, most corporations are stuck in what he calls the “find a need and fill it” mode of innovation. That not only limits their ability to innovate; it also keeps them from understanding that lead users are the real source of most of their own best innovations. Despite the academic prose, von Hippel's book is really a manifesto that advocates the transformation of how corporate innovation should take place and the development of a new set of tools for finding those user innovations.

So they thought to themselves: “Let's actually design our product so that we have a proprietary engine that we can protect and make our money from. And we'll let the users build and modify the games.” And what happened? They prospered mightily.

IM: What kinds of companies are good at making the switch to finding innovations among users rather than designing innovations from scratch themselves? EVH: It tends to be companies that sell information products first. What happens in those places, like the video-game companies and Stata, a company that makes statistical software, is that the users post their games, or their statistical tests in the case of Stata, on the web. Since they are publicly posted, they are easier for producers to find. Similar things are happening in physical products too, when communication among individual innovators is good for some reason. In sports, for example, many innovations are visible publicly because you have contests and matches and playoffs.

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Open innovation

Sports equipment producers can go and observe the user innovations, see how they perform and pick the best ones. It also happens in medical equipment, where innovative doctors widely broadcast their innovations at conferences and in publications.

IM: Can you illustrate the role of the lead user among ordinary consumers? EVH: Sure. But let me first define a lead user. A lead user is a firm or individual with a strong need for something that others will want later. He or she is ‘ahead of the market’ in some important way, and strongly motivated to innovate to solve the needs encountered there. I can illustrate with an example of a lead user innovator – in this case, one of my students at MIT. These days, as you may know, many students carry around a lot of electronic gear in their backpacks. It is a bother to unpack it all for recharging. Well, one of my MIT students built a power strip into his backpack, and plugged everything he was carrying into that. Then, he could recharge everything using just one wire – and without removing anything from his backpack. Of course, that immediately resonated with all the other students, who were saying: “Oh, yeah, I need that, too.”

intentionally. For example, many of the users who developed the skateboard were probably pleased when commercial versions came out, enabling them to spend more time skating and less time building. Similarly, research by my colleagues and myself shows that many firms that develop process machines for their own use then intentionally hand the designs to suppliers at no charge. A major reason for doing this is because those user firms would prefer to buy the machines rather than continuing to build them for themselves: they want the equipment builder to adopt it.1

This student is a user with an extreme need relative to many others in the marketplace – he carried around a lot of electronic gear. As a result, what was a minor inconvenience to others was a major inconvenience to him, and he responded by making an innovation that was not available on the market. If the market as a whole is trending toward more people carrying around steadily more electronic equipment – and this is clearly the case – then this student is a lead user, and something like his innovation may well prove commercially attractive to a producer in time.

IM: How can producers learn to discover innovations from lead users? EVH: There is a systematic, tested, routine way to do product idea generation via lead users that companies can learn. There are several wonderful academic groups that do leading-edge research and teaching on lead user innovation and lead user development processes in Europe – your readers can find them listed on www.leaduser.com.

Because there are many user innovations, other users and also producers have plenty to choose from. Furthermore, many of these innovations are complementary. For example, if I am a biking enthusiast I can find improved lights, improved fenders, improved suspensions – all out there and in field use – and many of potential interest to me. The same would be true if I was a farmer using tractor implements, or a producer using a machine tool. It is worth taking a look.

A major one is the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, headed by Professors Nikolaus Franke and Christopher Lettl. A second is the Institut für Technologie und Innovationsmanagement at the Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg (TUHH), headed by Professors Cornelius Herstatt and Christian Luethje. A third is at Copenhagen Business School, where Professors Christoph Heinerth, Marion Poetz and Lars Bo Jeppesen are all doing research related to lead users, and are also training students on the topic.

IM: Should producers be happy that lead users are innovating? EVH: They should be. There is a lot of potential benefit for producers in searching for new product ideas – prototyped and field-tested among lead users. First, consider that users develop innovations at their own cost – and often openly reveal them for others to adopt. Second, consider that, when a group of users adopt a particular innovation they are also providing informal marketing research data – giving a market signal that says: “A lot of us like this – it could be a potentially interesting idea for a commercial product.” In other words, properly receptive producers can get elements of product design and elements of market research for free.

A team handbook and video materials are also available for free downloading on my MIT website: http://mit.edu/evhippel/www/tutorials.htm

1. de Jong, Jeroen P. J., and Eric von Hippel (2009) “Transfers of user process innovations to process equipment producers: A study of Dutch high-tech firms.” Research Policy (September) Vol 38, No 7 pp 1181-1191

Producers who want to adopt user-developed innovations should be careful to respect the rights of the innovating users. However, counterintuitive as it may seem, users that freely reveal their innovations to producers are often doing this

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Gault, Fred and Eric von Hippel (2009) “The prevalence of user innovation and free innovation transfers: Implications for statistical indicators and innovation policy.” MIT Sloan School of Management Working Paper #4722-09 (January)

Open innovation

UNILEVER

For more information visit Unilever.com

Unilever’s Open Innovation Learning Programmes The skills required for Open Innovation success

Committed to growing its business while reducing its environmental impact, Unilever embraces an open approach to innovation, to build a better future together through partnership. The approach that Unilever takes is underpinned by Open Innovation Training. Here, Karen Duff, OI Operations Director at Unilever, and the person responsible for OI training and learning, explains. “Our plans to grow the company, ie double the sales, are really ambitious, but recognise that growth at any cost is not viable. If we are to live within the natural limits of the planet we will have to decouple growth from environmental impact, which will be far from easy. To realise our vision we will have to work in partnership with our consumers, governments, NGOs, suppliers, entrepreneurs and many others. Working in partnership is something that we have been doing for many years in Unilever, even before the term ‘open innovation’ was coined, and our training programmes have developed over time, as we have experimented and learnt. Our new vision means that it is ever more important to be at the leading edge in developing professional skills and also knowledge in open innovation. Some of these things we can teach; what we call the hard skills, and some, the soft skills, are more difficult to quantify let alone teach, but can be recognised and nurtured.”

What does all this mean in practice? “Firstly, it’s important to note that although open innovation is part of R&D within Unilever, we very much consider it a way of doing business and not just R&D. Therefore our programmes are open to all parts of the business, from R&D to finance, patents, supply management and marketing. Our approach is targeted at three main audiences: people who are new to open innovation and interested in building basic skills; practitioners who are engaged in open innovation and who need to build their skill set; and those at the leading edge who are actually building the professional skills and knowledge.

For the first two audiences we have developed two very different training programmes, the basis for which is the Want-Find-GetManage (Slowinski 2005) framework, which has been adopted Unilever-wide as a way of working. For those at the leading edge of OI in Unilever we have developed an experiential learning programme in which we provide the environment to create new levels of practice and knowledge that, over time, will transform Unilever R&D. To date we have trained around a thousand of our employees. Many have gone through our online training aimed at those interested in building their basic skills. This is designed to be an inspirational source of materials, with an element of practical help on the WFGM framework. Our second training course is for the OI professional or practitioner, whose role is to deliver technology and business opportunities through partnership, thereby creating value for both partners. For the practitioner, we have developed a three-day training programme to enhance skills in the tasks specific to that role, and which are aligned to the WFGM framework. Topics covered include developing a project brief, scouting for technology and evaluating it, understanding the importance of intellectual property (IP), learning how to put an agreement together with a partner or partners and how to successfully deliver or manage a project with them. Over 600 people have gone through this course, which is a mixture of teaching and hands-on activities, using real examples including those of the course members. This brings an element of practicality and allows us to demonstrate the theory in very real terms. The course is delivered largely by the leadership team of the open innovation capability, which is a great way to provide expert first-hand experience and thought leadership to course members as well as build the links that can help them in the future. This course provides us with a great community of practice that we are immensely proud of; it is and has been the engine of open innovation to date. More recently, we have introduced an additional, advanced programme aimed at developing a community of value throughout the organisation. It is not a training course but an experiential learning programme, which is at the cutting edge of open innova-

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tion thinking, builds our professional knowledge, and creates new practices that we believe will transform the way in which we do R&D. As such there is no formal teaching; we are developing the content and learning as we go. We base this on real challenges that people are facing in their working day and solving them together. Each person on the programme is partnered with a learning supervisor; someone who can help and challenge them as well as opening the doors to people and resources that will be valuable to them. This creates an obstacle-free learning environment. The element of reflection and sharing amongst participants and supervisors that we build into the programme means that we can articulate tangible outcomes and learning, which may take many forms – a white paper, a new way of working that can be used across the business, or a reflection on why some things work and what to avoid. We have also designed the programme so that it can count towards a professional qualification should a programme participant be interested. To date we have around 30 people on the programme, and the results are just starting to impact in a very positive and exciting way. The individuals on the programme have been hand-picked for a number of reasons, not least the soft skills that they display – the how rather than the what; those things that we can not easily teach. So what are these soft skills and how do we identify them?

References: Slowinski, G (2005) Reinventing Corporate Growth

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Our experience to date leads us to identifying at least seven soft skills of highly effective OI practitioners. These sometimes overlapping skills are: Intrapreneurial orientation, as evidenced by the ability to focus on innovation and transform an opportunity into a profitable venture within an organisation; Strategic influencing, as evidenced by the ability to move things forward without undue force or aggression; Communication skills, as evidenced by the ability to communicate ideas to the right people in the right way at the right time in order to garner support; Building and maintaining relationships as evidenced by well-networked individuals and people that others want to work with; Tolerance for uncertainty, as evidenced by the ability to work within the constraints of imperfect or incomplete information, and comfort with revising plans as new information is known; Mental agility, as evidenced by the ability to learn quickly but moreover apply knowledge from one area to another, or make connections across organisations to create opportunities which others can’t; Passion and optimism are two emotional traits that are really important and great allies in delivering success in any project.

Summing up, the way we think about learning and training in open innovation is not only about doing the right things, but also doing the right things right. Our programmes have been developed and tailored over time to embed the necessary skills within the organisation, but more importantly to create those new levels of practice that will be crucial for Unilever to deliver its vision.

Open innovation

UNILEVER

Ordnance Survey

www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/opendata www.openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/openspace/ www.geovation.org.uk/geovationchallenge champions@geovation.org.uk

Challenges, data and tools to support open innovation & community needs from Ordnance Survey Everything happens somewhere, at some location, affecting the relationships between natural and man-made phenomena, people, processes and places; that is geography

Geography and geographic information, explicitly or implicitly, is therefore of fundamental importance to nearly all human activity. Current, accurate, maintained geographical information is becoming an increasingly important ingredient in driving innovation within government, business and communities, and an effective tool in helping all to do more, with less, sustainably. Ordnance Survey is Great Britain's national mapping agency, providing the most accurate and up-to-date digital geographic data, relied on by government, business and individuals.

Grand challenges, collaboration and open innovation Against a background of rapid technological developments the world today faces unprecedented global challenges: sustainable (one planet) living and working, climate change, peak oil, food security, transportation, ageing populations, social exclusion, competition for scarce resources, asymmetric warfare, and the effects of globalisation. In addition, as governments, businesses, communities and citizens, we have to learn to do more with less, and do it sustainably. Government is focused on driving out waste, ensuring accountability and choice through reforming our public services, prioritising capital spend to promote economic and social benefit; and through the Big Society agenda, helping communities to help themselves through innovation with third parties around delivery mechanisms.

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Tackling these challenges requires unprecedented local to global collaboration, between governments, businesses, communities and ourselves as individuals, to create innovative solutions to problems. It requires ‘open’ innovation – a sharing of the risks, resources and rewards in developing solutions. It requires recognition that ‘no matter how smart you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else’, and that engaging the ‘wisdom of the crowd’ may be the most effective way of addressing a problem, challenge or opportunity. The developments in open source software and open standards are two examples of open innovation. Ordnance Survey has recently developed three initiatives to support open innovation and community needs.

OS OpenData “Open data is a philosophy and practice requiring that certain data be made freely available to everyone, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control.” Published as part of the government’s Open Government Data initiative, data.gov.uk, OS OpenData provides mapping data and geographic information from Ordnance Survey under a free to use licence for both commercial and non-commercial use. The OS OpenData products enable users to create and support innovative and exciting applications using a selection of the most detailed mapping datasets available for Great Britain. OS OpenData is already being used to plan cycle journeys, retrieve and display environmental schemes and health and deprivation analyses.

GeoVation

Ordnance Survey

GeoVation

Ordnance Survey

OS OpenSpace®

GeoVation®

Providing geographic innovation platforms and support networks that encourage open and user led innovation from communities of users in government, business and civil sector will enable all to realise business and social value from the connecting power of geographic information; thus growing the market for GI and the quality of life for a globalised population.

“Innovation projects that focus on peoples’ needs (problems that they have whether they realise it or not) have both double the success rate of, and 70% higher market share than, those that do not.”

OS OpenSpace is Ordnance Survey’s free service that provides access to mapping data and enables users to embed maps in any website or web application. This application programming interface (api) allows developers and other users to create web applications using Ordnance Survey data. Users are supported by community tools, including a gallery of other users’ applications, sample code and tutorials, an active community forum for sharing problems and solutions, and an easy to use map builder tool.

Communication, not just publication

This is the focus of the Ordnance Survey funded and supported GeoVation initiative. GeoVation runs challenges to address specific needs within communities, which may be satisfied in part through the use of geography. The GeoVation Challenge: “How can Britain feed itself?” illustrates the process, developed with 100%Open (www.100open.com), the open innovation consultancy, and Innovation Scout (www.innovationscout.co.uk), the innovation and design consultancy. GeoVation operates within a network of other innovation networks to maximise open innovation opportunities.

GeoVation Challenge: “How can Britain feed itself?”

Publishing data openly does not, in itself, allow communities to effectively innovate openly. How open data can be used and what it can be used for, needs to be communicated. Communicating how open geographic data can be used was the objective of the Open Data Master Classes.

The 2007/08 global food crisis has prompted serious thinking in UK about food and food policy for the first time in 50 years. An ‘agro-ecological’ approach offers a radical alternative to our current models of global food supply and distribution. Can we combine and develop ideas and geographic data collaboratively, to address the question: “How can Britain feed itself - sustainably?”

These were run by the University of Nottingham’s Horizon digital economy research programme at six UK locations through the autumn, supported by Ordnance Survey’s GeoVation initiative and others. Participants learnt how OS OpenData and other open data sets and software could be used to address their needs.

Through the GeoVation Challenge website participants can post ideas, contribute and collaborate on others ideas in an open forum, in response to the challenge. Selected by an independent judging panel, the best of these ideas and their innovators are invited to a weekend GeoVation Camp.

Ordnance Survey’s GeoVation partnered University of Nottingham in communicating how OS OpenData can be used

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Casting votes for the Community Award

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GeoVation

Ordnance Survey

GeoVation

Ordnance Survey

Finalists being interviewed at the first GeoVation Challenge Showcase, February 2010

Pitching to the GeoVation Dragons

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Winners of last year’s inaugural GeoVation Challenge

Chris Parker from Ordnance Survey – demonstrating GeoVation

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GeoVation

Ordnance Survey

GeoVation

Ordnance Survey

solution and then executing it in order to scale it and make it viable from a business or social enterprise perspective. Innovators were taken through the process of identifying the problem to be solved, prototyping their ideas, designing their enterprise models and building their pitches. Based on pitches to, and questions from, the judging panel, two finalists, City Farmers and Food Nation, were invited to submit venture plans. They will then pitch their venture plans to a judging panel for a chance to win GeoVation Challenge seed funding at a GeoVation Showcase, to help get their idea off the ground. The winners will also be supported with business mentoring.

GeoVation Challenge: “How can we improve transport in Britain?” We all travel and we are all transport users. Travel and transport are key to businesses and central to our way of life. But many aspects of transportation clearly have significant environmental, social and economic impacts. As users, what innovative ideas, using geographic information and other technology, can we suggest that help reduce those impacts, change our behaviour, and improve the overall experience? This second GeoVation challenge is supported by an innovation awards pot of £150,000. This funding comes from the Ideas in Transit project (www.ideasintransit.org) funded by the Technology Strategy Board, the Department for Transport, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The Ideas in Transit project is a collaboration between the University of the West of England, Loughborough University, ITO World Ltd and Ordnance Survey. The project aims to promote the understanding, awareness and development of user innovations relevant to transport and the transport challenges faced by individuals and society, such as congestion, climate change and the rising cost of fuel. In addition, the GeoVation Challenge is also supported by Business in the Community and the Department of Transport’s National Business Travel Network. Winners of the challenge “How can we improve transport in Britain?” will be awarded a slice of the innovations awards pot at the Geovation Showcase to be held on 4 May 2011 and will be supported by business and social enterprise mentors. GeoVation aiming to help with transport problems

Prior to the Geovation Camp, a problem framing workshop – A PowWow – was hosted. The goal of a problem PowWow is to ‘unpack’ the challenge, and discover within it a range of valuable problems; those which if met provide value for all parties. Time was spent with people who had perspectives on farming, government policy, supermarket dominance, biological systems and much, much more. At the end of the session 165 ‘raw problems’ were organised into six themes and 23 problem statements, stating what the problem was and why it mattered. These were used at the GeoVation Camp to help innovators really think about how their ideas connected to issues that mattered. The GeoVation Camp was structured to take innovators through the components of innovation: »» Innovation = Problem x Solution x Execution. Based on the premise that innovation is most effective when it identifies the best problem or need, responding with an excellent

There is an opportunity for participants of all challenges to win a slice of £10,000 for the best use of OS OpenData in addressing the challenges. There are strong societal, governance, business and community motivations driving the need for innovative solutions, products and services. Open innovation, collaborating to share the problem, risks, resources and rewards, is proving a successful means of meeting these challenges. Accurate, maintained geographic information is increasingly seen as a required ingredient to address local to global challenges, for government, business and the individual, efficiently and effectively. Ordnance Survey’s OS OpenData, OS OpenSpace and GeoVation Challenges initiatives are designed to support open, collaborative innovation to meet communities’ needs.

Chris Parker GeoVation and Community Propositions

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Enabling collaboration throughout the nation A look at the work of the Aerospace and Defence KTN

The UK aerospace and defence sector is the second largest within the global market, with total annual revenue amounting to £22.2bn in 2009, an increase in real terms of 5.4% on 2008*. It remains an attractive market in which technological innovation attracts both investment and trade. The Aerospace and Defence Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) is a dynamic hub lending support to the UK’s ambition of developing innovative technologies for use in leading-edge aerospace products. We connect the individual strands of the academic, industrial and government communities to provide a platform upon which innovative and inclusive collaborative can be built.

A sector-wide strategy The Aerospace and Defence KTN is the custodian of the National Aerospace Technology Strategy (NATS) and works with government, industry, regional and academic representatives to drive it forwards. The KTN’s voice is neutral, and so it is able to impartially implement the challenges, potential areas for success, critical research themes and technology validation outlined by the strategy.

Technology roadmapping The National Aerospace Technology Strategy is underpinned by technology roadmaps which link global challenges, from improving the environmental impact of aviation, to detailed research requirements. The NATS Technology Roadmaps visualise the many relationships that exist between the various interconnected programmes that make up the UK aerospace innovation process and supply chain. The maps show that research conducted at the science base is ultimately connected to industrial Aerospace Technology Validation Programmes, and that everything is strategically necessitated by global market drivers and products.

Why this is important

Technical Readiness

Time

UK Products

Global Market UK Products

Aerospace Technology Validation Programmes (ATVPs)

The National Technical Committees Providing detailed advice with regards to the R&D programmes are the 12 National Technical Committees (NTCs). NTCs are points of contact of insight, acting as advisory groups to the other interested communities, the government and other sectors. They relate to key technology themes that will be the foundation for future technology research and development. NTCs currently operate for the following specialist areas: »» Advanced Design & Manufacturing »» Autonomous Systems »» Electrical Power Systems »» Electronics Systems »» Environmental Technologies »» Fluid Dynamics »» Health Management & Prognostics »» Human Factors »» Materials & Structures »» Simulation & Synthetic Environments »» Sustainable Air Transport Services »» Systems Engineering & Open Architecture. A 13th NTC, for Aviation Security, is to be launched towards the end of 2010. It will interconnect with the activities of the other NTCs and the wider NATS and allow for ever-wider engagements with industry. To keep abreast of news regarding the launch of this NTC please visit: www.aeroktn.co.uk. The KTN understands that inclusivity is the key to unlocking innovation throughout the nation, and understanding the critical technology themes throughout the sector. If you would like to contribute to one or more of the NTCs, e-mail Bettina Rigg at Bettina.rigg@aeroktn.co.uk.

This implementation of the NATS enables UK aerospace to clearly articulate to all of its stakeholders across the sector the areas of technology and investment focus needed to ensure the UK retains its ranking as the world’s second-largest aerospace economy in an increasingly globalised and competitive market. NATS provides the framework to translate science through to innovative technologies and processes, from the research base through to market. Since 2004, NATS has attracted combined industry¬government investment of more than £460m across more than 80 projects and programmes which are already validating technologies that will lead to greater efficiency, safety and service in the next

Underpinning Research Applied Research

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Aerospace and Defence KTN

Aerospace and Defence

Aerospace and Defence KTN

generation of aircraft. Current examples are the Airbus UK-led NGCW (Next Generation Composite Wing, the Rolls Royceled EFE (Environmentally Friendly Engine), AgustaWestland led REACT (Rotor Embedded Actuation Technology), and the ASTRAEA (Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment) programme, which is being implemented by a cross-industry consortium.

Broadening the engagement The Aerospace and Defence KTN identifies Knowledge Transfer activities to further the creation of collaborative partnerships with effective funding to deliver programmes of technology research and development that are in alignment with the NATS. To do this, we create connections between people and organisations that might not otherwise meet, or consider that their capability shows the potential to be applied within the aerospace sector, or that capabilities developed by aerospace companies could have significant impact in other areas of application. We focus our attention on where the optimum successes are to be found and target those audiences, creating less noise and greater value. By acting as a revolving door to the sector; if you walk in, we’ll spin you around and back out in the right direction! With our unique access to areas of the sector, we are able to deliberate the right direction for you via the following methods.

Events Aerospace and Defence KTN-led or sponsored events. Increasingly the A&D KTN is shaping bespoke events portfolio designed to stimulate knowledge transfer and bring together decision-makers within the innovation process. In 2009, the Aerospace & Defence KTN led a succession of Simulation Showcases, where UK government departments presented their requirements of Simulation capability; the next phase will be to enable industry to brief government on possible solutions. In 2010, the A&D KTN will be creating yet more events, including our first conference, which will focus on the key themes of: Technology Identification, featuring the work of all 12 National Technical Committees; Investment Mechanisms, both public and private; and Broadening the Engagement, where figureheads from other sectors will address the delegation with their needs and the opportunity for the cross-pollination of knowledge and capability. Other events will include: our third Annual Knowledge Transfer Debate for the UK Aerospace Academic community; and Showcases and/or Symposia in the specialist areas of Design & Manufacture, Simulation, Autonomous Systems, and Electronics Systems. Throughout our events calendar, the A&D KTN will hold oneto-one sessions for members and delegates with specialist consultants in order to greater equip members, companies and individuals with knowledge on the best way to attract funds. Some of the events will offer member companies the chance to physically demonstrate their technology and capability in front of the audience.

Communications The A&D KTN facilitates webinar conferences, hosted by specialists on a range of topics including European funding, Research Council funding, National Technical Committees and more. They are ideal for company representatives who wish to find out about burning issues of the day without having to spend time and money travelling across the country for face-to-face meetings. Our weekly e-newsletter continues to be circulated to all of our members, promoting key strategies, updates and events across the sector, as well opportunities to meet and engage with the KTN.

You can learn more, connect to NTCs, and register specific requests by e-mailing the KTN team directly or by e-mailing: contact@aeroktn.co.uk or by visiting: www.aeroktn.co.uk

The Aerospace and Defence KTN – who we are Name

Role

E-mail

Ruth Mallors

Director

ruth.mallors@aeroktn.co.uk

Daniel Jones

Co-ordinator

daniel.jones@aeroktn.co.uk

Peter Murray

Researcher

peter.murray@aeroktn.co.uk

Bettina Rigg

Infrastructure

bettina.rigg@aeroktn.co.uk

The Space Special Interest Group The Aerospace & Defence KTN is host to the Space Special Interest Group, a pan-KTN interest group seeking to create a unified business voice into the recently launched UK Space Innovation and Growth Team (IGT) Project. The purpose of the Space IGT is to involve the entire UK space community in setting out the challenges and opportunities that will govern its future value, competitiveness and hence growth. This will inform a 20-year strategy for the future of the British space industry that will see Britain become a leader in the world space landscape, as well as contributing revenue, jobs and value to the UK economy.

For more information on the Space Special Interest Group contact Name

Role

Ruth Mallors

Director – A&D KTN

Mel Witherow

Space SIG Coordinator

E-mail ruth.mallors@aeroktn. co.uk melinda.witherow@ aeroktn.co.uk

Additionally, a Space SIG area is available for viewing at: Website: www.aeroktn.co.uk/spaceSIG.

* Industry revenue for 2008 was £21.08bn. Source: A|D|S UK Aerospace Industry Annual Survey 2010.

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Military green Dinesh Chandramouli, Technical Project Officer, Research & Technology Directorate, European Defence Agency, examines the European approach to environmentally responsible crisis management Crosscutting in nature The term “environmental issues” is widely used as a collective name for parameters, which due to interaction with humans have an adverse effect on the ecology. Looking specifically at climate change, which dominates the spotlight, the potential means of remedy clearly show the complexity of the problem – a multidimensional affair that incorporates, among other things, management of obsolesces and heritage systems, research into new technologies and designs, public awareness and policy making. Taking responsibility and actively engaging in co-operation in order to achieve a harmonised approach is the first step in working towards a better environment. This article gives some insight into the collaborative defence efforts in progress at EDA.

A through-life approach

Today, crisis management goes far beyond deploying military forces. While this still accounts for a very important part, attaining the desired long-term effects requires drawing from a broad palette of capabilities. Support to law enforcement, political stability, rebuilding of infrastructure as well as minimising the environmental impact of a Crisis Management Operation (CMO) are all prerequisites for achieving a sustainable solution. The European Defence Agency (EDA) has, since its foundation in 2004, been an active host to European collaborative efforts. As an inter-governmental European Union agency, the EDA’s role is to support participating Member States (pMS) working together in crisis management capability development aided by enhancing the effectiveness of defence Research and Technology (R&T), promoting armaments co-operation and strengthening the defence technological and industrial base. Set directly by the pMS, EDA’s agenda has an ever-increasing presence of environmental initiatives.

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Making an environmental difference in the defence domain requires a structured approach due to its intricate nature. One way of approaching the environmental aspects is from a life-cycle perspective. The life-cycle of defence material can be divided into different phases, and for each of these there are parameters that if tweaked appropriately can influence the overall environmental impact positively. »» Planning and Procurement. The first phase of the cycle, which is usually administered by the Ministries of Defence of the respective governments in Europe, focuses in detailing the capability requirements, translating them into technical specifications and launching the tendering process. In many ways, the Planning and Procurement phase sets the tone for the phases to follow and this is where reliable ecologically friendly solutions retaining the desired capability should be promoted. »» Technical specifications. These are an important instrument and contain technical requirements that will affect the whole life-cycle of material. Introducing suitable technical requirements that address the environmental aspects in all phases of the life-cycle can thus help achieve the desired through-life effect. Once established and accepted in a European context, these technical requirements can serve as a benchmark for future standardisation. Some European Ministries of Defence have already developed internal so called “ecodesign” policies and are considering promoting and co-ordinating them within the EDA framework. »» Design. The design process is nowadays often in the hands of the contractor. Technical specifications these days are less prescriptive than in the past, often encouraging the contractor to come up with creative solutions. Incentives in the technical specifications to go for energy efficient designs with low emissions, as well as designs that maximise use of recyclable components containing no hazardous materials, can prove to be a powerful tool in battling adverse environmental effects in the following phases.

Defence

The European Defence Agency

Defence

The European Defence Agency

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Production. Often overlooked is the fact that energy consumption as well as hazardous emissions and bi-products are associated with production of material. By introducing mechanisms in the technical specification that reward limiting these factors, the environmental influence of the manufacturing process can be tackled. This is of particular interest for the manufacturing of energy supply systems. How long it takes for an energy supply system to supply the same amount of energy when in operation that was needed for its manufacturing, gives a more accurate measure of its total environmental impact. Operation. The Operation phase is where the design of material comes into play and the systems context becomes evident. The integration challenge is to achieve environmental neutrality taking all aspects of CMOs into account, including the logistical footprint. High level policy making could potentially support this by addressing ways of setting up goals for future CMO environmental neutrality. Waste management. While improving the overall system energy efficiency, lowering the total of emissions and exploring local produce are crucial, waste management is another systems aspect that should not be forgotten as it comes with its own set of logistics. Using consumables with recyclable, compostable or biodegradable properties along with a suitable infrastructure for handling can potentially be beneficial. Extracting energy from waste is another option and there are technologies, existing and emerging, that could be integrated into energy supply grids of CMOs. However, some technologies for extracting energy from waste are based on a combustion process. The environmental influence of the subsequent emissions must therefore also be represented in the equation. Increased awareness. Another systems aspect not to be ignored is the fact that increased awareness of all these

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parameters among personnel, in and outside theatre, helps for more environmentally responsible decision making. End-of-Life. Recyclability is an important ingredient in the final phase of the life-cycle of material. Hazardous materials must be considered in this context. As the Production phase, this phase comes with a price tag in terms of energy consumption, hazardous emissions and hazardous bi-products. It is in the technical specification that these parameters can be tackled.

Tapping the civilian momentum While defence is doing a lot in this field, it is still a small player. The civilian side, both government and industry, is the one with the momentum. Rather than reinvent the wheel, it is better to take advantage of this momentum and inject the output of the civilian community into defence, regardless of if it is technology or policy. Adaptation may be necessary in some cases and, in addition, there will always be specific areas of interest to the defence community where there is little or no civilian activity. The important thing, therefore, is to identify these specific areas in order to target defence investments.

Activities in progress Mapping current efforts tackling environmental issues reveals four categories of primarily R&T activities: »» Human/Animal Factors. Means of protection of marine mammals, the consequences of exposure to toxic materials and the biological effects due to radio frequencies are topics, to name a few, that are being addressed. »» Munitions/Energetics. How the environmental impact of munitions can be managed in the long and short term, tackling

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munition-life aspects, including ageing and demilitarisation as well as alternatives to conventional fuels and propellants – examples of current projects and project proposals?? Materials. The Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances (REACH) directive has big implications on the defence domain. Some defence exemptions to this directive are inevitable and the harmonisation of the national processes for exemptions is being worked on. The directive is likely to spur R&T activity into finding replacements for forbidden substances. Current R&T. Aside from this, current R&T activities on materials include the studying of new hull protection and antifouling technologies that are friendly towards the surrounding environment. Energy. The aim of increasing energy efficiency is reflected in activities studying novel energy conversion and storage technologies, as well as the increased electrification of energy distribution on board platforms such as ground vehicles and ships. Included is a recently finished environmental awardnominated study on the overall platform energy efficiency of ships. Miniaturised energy supply for future soldier systems is also being addressed – soldiers today are carrying an increasing weight of conventional batteries to supply the electronic equipment during a mission.

Energising peace Looking especially at energy issues, the key to overcoming the problem of energy supply is to understand that it is actually not the problem. Using all the cleanest and greenest energy supply technologies will not reduce the need for energy. On the contrary, over time we will continue to need more and more energy. Developments in technology will constantly lead to the introduction of new gadgets in both the civilian and defence domains. However energy efficient they may be individually, the sheer volume of influx of new equipment leads to the constant need for more energy. The problem is therefore not the supply of energy, it is the consumption. It is therefore better to incorporate a level of preparedness for the future. A modular energy supply system design is one approach that in particular is applicable to larger platforms such as ships, aircrafts, ground vehicles and camps. Consequently, the EDA has launched a pilot test case on energy supply systems for camps. Camps represent energy technologies where there is a strong civilian presence and push. They also represent a big type of energy consumer, not only in theatre but also in homeland. The effort will address both the short and long term. Adapting a similar approach as in other EDA activities, this effort will assess how off-the-shelf products, including novel renewable and alternative technologies, can help reduce the environmental impact. Based on conventional camp designs, generic recommendations and guidelines will be drafted for how energy efficiency can be increased and emissions reduced. Feeding into this was the EDAhosted workshop in the autumn of 2010, where experts from both industry and government sat around the table and brainstormed on potential measures to be taken using technology of today.

The concept of the environmentally neutral camp is the vision. Combining renewable and alternative supply technologies with conventional, interconnected with automated energy management systems will take us part of the way. The inclusion of vehicles that use hybrid and electric drive trains as well as rechargeable lightweight soldier energy supply systems will get us even closer. Life-cycle costs will be decreased as will emissions. The ensuing reduction of the fuel logistical tail in CMOs will make fuel convoys less susceptible to insurgents. A potential follow-up to the effort on camps is the exploration of novel sea-basing concepts that incorporate energy supply extracted from the surrounding sea.

The future The way forward will take time, but each step we take is a step closer to ecological crisis management. From a defence perspective the life-cycle approach sheds light on what can be done to reduce environmental impact of materiel in its different phases. It also highlights the fact that it is in the early phases where the big through-life wins can be made. Furthermore, it also shows that there is no specific technology to be singled out that will solve all our problems. Instead, it is the combination of several technologies integrated into systems, public awareness and policy making that will make the difference.

The effort will further include mapping the activities – past, present and planned – in both the civilian and defence domain in order to understand the trends and avoid duplication. The objective will be to provide recommendations for where European defence investments should be made in the long term.

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For more information, visit: Website: www.eda.europa.eu

Defence

The European Defence Agency

Innovative Technology

EUROL INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

EUROL INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS Sp. z o.o. ul. Konarskiego 18 C, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland Tel: +48 32 335 85 42 Fax: +48 32 335 85 43 E-mail: office@eurolits.pl

Innovative knowledge management in the energy sector The problems of climate warming have forced the energy sector to start searching for solutions to reduce CO2, SO2 and NOX emission to the atmosphere and to increase the effectiveness of energy production by applying new methods. These actions require the application of modified or totally new chemical technologies. Thus, close co-operation between the energy and chemical sectors is required, right from the early stages of problem definition and analysis, from research and development, through to construction and execution of industrial facilities. This co-operation requires the proper selection of teams consisting of people with specific qualifications, and the proper management of innovation processes are of vital importance. EUROL Innovative Technology Solutions (ITS) is a company that has recognised the need for an organisation that is able to comprehensively manage the innovation process and can meet these difficult challenges. We have gathered a group of experienced managers, engineers, designers and scientists from the chemical and energy sectors. EUROL ITS is an independent company, which enables it to act flexibly both in the areas of project organisation and in creation of inter-company alliances. EUROL ITS competences are developed through:

Execution of projects for many industrial customers in Poland and elsewhere EUROL ITS has completed, and is still working on, concept, process,basic design, equipment supply and construction of installations for the chemical and energy sectors. Some of these projects relate to developing the utilisation of useful products, eg fertilizers for agriculture of waste produced from the combustion fumes desulphurisation processes.

Participation in the biggest research and development projects in Poland EUROL ITS participates, as a consortium member, in projects of the National Centre for Research and Development within the National Scientific Research and Experimental Development Programme “Advanced Technologies of Energy Generation”.

Research Task no 1: “Development of technologies for the highly effective zero-emission coal blocks integrated with capture of carbon dioxide from the flue gases”

Research Task no 2: “Oxy-combustion technology for dust and fluid boilers with integrated capture of carbon dioxide” EUROL ITS performs the following tasks on the aforementioned projects: »» Research related to the utilisation of adsorption processes for the production of oxygen, for the purposes of oxy-combustion »» Basic research related to CO2 removal from flue gases by means of adsorption methods »» Implementation of basic research results and modelling performed by research Institutes and universities for concept projects and base demonstration and industrial installations »» Concept, basic design, and feasibility studies for demonstration and large industrial facilities »» Integration and exchange of entire knowledge collected in the research project process, and presentation of research and demonstration facilities in 3D.

Our mission: “Alliances for success in the implementation of innovative technologies”

Cooperation with leading chemical and energy sector Institutes in Poland

EUROL’s participation in all stages of innovation processes provides knowledge and experience for effective integration of information.

EUROL ITS co-operates with leading Polish institutes and universities for the purpose of common development of new technologies; these relate to separation and purification of gases by adsorption methods. The company also designs research centres, including as many as 10 research installations.

This knowledge may be further widely used by engineers designing demonstrative industrial installations. This all-encompassing attitude to innovation process management offers the best chance for innovation to be implemented in industry.

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A coherent industry voice The Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network aims to accelerate the rate of knowledge transfer within the UK chemistry-using industries Chemistry is a key enabling science for a major part of the UK economy, with the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors alone worth ÂŁ113bn per annum of sales. Combined with other chemistry-dependent sectors such as home and personal care, food and drink, polymers, crop protection and lubricants, as well as sectors which require substantial chemistry input, including oil, gas, materials and electronics, these generate a total GVA of over ÂŁ270bn for the UK, with a regular surplus on overseas trade. New chemical technologies are essential in order to address some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest challenges: climate change, energy supply and demand, safe water and affordable medicines. Chemistry is also crucial in progressing new approaches to healthcare and in ensuring that we can develop our products and processes in ways that are sustainable. Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network (Chemistry Innovation) was formed to provide a coherent industry voice that would accelerate the rate of knowledge transfer into and within

UK chemistry-using businesses. We are an independent industryled initiative, backed by the Technology Strategy Board, to support product and process innovation which will deliver tangible value for the UK chemistry-using industries. We work towards this mission within four main areas of activity:

Coherent strategy and priorities We develop a coherent national strategy and action plan owned by the key stakeholders who are committed to its delivery. We develop a fundamental understanding of the market drivers and industry challenges facing our stakeholders. We ensure that the activities and delivery programmes of Chemistry Innovation are aligned with that of the Technology Strategy Board, relevant EU programmes and the strategic programmes of our key partner organisations.

Project identification and collaboration We drive partnerships and collaborations with other organisations to provide a national support framework. We identify, broker and support collaborative projects across stakeholder boundaries.

Influential voice We provide a coherent and influential voice to government, informing and advising on the technology needs of the sector and issues that enhance/inhibit innovation.

Unique networking opportunities We establish unique networking opportunities that link all organisations serving the chemistry-using industries, providing focus and prioritising activity. Now, more than ever, the UK needs to remain competitive in what is a turbulent and global economy. Innovation, alongside sustainability and differentiation, is key in building and preserving businesses within the UK. It is therefore essential that the UK chemistry-using industries continuously innovate and that Chemistry Innovation sits at the centre of this critical UK network. With a broad sphere of activity, we continuously work to drive improved innovation performance through knowledge transfer across a diverse range of industries. Our annual report and the 2010 strategy report for the chemistry-using industries were released in June and can be found on our website.

For more information, contact Maureen Laughton on: Tel: 01928 515662 Website: www.chemistryinnovation.co.uk

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Chemistry

chemistry innovation KTN

Digital

digital systems KTN

Meeting the Challenge The Cyber Security Challenge is crucial to answering the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s need for cyber security professionals, says Tony Dyhouse, Cyber Security Director of the Digital Systems Knowledge Transfer Network The Digital Systems KTN is an enthusiastic supporter of the Cyber Security Challenge UK â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an initiative designed to widen the pool of talent on offer to the cyber security profession at a time when it is needed most. Quite apart from a state defence point of view, the way we live our lives is becoming increasingly dependent on digital systems, with everything from medical records to banking transactions being stored and accessed online. When this data is lost or stolen, the cost to businesses can run into millions. As we rely more and more on the internet for storing and sending sensitive data we need to make sure that there are enough professionals to make the internet safe for us all. Network defence, network forensics and information assurance are all extremely important areas where we need to ensure a healthy influx into the profession. A recent UK survey by the SANS institute highlighted that over 90% of current cyber security professionals have difficulty in recruiting to cyber security jobs and that nearly 60% of responses indicated that the number of cyber security jobs will increase. This is the environment in which the Cyber Security Challenge UK was born.

support for the challenge The Challenge builds on the success of a similar programme in the US and is supported by an extremely impressive consortium of industry, government and academia. QinetiQ, Sophos, The Open University, HP Labs, EADs and the Cabinet Office are just some of the organisations that have come together to make the Challenge work. As an organisation committed to bringing together industry and academia to solve grand challenges, the Digital Systems KTN has been involved since the early stages. The Challenge consists of national online games and competitions that will test the abilities of individuals and teams from every walk of life. From sixth form leavers and undergraduates to seasoned IT professionals looking for a new challenge, competitions are being set across the country for everyone with an interest in cyber security to demonstrate their different skills. The competitions were launched on 26 July by Baroness Neville-Jones, and in the first three weeks over 4,000 people have registered their interest. One of the objectives is to show people what cyber security actually feels like. I know from personal experience that the industry

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can provide a very varied and rewarding career. However, many people starting out in IT or wondering what to do with their lives simply can’t visualise working in the sector because they are not aware of the job opportunities that exist. The Cyber Security Challenge UK is hoping to address these issues, to match candidates with skills shortages, to help entrants into careers, and to get people excited about an important and rewarding career. Ultimately all this is designed to make the UK a safer place to live and do business.

The Competitions

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QinetiQ Network Defence Competition: This competition utilises QinetiQ’s exceptional knowledge of network defence and its world-class modelling and virtualisation facilities. It involves teams reviewing, administering and defending a simulated network against attacks from cyber security professionals.

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SANS Institute and Sophos Treasure Hunt: The SANS Institute Security Treasure Hunt is an online game suitable for all ages and all levels of experience. Run on specific dates between September and December this year, and administered by a trained gamesmaster, participants will be challenged to identify security flaws on a dummy website and answer questions based on the issues they find. The competition takes the form of multiple-choice questions allowing candidates to work at their own pace. Participants simply require a web browser, some creativity, and possibly some research on the Internet. The whole process takes less than two hours and the best six participants move through to the face-to-face stage being developed by Sophos.

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The Department for Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) Forensics Challenge: This is already underway as part of the US Cyber Challenge. It is designed for those with high levels of experience in cyber security and digital forensics. While it remains open to anyone, teams traditionally represent academia, professional technology/security companies and the military. This year, the Cyber Security Challenge UK is awarding a prize for the best team in the UK category. The competition consists of approximately 25 different challenges forwarded to all participants, ranging from basic digital forensics techniques to advanced tool development. Teams can enter the Challenge at any time while it is running – they do not need to register their interest at the beginning.

Masterclass The climax to the UK’s first Cyber Security Challenge is the Masterclass which will take place in January 2011. Developed by HP Labs and EADS, it is an opportunity for the finalists from all three competitions to compete against each other for a chance to be crowned the UK’s ultimate cyber security champion. The team competition winners will be split up and its members will compete as individuals for the overall title.

Prizes The Cyber Security Challenge UK has a portfolio of more than 30 prizes to reward both team and individual success across the three competitions and the Masterclass. Prizes will be selected specific to each successful participant’s ambitions and to fit with where they are in their career. They include educational opportunities and bursaries, internships and access to professional expertise, knowledge and also networking opportunities.

For more information on prizes and careers or to register for the Challenge please visit: Website: www.cybersecuritychallenge.org.uk.

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Digital

digital systems KTN

Digital

DIGITAL communication KTN

Meeting demands The Digital Communications Knowledge Transfer Network is working hard to ensure the whole of the UK has access to enriched broadband services People are clamouring for better broadband services. It’s easy to see why. Those who have used them have enjoyed the experience. It has enriched their lives – both at home and at work – and saved some a great deal of time and money. It’s nice to be able to shop, check your bank account and so on when you want to, not just when stores and branches are open. And when it comes to buying flights, booking hotel rooms and making sundry other purchases, the best deals these days tend to be the ones offered online. Some face difficulties, of course. The number of “not spots” completely beyond broadband’s reach is now extremely low, but the performance of services across vast swathes of the country falls well short of what customers (and, according to its latest report, Ofcom*) expect. The physical limitations of copper cables may be the villain of the piece, but the way services are advertised has left much of the blame at ISPs’ doors. Based on what The Digital Knowledge Transfer Network heard at focus group events organised across the UK in 2009/10, we agree with Ofcom. Statements like “up to 8Mbps” may be technically accurate, but customers find them confusing. They expect performance to come close to the figure they are given, not to miss by a mile. Clearer ways of explaining what people are buying would help the industry as a whole move forward. But beyond getting what they think they are paying for, what more is it that businesses and consumers need? If and when the connection between their premises and the internet carries data at “superfast” rates being touted today – 40Mbps and more – what will they do with it? Understanding this could make a great deal of difference to the way next-generation broadband access is designed, delivered and sold. The prime goal of the DCKTN events was to extend the conversation beyond hearsay. Over little more than a year, members of its Next Generation Access Working Group visited eight different parts of the UK – from highly-connected cities like Bristol and Manchester to sparsely populated regions like the Highlands & Islands and Wales. In each, they asked specifically what people hoped to be able to do in the future, what would determine their ability to do it and the consequences for lives, businesses and society at large if the future they envisioned didn’t come about. There was no shortage of imagination. But while upload and download speeds tend to dominate any conversation about broadband, other aspects of performance – most notably availability – emerged as vitally important. The bottom line is more about people being able to do what they want to, quickly, whenever they want to do it than it is about bits per second. Will they be able to use telepresence to keep in touch with business contacts and distant family members? Will businesses really be able to source the IT services they need from the cloud, or will this result in them being off-air from time to time? Will the availability of

broadband be great enough for care systems to keep adequate watch over sick people living in their own homes? In short, services don’t have to be “always on”, they have to be “always available”. In some parts of the UK – notably in the Highlands & Islands – the possibility that communities might miss out on the services nextgeneration broadband could deliver is a source of anxiety. They feel to be trailing badly behind their peers in urban areas and are desperate to catch up. And it isn’t all about people wanting to better their lives and businesses – given the greater cost of providing public services in sparsely populated areas, the public purse would benefit if more could be done dispensed online. In remoter areas, carers and other public-sector workers spend disproportionate amounts of time travelling just so they can meet clients face to face. So what’s the answer? While there are alternative ways of making the final connections to homes and business premises, there is no doubt that Britain’s fibre network will have to be extended quite considerably in the years ahead. Both more capacity and more points of presence will be needed. Beyond this, ISPs clearly need to be encouraged to make the final connections to as many premises as possible on commercial terms. But this clearly isn’t the only option when it comes to connecting premises up. There is plenty of scope for alternative and innovative approaches, many of which could be driven enthusiastically by local communities if a benign regulatory framework, universal access to backhaul capacity and practical assistance were available, backed by modest levels of financial support. DCKTN discovered a great deal as it went around the country – not just about what people hope next-generation broadband will deliver, but about their enthusiasm for it and the commitments they are prepared to make. Opinions inevitably varied, and there isn’t space to air the full details here. (For those, please see the full report on the DCKTN website.) On two points, though, almost everyone was agreed. First, there is no shortage of demand for next-generation broadband. The time for debate is over; the time for delivery has come. Second, the possibility that limited deployment of next-generation broadband could create a next-generation digital divide needs to be tackled head on. Even those already benefitting from leading-edge deployments are concerned others across the country might be left trailing far behind.

About the digital communications ktn The Digital Communications Knowledge Transfer Network is an industry-led group funded by the Technology Strategy Board, an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. For more information or to access the report referred to in this article, please visit: Website: www.dcktn.org.uk.

* “Ofcom research reveals increase in UK’s average actual broadband speed – but consumers still not achieving advertised speeds”, Ofcom, July 27, 2010, http://media.ofcom.org. uk/2010/07/27/ofcom-research-reveals-increase-in-uk%e2%80%99s-average-actual-broadband-speed-but-consumers-still-not-achieving-advertised-speeds/

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The Institute hosts the following centres: Nottingham Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre (NIMRC)

Rolls Royce University Technology Centre in Manufacturing Technology

Waterjet Machining Technology Centre

Centre for Aerospace Manufacturing (sponsored by Airbus)

Provides advanced tooling, jigs and fixtures for advanced low-cost aircraft wing structures and metrology, assisted assembly and digital manufacturing for aerospace research.

Precision Manufacturing Centre

Centre for Sustainability in Global Manufacturing

Manufacturing

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC)

If you want to know more about the MTC, please contact Clive Hickman, Chief Executive E-mail: clive.hickman@the-mtc.org Or view www.the-mtc.uk

Manufacturing Technology Centre The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is a world-class manufacturing research, development and demonstration organisation helping industrial companies and their supply chains to achieve major improvements in their manufacturing competitiveness

The MTC has been established with £40.5 million of grant funding from the UK regional development agencies with additional support from key UK manufacturers and research organisations to ensure that laboratory-demonstrated manufacturing technologies and processes are rapidly commercialised. The purpose-built 12,000m2 facility is located at the Ansty Park, near Coventry, UK. £15 million is being invested in state-of-the art, industrial-scale equipment to underpin R&D activities. It is the largest of the new network of UK manufacturing centres in the scale and breadth of pre-production manufacturing research and will eventually employ 100-150 highly skilled staff to support a number of themes including: »» Near Net Shape Manufacturing »» High Integrity Fabrication »» Intelligent Automation »» Advanced Tooling & Fixturing.

The Centre is operated by a research partnership comprising the University of Nottingham, University of Birmingham, Loughborough University and TWI Limited. Airbus UK, Aero Engine Controls and Rolls-Royce are the founding industrial members. In excess of 50 companies from the aerospace, automotive, space, rail, medical, energy and nuclear sectors are expected to join the MTC over the next five years, with a significant proportion of the companies envisaged to be SMEs. It is expected to generate at least £130 million of leveraged R&D over the first 10 years of its life as it harnesses the region’s strong research expertise and uses latest equipment on an industrial scale to transfer fully capable processes to manufacturers at minimal risk. The principle behind the MTC is to bridge the gap between academic research and commercial production, to meet the needs of industry. This gap is generally described on the Technology Readi-

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ness Levels (TRL) scale, where levels 1-3 cover academic research, levels 4-6 are the pre-production gap to be bridged by MTC, and levels 7-9 are the product implementation. Promising research areas nurtured by Research Partners are being developed as industrial projects, with project teams combining skills from within the MTC, equipment manufacturers, system integrators and staff from industrial members. Integrated solutions will be tested and validated before being applied in industry. Pre-production demonstrations at the MTC will not only generate new partnership opportunities and provide a showcase for material and equipment suppliers but also leverage further funding to gear the investments of partner companies. For example, a project looking into the industrialisation of an innovative fixturing solution for aerospace applications, with a timescale for delivery to TRL 4 by 2012, was jointly funded by multiple partner companies of the MTC and further geared with government funding â&#x20AC;&#x201C; giving partner companies an eight-fold return of investment. The MTCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multi-skilled research environment and ability to deliver large-scale integrated projects are expected to develop and implement integrated solutions and systems at a pre-production level of technology maturity. MTC partner companies will also have access to expert advice which is independent and supplier-neutral.

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Manufacturing

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC)

Mycoplasmology

Mycosafe

Mycosafe Diagnostics GmbH Veterinaerplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria Tel: +43 1 25077 2150 Fax: +43 1 25077 2190 E-mail: office@mycosafe.com Website: www.mycosafe.com

Mycosafe Innovation in Industrial Mycoplasmology

The growing market of biologicals, biopharmaceuticals, cell therapy and tissue-engineered products requires an increasing need of expertise in the area of mycoplasma biosafety assurance in compliance with regulatory requirements. Mycosafe is worldwide one of the few suppliers specialised in this area.

Solutions for the Control and Prevention of Mycoplasmas in Biotechnological and Biopharmaceutical Processes Mycosafe is a GMP-certified company specialised in contract mycoplasma testing services for the mycoplasma biosafety and prevention control of cell lines and associated biological and biopharmaceutical products, including vaccines and cell therapy applications. Based on its long-standing experience and expertise in Mycoplasmology, Mycosafe represents a Center of Excellence for providing mycoplasma testing and related R&D, validation and consultancy services with particular attention to the stringent regulatory requirements and individual project needs of its clients in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.

Experience, Quality and Reliability in Industrial Mycoplasmology It is Mycosafe’s mission to advance the development and production of biological medicinal products by assisting biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies to comply with the stringent mycoplasma biosafety requirements of the international regulatory authorities. Mycosafe offers a broad range of mycoplasma testing, R&D, consultancy and educational services to address these demands. Mycosafe’s clients benefit from its high-quality individual customer care and from its high level of scientific and regulatory experience in the management of mycoplasmas in an industrial environment.

Scientific and Regulatory Know-How and High-Quality Individual Client Care Mycosafe’s scientific and regulatory expertise and profound professional commitment in all areas of Industrial Mycoplasmology combined with a maximum level of individual client care is the

fundamental basis for its success. By offering its expertise and handling of projects with maximum high-quality care, Mycosafe can assist its clients in their quality control,product development and lot release needs.

Internationally Recognised Expertise and Long-Standing Experience in Basic and Applied Mycoplasma Research Mycosafe was founded in December 2003 in Vienna, Austria, by the internationally renowned mycoplasma expert Professor Renate Rosengarten as spin-off company of the Institute of Bacteriology, Mycology and Hygiene (IBMH) at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (VUW). Since its foundation, Mycosafe has established itself as a leading contract service company providing quality control mycoplasma testing of cell lines and biologically derived products as well as research services to the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industry worldwide. Based on its profound expertise in the area of Mycoplasmology, Mycosafe has continuously expanded its range of services to become a supplier for all kinds of services related to the detection, prevention and control of mycoplasmas in bioscience research and in biotechnological and biopharmaceutical processes.

High-Quality Standards and Compliance with GMP Requirements Being an international service provider of quality control mycoplasma testing of cell lines and biological and biopharmaceutical products, Mycosafe’s BSL 1, 2 and 3 laboratories operate according to the highest quality standards. Most of the services performed by Mycosafe’s well-trained staff are in strict compliance with GMP to meet the needs of its clients and the regulatory expectations worldwide. Several inspections by regulatory authorities as well as client audits have confirmed the high-quality standards of Mycosafe’s services and their compliance with international GMP requirements. These regular inspections assist Mycosafe to continuously improve its quality system. By providing all services with the necessary scientific and regulatory expertise and experience, Mycosafe helps its clients to reduce costs and to meet customer and market demands.

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GMP-Compliant Customised Mycoplasma Biosafety Testing and Test Validation Services In close cooperation with its clients, Mycosafe has conducted over the years a few thousand regulatory compliant mycoplasma biosafety tests on all relevant process steps. Some of these tests have been individually designed as client-specific assays. A main focus of Mycosafe’s current activities is the co-development and performance validation of rapid mycoplasma detection assays

based on nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAT) which represent promising future applications for routine mycoplasma biosafety testing of a number of biological and biopharmaceutical products. As the method performance and product-specific validation of these new NAT-based mycoplasma detection assays prior to their use in routine mycoplasma testing require a high level of scientific accuracy, Mycosafe has developed well defined mycoplasma culture and DNA reference standard preparations of very high quality which allow an objective comparison of the various test systems.

Mycosafe’s International reputation as leading mycoplasma specialist in bioquality and bioanalytics

Professor Renate Rosengarten, Mycosafe’s Founder & CEO: “For more than three decades, my focus has been to contribute to a better understanding of the infection biology of mycoplasmas as agents of disease and as cell culture contaminants in order to improve the strategies for their detection, prevention and control. Based on this long-standing experience and expertise in basic and applied Clinical and Industrial Mycoplasmology, Mycosafe represents a Center of Excellence for providing mycoplasma biosafety testing and related R&D, validation and consultancy services with particular attention to the stringent regulatory requirements and individual project needs of our clients in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.”

Professor Renate Rosengarten, MSc, DVM, PhD Founder & CEO

Mycoplasma biofilms are resistant to environmental stress conditions and enable mycoplasma survival and persistence

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Mycoplasmology

Mycosafe

Mycoplasmology

Mycosafe

Mycoplasma Biosafety Expertise in Vienna, Austria Mycosafe is a GMP-certified company based in Vienna – Austria which is worldwide one of the few suppliers specialised in mycoplasma biosafety assurance and prevention control of cell lines and biological and biopharmaceutical products, including vaccines and cell therapy applications. Mycosafe’s state-of-the-art laboratories include S2 and S3 facilities allowing mycoplasma biosafety testing of biological samples containing BSL2 and BSL 3 agents. Photographs: © Petra Spiola

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For more information, contact: Dr Afshin Ziaei, Nanopack project co-ordinator Tel: +33 (0)1 69 41 57 77) E-mail: afshin.ziaei@thalesgroup.com Website www.nanopack.org.

Nano Packaging Developing new technology for low thermal resistance interfaces and electrical interconnects, Nanopack provides nano packaging technology for interconnect and heat dissipation One of the major limitations to the continuous growth of the semiconductor and power electronics industries is the lack of integration density and thermal management solutions. Transistor downscaling is quickly reaching its limits, forcing a new focus on heterogeneous integration and 3D packaging, in order to further push performance and density. Improved thermal management solutions will have a strong impact on energy and manufacturing efficiencies, as well as on component reliability. Nanopack is an FP7 European large-scale integrating project aimed at developing new technologies and materials for low thermal resistance interfaces and electrical interconnects. It explores the capabilities offered by nanotechnologies (such as carbon nanotubes, nanoparticles and nano-structured surfaces) and by using different mechanisms to enhance interparticle contact formation, compatible with high-volume manufacturing technologies. Three parallel approaches are taken to achieve the required thermal and electrical performances: enhancement of bulk conductivity of filled systems; reduction of Bond Line Thickness (BLT); and optimisation of nano-scale thermal and electrical contact surfaces. Conventional Thermal Interface Materials (TIM) such as grease, adhesive or phase change materials are currently developed and optimised in the project. More than 10W/mK of thermal conductivity has been reached by tri-modal thermal grease, with spherical metallic micro-spheres and graphitised Carbon nano-fibres in silicone matrix. Bimodal electrically conductive adhesive with 10W/ mK of thermal conductivity has been fabricated by incorporating silver flakes and micro silver spheres in heat-resistant flexibilised bi-epoxy matrix. New types of materials and technologies have also been developed, targeting much higher thermal performances than conventional ones. Thus, a specific process has been established to manufacture a metal-polymer composite, based on polyimide fibres network infiltrated with metal alloy. Two generations of this material exhibit respectively 19 and 48W/mK of effective thermal conductivity. Thanks to their extremely high thermal properties, Carbon Nanotubes vertically orientated and infiltrated by a polymer matrix represent a very promising technology for future thermal interfaces and are under investigation within the project. The thickness control of the thermal interfaces is also a critical feature of the heat dissipation path. A surface modification technique based on micro-machined Hierarchical Nested Channels

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(HNC) has proven its efficiency to reduce the final BLT by >50% for the majority of TIMs on 1-250cm2 interfaces. It also allows the reduction of the squeezing time during interface assembly. Advanced surface modifications at nano-scale such as gold nanosponges surface enhancement technique are also under evaluation to decrease interfacial contact resistance. Fine-pitch CNT bumps reported with isotropic adhesives are serious candidates as future flip chip interconnect technology. In addition, specific works are carried out to build accurate test benches dedicated to the thermal and electrical measurements of thin and highly conductive layers. All these activities are also supported by high-end modelling and simulations using molecular dynamics, FDTD and analytics methods. The benefits of these technologies will be evaluated in different applications to demonstrate improved performance of microprocessors, automotive and aerospace high-power electronics and radio-frequency switches. Nanopack fills several gaps reported by the ITRS roadmap and covers several ENIAC strategic research agenda focus topics in the heterogeneous integration area.

Nanopack consortium The Nanopack consortium comprises 14 partners in total, representing eight European countries. »» Major industrial companies: Bosch (Ger); IBM (Swi); Thales Aerospace (Fra); Thales Research & Technology (Fra) »» Innovative SMEs: FOAB Elektronik (Swe); MicReD Mentor Graphics (Hun); Electrovac (Aus); Berliner Nanotest und Design (Ger) »» Academic groups: Budapest University of Technology & Economics (Hun); Fraunhofer Insititut IZM (Ger); Chalmers University of Technology (Swe); Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology (Sp); VTT Micro and Nanoelectronics (Fin); Institut d’Electronique de Microtechnologies et de Nanotechnologie (Fra).

The Nanopack consortium gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the European Community through the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) grant agreement n°216176.

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NANOPACK

Nanotechnology

NANO KTN

Connecting technology, catalysing innovation The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network hosts a range of events that encourage networking between key market players The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network (NanoKTN) is one of the UK’s primary knowledge-based networks for Micro and Nanotechnologies, set up by the Technology Strategy Board. The NanoKTN promotes and facilitates knowledge exchange, supports the growth of UK capabilities, raises nanotechnology awareness and provides thought-leadership and input to UK policy strategy. The NanoKTN’s primary aim is to encourage and support organisations to collaborate and share knowledge with key partners in attractive end user markets, to achieve growth of the UK nanotechnology sector. One of the key methods to ensure networking between key market players is to facilitate interactions through events.

To date, the NanoKTN has hosted over 50 physical and virtual events, covering topics from nanomaterials and nano-electronics to life sciences and food. Presentations from high-profile and experienced speakers, along with varied subject matters and unique venue locations, have ensured that the events are always a success. Exhibitors and delegates have testified that attending events hosted by the NanoKTN has increased sales and had a significant, commercial impact on their businesses. As a result of the NanoKTN’s events, businesses have also made vital contacts that have led to strategic partnerships and helped support the continued growth of the UK nanotechnology market.

Success Story: speeding up the discovery of new materials The NanoKTN has actively supported the materials development company Ilika following its spinout from the University of Southampton in 2004. In particular, the NanoKTN has directly organised some first-class networking opportunities in the UK and overseas which have supported them from spinout to listed company, raising £5.2m with an IPO market capitalisation on AIM of £18.7m. Ilika plc (AIM: IKA) is an advanced cleantech materials discovery company. It accelerates the discovery of new and patentable materials using a unique high throughput technologies (HTT) process for identified end uses in the energy, electronics and biomedical sectors. This process enables hundreds of scalable materials to be made in a single, automated operation and subsequently tested for key properties. In May 2010, Ilika raised £5.2m before expenses through the issue of 10,147,059 Placing Shares at 51 pence per share. On Admission, the company had 36,569,359 Ordinary Shares in issue and a market capitalisation of approximately £18.7m. Ilika’s first major activity with the NanoKTN was as a delegate on the German Nanomission in 2008, a high-profile workshop and networking event held at the British Embassy in Berlin. Ilika joined other innovative nanotechnology companies in the UK to meet with German organisations to discuss the application of nanotechnology to the needs of the energy and environment sector. The mission resulted in an 82-fold return on investment on the funding from the Technology Strategy Board. The AIM IPO of Ilika is excellent news for the nanotechnology industry. The NanoKTN’s key aim is to support innovative companies to create wealth for the UK industry. The NanoKTN has worked intimately with Ilika from spinout to listed company and the results have been tremendous.

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Success Story: Covesion growth exceeds 85% By attending NanoKTN events, Covesion Ltd has gained access to key funding opportunities from the Technology Strategy Board and EPSRC, enabling a company step-change from university research idea to commercial success. NanoKTN support has helped Covesion achieve year-on-year growth exceeding 85%. With highly distinctive IP spawned from the University of Southampton, Covesion is a leading producer of PPLN (Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate) and its magnesium oxide doped counterpart (MgO:PPLN). These are materials that can be used to change the wavelength (colour) of incident laser light. Using their unique manufacturing processes, Covesion is undergoing a rapid expansion, supporting many high-growth markets such as: Laser-projectors (next-generation displays), Terahertz Generation (3D Imaging Equipment) and OPO systems (for spectroscopy/ material analysis). Attending events hosted by the NanoKTN has enabled Covesion to link with local UK technology companies, allowing them to improve processing costs and timescales and form strategic partnerships that will promote mutual future growth. Covesion is the only European-based manufacturer of its technology and currently only sees competition from companies in Asian states such as Japan. The versatile materials offer benefits to many markets including the entertainment industry, healthcare and homeland security. Covesion is the only company in Europe offering this type of technology and with the vast number of applications it can be used in, the NanoKTN recognises how vital it is to support. Covesion is working within an annual billiondollar market and there is no doubt it is going to bring huge wealth to the UK.

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Success Story: NanoKTN project partnering event delivers €£2.5 million funding Around 10% of an automotive engine’s power is lost through frictional losses which globally represents a huge wastage of fuel with resulting higher “greenhouse” gas emissions. Proposing to tackle this problem, a UK-led consortium has received funding to develop an advanced engine oil, and the success of this consortium was due to a partnership developed at an event facilitated by the NanoKTN. The consortium has secured over €£2.5m funding for the UK partners to aid further development into a new generation of fluid lubricants based on nanomaterials. Finding the right partners with the right skills is an important starting point to developing a successful consortium to bid for European Commission funding. The NanoKTN had met with two particular companies, BHR Group and Infineum, and subsequently assisted BHR organise an “open house” partnering event, to which NanoKTN invited Infineum. The outcome was their collaboration on developing a bid to the EU Framework 7 programme. The NanoKTN plays an invaluable role in connecting businesses and is critical to the development of a more complete supply chain. By hosting events and creating networking opportunities, the NanoKTN aims to support the growth of UK capabilities and raise nanotechnology awareness.

For more information on how you can be involved with the NanoKTN and the nanotechnology community, visit: Website: www.nanoktn.com.

Nanotechnology

NANO KTN

vision

innovation success A dynamic network of technical knowledge and business experience

accelerating nanomaterial commercialisation

Forging connections, lowering risk and creating alliances

delivering wealth through the nanomaterial revolution visit www.nanocentral.eu

t +44 (0)1642 442 464 NanoCentral at the Centre for Process Innovation Wilton Centre, Wilton, Redcar, TS10 4RF

success through nanomaterials

Tel: 01642 442 464 Website: www.nanocentral.eu

A gateway to market As world-class experts in nanomaterials technology, NanoCentral offers a range of solutions and services to help business get their goods to market The innovation process is generally poorly understood, but is the core process underpinning the emergence of new products and services. New products such as low-energy lighting or scratchresistant touch screens don’t come out of thin air. They are the end point of an often unrecognised innovation process. The UK is good at the starting point of the process, namely science-based discovery especially within universities. The UK spends about £3bn per year on basic research and is among the leading countries in filing patents and gaining Nobel prizes. However, it has a poorer record in converting the science into technology and an even poorer record in translating that technology into marketable products. Typically, the process from science to market takes about seven years and every £1 invested in basic research requires another £64 before the product reaches the market.

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The UK is weakest in the translational step that “proves” the technology can be made to work at industrial scale, although there are a few specialist organisations such as The Centre for Process Innovation and The Welding Institute, who can assist in de-risking that step of the process. This compares with 60+ state supported Fraunhofer institutes in Germany, the VTT institute in Finland and the likes of Battelle in the US, with its multi-billion-dollar turnover. The use of such translational bodies significantly reduces the risk (and cost) of scale-up. Governments and development agencies in the UK have a role to play in helping the translation of publiclyfunded science into wealth-creating industry. Some RDAs such as One North East already play such a role. Let us explore an example of the process: the use of nanoparticles by industry. The UK government in the early years of this century

Nanotechnology

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Nanotechnology

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launched an initiative to help the UK benefit from the emerging field of nanotechnology. Much of nanotechnology is delivered by structuring materials at the nanometre scale. (A nanometer (nm) is one thousand millionth of a meter: for comparison, a red blood cell is approximately 7,000 nm wide; a water molecule is almost 0.3nm across; a human hair is 80,000 nm wide.) People were interested in the nanoscale (which we define to be from 100nm down to the size of atoms (approximately 0.2nm)) because at this scale the properties of materials can be very different from those at larger scale. A significant part of this UK government intervention was the creation of an expert industrial alliance now known as NanoCentral in July 2006. This was designed to rectify a market failure in the supply chain for nano-particulate materials. Such materials are forecast to play an increasingly crucial role in market sectors as diverse as pharmaceuticals, plastics, inks, coatings and electronics. Their use offers enormous potential for new product innovation, which in turn creates substantial customer benefits, adding value to brands, refreshing products nearing the end of life and delivering entirely new products to meet evolving needs. For manufacturers, nanomaterials can shorten the production process, save energy and raw materials and increase efficiency. The supply chain from synthesis, dispersion and characterisation of the nanomaterials into formulated products was incomplete, had a high capital cost of entry and lacked some key processing steps. The NanoCentral operation, critically, was hosted within The Centre for Process innovation, which provides engineering support and translational expertise. Government provided funding of capital assets at the semi-technical scale on an open-access basis facilitated greatly reduced cost of market entry for smaller companies. In essence, instead of each new entrant having to invest in equipment in the early stages of development, they could use government-funded assets on a day-rate basis. NanoCentral has become the pivotal gateway for businesses seeking to improve existing products and develop new products using nanomaterials to connect with a network of key technology providers. The aim has been simple: to accelerate the safe commercial use of

nanomaterials by constructing a co-ordinated and reliable supply chain. Backed by the Technology Strategy Board, the Regional Development Agency, One North East and the Centre for Process Innovation, NanoCentral is based in the traditional heart of the science and chemical sector on Teesside at the Wilton Centre. As world-class experts in nanomaterials technology, NanoCentral can overcome problems that companies are already facing, or assist them develop innovative bespoke solutions. Not only can NanoCentral provide access to expertise, via its leading-edge technologies and facilities within its extensive alliance of Providers, it can enable companies to demonstrate solutions at semi-technical scale. NanoCentral continually captures emerging technologies from a wide range of industry sectors and academia and makes these available to all the emerging market sectors. The key advantage NanoCentral offers is access to facilities to create and test these nanomaterial solutions in a cost-effective way. Over the succeeding years, the NanoCentral industrial alliance has greatly expanded its range of technologies and equipment in line with customer demand. NanoCentral uniquely provides existing and potential manufacturers and users of nanomaterials single-point access to an integrated and comprehensive set of nano-related capabilities that encompass:

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Development of underpinning science Synthesis Dispersion, functionalisation & formulation Application development Characterisation & measurement Safety, health and environment.

There are real societal benefits to be gained by the safe development of nanomaterials ranging from improved drug delivery, water and land clean up to lighter and stronger composites and lower carbon transport. In the last couple of years the number of commercially available nano-enabled products has grown from a handful to multi thousands of products in the consumer market. However, this is only the beginning: Lux research forecast that by 2015 the market for nano-enabled products will be $3.1tn.

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Energy

A new burst of energy The Energy Generation & Supply Knowledge Transfer Network was launched as a completely new KTN last year and is going from strength to strength

In accord with the Technology Strategy Board’s Energy Generation and Supply (EG&S) strategy for 2008-2011, the EG&S KTN was established with an initial focus on several technology areas: offshore wind, wave and tidal, carbon abatement technologies (including higher efficiency plants, biomass co-firing and carbon capture & storage), hydrogen and fuel cells, maximising oil and gas resources and future emerging opportunities. In common with the other KTNs, the EG&S KTN seeks to accelerate the UK innovation and increase uptake of business opportunities in the UK and globally. In achieving this, one of the main tasks for the EG&S KTN is to bring together the many and diverse stakeholders that make up the complicated EG&S landscape – and as reflected in our focus areas.

The KTN has also held a number of bespoke events in each of the technology areas where specific technological challenges are addressed. Examples of these are a workshop on installation technical challenges for wave & tidal devices held as a pre-show event at All-Energy 2010 and an international seminar on the role of hydrogen in meeting the challenge of energy intermittency. In addition to focused technical innovation, industry challenges often need a broader approach. For example, while offering massive opportunities the growing UK offshore wind industry represents a dramatic demand on manufacturing, supply of materials, skilled labour, infrastructure and services that far exceeds the available resources of any single UK region.

This cross-cutting theme was central to the first of our major events in March 2010 when the EG&S KTN hosted a workshop on National Ambitions for Power Generation in the UK. This was held in London and attracted around 180 delegates to a programme covering all aspects of Power Generation.

In order to help the supply chain to best position itself in this market the EG&S KTN partnered with The Crown Estate in an evidence-based review on the arising opportunities and key challenges for UK businesses in offshore wind energy industry. This study was conducted alongside the 12 Supply Chain Information Roadshows staged by the Crown Estate and included input from 776 SMEs, large enterprises and academics.

The event is set to become an annual showcase for the EG&S KTN and plans for the 2011 workshop on “Post 2020 Priorities for the Energy Generation and Supply sector” are well underway.

The recommendations from that study are to be published in quarter 4 of 2010 and are expected to lead to a programme of tightly focussed workshops covering issues ranging from port and

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Proactively, the EG&S KTN is working with the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) to help UK industry and academia gain more benefit from EU funded energy programmes. This focuses on the EU FP7 energy themes, Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) and the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan). The next FP7 (Energy) work package is being formulated and will be published in early 2011. This work package will focus on developing technology that will support the SET Plan while generating jobs and economic benefit across Europe. The KTN is helping identify capability that could be employed to realise the aims of the SET Plan and, through meeting the scope of the forthcoming FP7 work packages, increase the amount of funding won by UK organisations. Further, on the theme of international programmes, we are working with the Energy Research Partnership, and other KTNs, on a rationalised strategy for international engagement across a wide range of energy technologies. On the UK funding front the EG&S KTN has supported the recent set of Technology Strategy Board competitions in wave and tidal stream technologies through promotion of the competitions and providing a partner search and brokering service. Similarly, partnering with NAMTEC and the Joule Centre, the KTN organised 2 information days to promote the Technology Strategy Board’s Nuclear Feasibility competition. Each event attracted over 80 attendees and 26 projects were submitted as a direct result of partnerships that were brokered at those events. The nuclear information days also marked the expansion of the KTN remit to include the nuclear sector. This was phased to dovetail with the revised nuclear support structure for the emerging UK nuclear new build programme. As well as new build, the EG&S KTN will also support nuclear in-service and decommissioning/waste management issues. The communities served by the EG&S KTN continue to grow as we move into the area of Smart Grid. And represent this area on a cross-KTN Special Interest Group on Smart Meters, Smart Homes, and Smart Grids. This work will be underpinned by an EG&S KTN report outlining the strategic priorities and commercial opportunities for the UK which would arise from the deployment of a smart grid in Great Britain. This report is to be published in quarter 4, 2010.

transport infrastructure, through component and service supply to large-scale fabrication capabilities. A particular area of focus is to make the Energy Generation and Supply funding arena easier to navigate and so the KTN has been designed as a “one stop shop” for all stakeholders in a sector where grant funding and knowledge sharing opportunities are provided by a range of different organisations. For example, one such organisation is the European Commission whose funding programmes for energy projects include Framework Programme 7 (FP7) Energy and Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE). The KTN and Energie Helpline UK have initiated a partnership to ensure that UK organisations are guided efficiently through the funding landscape and supported effectively with their bids for funding.

On the near horizon we will be engaging with the bio-energy community and promoting working groups on energy storage and intermittency. As with the original technology areas the KTN depends on an active and engaged community to make any initiative worthwhile. If you have an interest in any of the EG&S technology areas described above, or indeed, any that are not, please join the KTN. On our website, you will also find contact details for all the KTN delivery teams and guidance on how to become an active member of our web based knowledge forum.

For more information, visit: Website: www.innovateuk.org/energy/ktn

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Energy

Going beyond the boundaries To reach the EU’s objectives, there are a number of non-technological barriers in the way of success for renewable energy and energy efficiency. Patrick Lambert of EACI explains how Intelligent Energy – Europe is putting innovation to work to achieve the goals Innovation without borders In a union of 27, the diversity of national practices can be a factor of complexity as well as a tremendous source of inspiration. Innovation takes a whole new dimension here, particularly in the area of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. What is already a well-established standard in one country might come as a breakthrough advance in another country. The EU's Intelligent Energy - Europe (IEE) funding programme deals with this non-technological kind of innovation. IEE fosters the effective transfer of best practices and know-how across EU borders. For the countries that are lagging behind, this represents a unique chance to catch up and learn new methods, practices and techniques. Likewise, the frontrunners stand to gain from this exchange as their best practices get even stronger support, wider recognition and broader outreach. In a nutshell, the programme is a win-win for the organisations and individuals taking part in the project, their countries, and Europe as a whole.

Addressing the soft factor Old habits die hard. In order to be effective and far-reaching, new technologies, standards and techniques must overcome many hurdles, including those of public awareness, social acceptance, skills, and general trust. It takes time for innovative insulation techniques to become mainstream practices in the building sector. Building a wind park in a neighbourhood can hardly happen without the full understanding and endorsement of the local communities that are affected by it.

It is commonly held that innovation can only go hand in hand with research and technology. As Europe comes to grips with the global energy challenge, there is no denying that the research and development of new technologies will play a major role. But when it comes to issues such as security of supply and climate change, technology will only be part of the solution. To reach the ambitious 20-20-20 objectives that the EU has set for itself, a number of non-technological barriers to the success of renewable energy and energy efficiency still lie in the way. The ability to install and operate renewable energy systems, for instance, requires proper training and certification. Improving the energy efficiency performance of a building takes specific skills and expertise which are often hard to find. It all boils down to a gradual change of mindset and lifestyle which is already happening, but needs a further push.

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The IEE programme addresses what we often refer to as the ‘soft factor’ of innovation, which is crucial to turning Europe's creativity into new sustainable energy practices. So the IEE programme helps innovation. Let's see how, with a couple of concrete examples of projects supported under the IEE funding scheme.

Public street lighting goes smart There are approximately 60 million outdoor lighting points across Europe – one for every nine inhabitants – with an annual energy consumption of about 60 terawatt hours. The IEE-funded project E-Street showed that over 60% of that consumption could be saved by switching to intelligent systems like adaptive street lighting and high-efficacy lamps, thanks to a two-way communication system that allows each lighting point to be controlled remotely. Public lights can be switched on and

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Energy

intelligent energy – europe

Innovation isn't just about technology. New ideas, practices and methods can lead to a better quality of life in our cities

off automatically and gradually, depending on local weather conditions, traffic density and various road characteristics.

system which is not properly installed will prove to be of no use, if not dangerous.

E-Street has already convinced several municipalities in 12 countries to switch to adaptive street lighting systems. In the city of Oslo, this has helped the administration to save as much as 70 percent of energy in public lighting while cutting CO2 emissions by 1,440 tonnes per year.

While the use of renewable energy systems in buildings is on the rise, bad installations can spoil the reputation of this promising sector. As stipulated in the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive, by the end of 2012 all member states must have a certification system in place allowing the mutual recognition and accreditation of installers.

But in spite of such strong evidence, the lack of information and the fear of high investment costs and financial risks are still a big deterrent for local administrations in other parts of Europe. Many municipalities are simply not aware of the opportunities available to them to improve the efficiency and overall environmental friendliness of their public road lighting. Building on the success of E-Street, ESOLi another IEE project, is now bringing the project to the next level, helping particularly Central and Eastern Europe countries to take inspiration from countries like Norway and The Netherlands, where adaptive street lighting is already a reality. A brilliant idea of ESOLi is to involve the European Lamp Confederation in the project consortium, which proves essential to gain the commitment of various companies producing energy-efficient lighting equipment. The project also provides the EU decision makers with invaluable input as to how to go about future technical standards and regulations in the outdoor lighting sector.

Confidence in renewable energy Making a building run on renewables is a serious business. When placing a new solar panel on the rooftop or a biomass boiler in the cellar, many things can go wrong. A renewable energy

Addressing the certification gap is the key objective of another IEEsupported project called Qualicert. Pulling together a consortium that includes builders, installers, producers, training providers, accrediting bodies and national energy agencies, Qualicert is analysing the best certification practices in leading countries such as France and Austria in order to apply their key strengths – with the necessary adaptations – to countries where the installation business is less developed. Besides facilitating the transposition of the Directive into national law, the Qualicert project is set to have a positive spin-off with public decision makers and legislators, helping member states realise just how critical the training and certification of installers is for the actual uptake of renewable energy applications in Europe's buildings.

Patrick Lambert is the Executive Director of the European Commission's Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI), in charge of managing several EU funding programmes, including Intelligent Energy – Europe. For more information, visit: www.ec.europa.eu/eaci

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Loughborough University Sports Technology Institute Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park 1 Oakwood Drive, Loughborough, LE11 3QF Tel: +44 (0)1509 564819 www.sports-technology.com

Driving innovation in sport Loughborough University Sports Technology Institute is uniquely placed to drive innovation and enterprise in the sport and leisure sector and develop cutting edge technology to support elite athletes

The Institute has established an international reputation for its work with global brands including adidas, Dunlop-Slazenger, Head, New Balance, Nike, Reebok, Speedo and Umbro. Its researchers are named inventors on global products, including the adidas Jabulani 2010 FIFA World Cup Football, the Reebok Deck, and the Dunlop-Slazenger Synergy golf club.

Speedo commissioned the Institute’s spin out Progressive Sports Technologies to help scientifically assess its new triathlon suit that was developed using LZR Racer swimsuit technology, as worn by Michael Phelps and Rebecca Adlington.

A 25-year history of collaboration with major brands has helped launch ground-breaking sporting products, including all adidas major tournament footballs since 2004, Canterbury and Nike’s World Cup Rugby shirts, Spalding’s leather-feel synthetic basketballs, Head’s advanced composite tennis racket range and Callaway Golf’s Big Bertha iron. Burton is the latest global brand to partner the Institute. The Colorado-based snowboard giant seeks to embed advanced manufacturing technologies developed at Loughborough University into its core product range.

Loughborough-based elite triathletes were used to validate Speedo’s claim to have developed the lightest and fastest-drying triathlon suit on the market. Launched in January 2010, the Speedo LZR Racer Tri-Pro has received widespread acclaim from both the high performance and mass markets. Its commercial success has initiated a global roll out of this and new triathlon products in early 2011.

The Institute is helping UK brands to remain at the forefront of innovation. These include Umbro, for whom it helped develop the England World Cup 2010 football shirt, and Reebok Fitness Equipment that has commercialised a number of products invented at Loughborough. The Institute’s researchers are part of a £1 million research project to develop footwear optimised for the individual athlete that will ultimately be mass-produced. The project transfers the University’s advanced manufacturing expertise to leading running shoe specialist, New Balance. New Balance has a substantial manufacturing base in Cumbria (producing circa three million pairs of shoes per year), which has been recognised by a Queens’ Award for Export. The UK’s SMEs are also tapping into the Institute to boost competitiveness through innovation. A recent example is Nottingham-based start-up Technology 18 with which it is developing advanced carbon composite kayaks.

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John Edwards

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Loughborough University Sports Technology Institute

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Loughborough University Sports Technology Institute

Lincoln City Council

Andy Weeks

Supporting talented athletes

Encouraging physical activity

One of a select few innovation partners of UK Sport, the Institute is developing novel equipment, apparel and footwear for British Wheelchair Basketball, British Swimming, British Cycling and Winter Sports to help lead these sports to world-class success. Its work has already helped support gold medal winning performances by Team GB athletes, including Danielle Brown (Archery, Bejing Paralympics) and Amy Williams (Bob Skeleton, Vancouver Winter Olympics).

The Institute’s partnership with the Youth Sport Trust and Sainsburys Active Kids soon sees the launch of multi-use play equipment to encourage more physical activity in and outside schools. Fitness equipment invented by Institute spin out, Progressive Sports Technologies, enjoys strong sales in both health clubs and home use. Reebok Deck, developed in collaboration with Reebok Fitness Equipment, has sold 70,000 units into health clubs and Ab-Pump, Progressive’s latest Reebok product, is available on the high street.

benefiting the manufacturing base

A two-year project between the Institute, Progressive and playground equipment manufacturer Playdale resulted in the launch of i.play, a new concept to engage the ‘Playstation generation’ in outdoor play. Walkers Crisps (PepsiCo) choose i.play as the premier feature of its Parks for Life initiative and Gary Lineker opened the first installation in Leicester in 2007. The focal point of over 52 playgrounds across the UK, i.play has generated around £1 million revenue for Playdale.

Loughborough University and UK Sport are working on a major Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council initiative with Imperial College London to develop pervasive sensing technologies. The project involves Loughborough’s manufacturing engineers developing miniaturised wearable and trackside sensors to continuously monitor athletes’ physiological performance during training and competition. The underwater monitoring technology that Loughborough has developed for British Swimming is being exploited within the automotive and aeronautical sectors where the ability to monitor products in challenging environments is crucial. Ford Motor Company is one of the companies working with Loughborough to evaluate the technology.

Loughborough University Sports Technology Institute would be delighted to hear from any organisations wishing to engage in partnerships to share expertise for mutual benefit. Contact: Professor Mike Caine, Director Loughborough University Sports Technology Institute m.p.caine@lboro.ac.uk

Andy Weeks

James Ruskin

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Transport: the innovation challenge ahead A look at the work of the Transport KTN

The appointment of a Director of Transport KTN in late spring this year signalled a renewed focus by the TSB on innovation in an industry critical to the UK economy. Transportation not only links people to their communities, it links people to jobs and delivers products to markets through supply-chain logistics. According to the Office of National Statistics (Blue Book in 2009), transportation and storage industries directly contributed £54.3bn or 7% of total GVA to the UK economy in 2007. Indirectly, transport enables over 50% of UK economic wealth. The demands on transport regularly exceed the capacity of the systems – we all experience this at some time, more often than not in the peak hours of our daily commute. Transport planning has therefore become increasingly important, with professional modellers, statisticians and computer experts seeking to address the challenge of demand and balance the loads imposed by pedestrian and vehicle traffic across the UK transport infrastructure networks. Pollution is a major consequence and concern from increasing transport activities. Transport contributes 24% of CO2 emissions in the UK, and therefore represents potential for a significant contribution to CO2 reduction targets; under the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, the UK has committed to reducing CO2 emissions to 34% of 1990 levels by 2020. Action by the industry to tackle public travel demand and meet climate change targets needs to be channelled through innovation that encourages:

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Modal shift away from road networks to rail and short sea shipping The use of alternative energy sources Behavioural change in transport users, for example drivers and pedestrians Advances in materials and vehicle construction.

A combination of these innovations and a significant growth in interchanges designed to encourage modal shift, will lead to growth in personalised transport, waterborne (inland and short sea) and railway transport. In the current economic situation facing the UK, challenges and growth opportunities will have to be met through better, integrated use of existing infrastructure. Data and the provision of information services will be key to releasing capability from infrastructure networks. The recent PTRC conference highlighted technology as one of the ways of ensuring transport continues to develop against a background of restricted resources. The conference also identified that planners and service providers still have much to do in placing the customer at the centre of transport systems design – delegates were encouraged to go beyond transport as an operational research problem and put themselves in the place of the customer. The Transport KTN (TKTN) has already anticipated the trends; at the cross-sector (road, rail, marine) workshop on the 27 May, the effective dissemination and sharing of data was proposed as a strategic initiative for service providers and users of infrastructure.

Transport

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Transport

transport ktn

Better real-time data capture, coupled to improved information delivery and new transport software applications will lead to improved benefits for the customer and better value for money for the taxpayer. The future lies in the use of information to support better decision making – to manage traffic in real-time, advise customers on their routes and public services, and planners on where best to invest in infrastructure improvements. The May workshop engaged over 60 participants over the half-day in understanding the common challenges and where there are synergies for pooling expertise and innovation to benefit UK industry. A systematic demand-driven approach to innovation emerged, based on clarity of product roadmaps and underlying technologies. Analysis of supply chain models for each industry sectors was explored, and out of this came an assessment of where the TKTN should best invest scarce resources for strategic benefit.

TKTN innovation programmes Transport sector product roadmap convergence: each transport sector has evolved at different rates with the adoption of technologies. The purpose of this programme is to make sure product roadmaps are captured, documented, articulated to the SMEs within the sector, for sharing between the sectors. A workshop run with Marine Industries Leadership Council (MILC) in July brought together for the first time naval defence, commercial marine, leisure marine and marine renewable industry communities within a strategic framework. Nine themes emerged from the day, which will be supported by the TKTN through the connect website. TKTN and MILC are actively pursuing i-ship, a strategic initiative to set down a ubiquitous technical standard for systems integration that will enable the UK to take a world lead in design and fit-out. Transport supply chain innovation: through improved understanding of supply chain structures in each transport sector, the TKTN will know more of how SMEs interact and collaborate with each other, the research networks, and the trade associations, and how the TKTN can best use its resources to improve supply chain performance. Much has been spoken about supply chains and the TKTN is clear that performance improvement will only come through a holistic programme approach. The KTN has commissioned desk research into the structure and key issues facing supply chains in each sector (road, rail, marine), coupled with an analysis of innovation performance, in respect of ‘best practice’. Depending on the results of this research, the Transport KTN will seek to run a series of UK-wide events through local agencies such as RDAs, for SMEs. Decarbonisation, energy storage and management: energy storage and management is a key challenge for all sectors as they seek to reduce operating costs and meet increasingly stringent CO2 emissions targets. This work will expand the current evolutionary model from fossil based fuels, through hybrid power and electric/battery, to fuel cells, in order to determine where the UK can add value and leverage our current lead in automotive power systems. This programme will look to extend the UK’s lead in battery technology and discharge management, engaging universities such as Imperial College (control) and Southampton (lithium air) in

technology innovation and establishment of an independent test facility. The requirements and market positioning will be determined through roadmapping/planning, engagement of the academic community with manufacturers to better exploit IPR, and the participation of wider stakeholders in the establishment and marketing of a test facility. Harnessing real-time data for transport applications: recent announcements such as LondonData Store reveal there are large volumes of data, both historical and real-time, created and stored in many public sector systems. Example data sources include traffic and environmental monitoring, vehicle, ship and fleet operations, network management systems for road and rail, as well as data on individual travellers. Effective harnessing of the rich data available in transport has the potential to not only transform the effective use of transport assets in both public and private sectors, but that of individual businesses and information providers who serve the transport sectors. The three main application areas for real-time public and private sourced data are Traffic Management, Customer Information Systems, and Transport Planning. Road User Charging will become a cost effective reality with the virtual tracking innovations the TKTN is seeking from the proposals to the TSB’s autumn funding call on Harnessing Data. This is therefore a strategic programme. The Transport KTN will engage each of the transport sectors in carrying forward work already begun in defining Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) for their respective sectors, with the TKTN leading specification of the application requirements and scoping out challenges for innovation.

Transport KTN future destination The TKTN is advocating a highly selective approach to innovation; history shows several blind cul de sacs for transportation, from steam driven carriages to the Sinclair C5! What is clear is that by 2050, digital infrastructure will be ubiquitous, passengers will have become customers, road and rail transport will be largely de-carbonised, and aviation and shipping will have to have become much more fuel efficient (see DirectGov website) The TKTN will encourage and lead the sharing of research, products, and new services across all modes of transport. Through social media the TKTN will ensure that SMEs and key industry players involved in each mode can learn from each other; we will bring in expertise and ideas from outside the usual transport mindset, and help all stakeholders work together to deliver more efficient, safe and clean transport. TKTN and our partners have established knowledge and reputations as thought leaders in our respective areas of expertise. The ultimate challenge and final destination is bringing this together as an integrated transport system for one of the most crowded countries on the planet. Innovation is essential to managing the complexity while improving service to the customer, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing costs for the infrastructure providers.

For more information, visit: Website: www.ktn.innovateuk.org/web/transportktn

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Eco-innovation

Strength in synergy The Environmental Sustainability KTN works across all industry sectors to catalyse innovation in environmental technologies The UK has a long and distinguished tradition of both research excellence and business innovation, but sadly these two strands have often existed in parallel, with only limited interaction between research establishments and companies. In order to strengthen the economy, commerce and academia need to work closely to find the synergies that surely still exist. Innovative small businesses in sectors such as services and construction have crucial roles to play in recovery from a recession that has seen a decline in the influence of UK manufacturing internationally. It is also vital for UK industry to meet the challenges of a low-carbon economy, as highlighted by the new coalition government, and to purvey the knowledge globally. The Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network (ESKTN) was established by the Technology Strategy Board to accelerate the UK’s transition to a low-carbon, resource and energy-efficient economy by connecting businesses, universities, other research organisations and government agencies. The ESKTN works across all industry sectors to catalyse innovation in environmental technologies. The ESKTN has an impressive portfolio of over £35m worth of research projects, £10m of which is held by industrial researchers. Its growing membership database of over 6,000 contacts interested in innovative environmental thinking is drawn predominantly from the private sector, with supporters in public, regulatory and voluntary agencies. It also facilitates access to international working groups, advisory panels and networks, and 180 active collaborating organisations. ESKTN identifies industry challenges, connects Members, brokers new collaborations, and facilitates access to development funding. In delivering these benefits, the ESKTN is now actively drawing on the Technology Strategy Board’s web-based platform ¬connect, currently supporting over 18,000 online Members. This powerful platform hosts all the Board’s Knowledge Transfer Networks, and also provides a networking space where Members can collaborate, share information, join interest-specific groups, and find potential

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partners. Members benefit from current insight and perspectives, alerts to emerging partnerships and funding opportunities, access to publications and analyses, opportunities to provide input to policy development in the UK and Europe, and much more. Guided by a powerful Management Board, including leaders from major companies such as Viridor, Wates Construction, Heineken, Arup, BIFFA and SITA, the ESKTN has a dedicated delivery team of science and technology experts split between offices in the University of Oxford and C-Tech Innovation Limited. The Network is directed by Professor Carolyn Roberts, a water resources specialist. Recent enhancements to the team’s expertise and experience have included the recruitment of Knowledge Transfer Managers Dr Anna Weston and Dr Anne Miller, both based at the University of Oxford. Anna Weston is an organic chemist with experience of the pharmaceutical industry, who previously had responsibility for road-mapping activity at the Royal Society of Chemistry and is providing the KTN with expertise on commercially viable carbonreduction technologies and carbon-sequestration options. Anne Miller, meanwhile, is focusing on land management and sustainable food. Anne’s background as an applied ecologist has included field and laboratory studies of the impacts of pollutants on managed ecosystems, from soils to aquatic environments, farmland to moor. Over the past few years, the ESKTN has been involved in a huge range of business investments and new commercial enterprises, spanning many sectors of the economy. For example, in the building products sector, support from the ESKTN assisted with Clayworks’ successful application to the Shell Springboard Fund to accelerate the development and market introduction of new products. Clayworks developed a range of sustainable products including compressed earth and clay blocks, and ready-to-use traditional and pigmented clay plasters. From 2011, Clayworks expects to be contributing to the commercial supply chain of zero-carbon

Eco-innovation

Environmental Sustainability KTN

Eco-innovation

Environmental Sustainability KTN

building, transforming traditional building techniques into new innovative products. New jobs are emerging now. Severn Trent Water plays a leading national role in the water industry in increasing energy efficiency through biogas generation. An ESKTNallocated Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council CASE studentship held jointly by the University of Birmingham and Severn Trent is enabling the development of a diagnostic tool to determine whether sludge digesters can benefit from trace element supplementation to boost biogas production. Depending on the final outcomes of the work, the benefits will be extended to the wider UK and international water industries. The ESKTN is working with Rotherham NHS Trust’s Zero Waste Forward Commitment Procurement (FCP) Team, designing and facilitating market consultation that has brought together a highly engaged cross-section of potential providers of waste management technologies and services, and other public sector bodies to work with the Trust. The FCP strategy is being designed to encourage innovation amongst the suppliers, enabling the Trust to progress its objectives of sending zero waste to landfill, reducing carbon emissions, and improving material and energy recovery. Ultimately this activity will result in a groundbreaking approach to zero waste management for the Trust and an important exemplar for other public bodies to follow. New zero-waste solutions are expected to be deployed in 2012, with full integration by 2013.

Following the ESKTN’s support for their application, Himag Solutions won a no-stringsattached Shell Springboard SW Regional Award of £40,000 in February 2009, and went on to win the National Award in March 2010. The financial boost and management support from Shell resulting from the National Award, has unlocked huge market potential for Himag’s energy efficient transformers a fundamental component of thousands of electrical devices. The award is enabling Himag to grow their business much faster, realising their ambition of providing a manufacturing technology which tackles energy inefficiency at source. Above all, the accolade of being named the Shell Springboard UK Winner gives Himag real credibility in the eyes of their customers and potential investors alike. The ESKTN has helped GENeco to secure funding for first trials of a biomethane-driven vehicle. The British sustainable engineering firm has since developed a pioneering biogas-powered car called the Bio-Bug, based on the VW Beetle, capable of covering 10,000 miles per year on the fuel potential of human waste flushed away by 70 households. Featured on the BBC and in the national press, it is a great example of the outcome of ESKTN support. For more information and links to full case studies, visit: Website: www.innovateuk.org/sustainabilityktn. Membership of the Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network is free at the same address.

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Giving business a new energy A look at how The Energy Institute helps to deliver professionalism and good practice in energy management

Over the past 10-15 years, energy has garnered more attention and awareness in both the media and political arena. In an era of wide-screen plasma televisions and regular international travel, we are living in an increasingly energy-intensive society. Fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, gas) still account for the majority of the UK’s energy consumption and are a major contribution to the increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This increase has been identified as a significant factor towards climate change, resulting in the need for a global reduction in emissions. As the world begins to acknowledge this, it has resulted in a U-turn in focus from fossil fuelled power generation to low carbon technologies to combat climate change on a scale the likes of which has never been seen before. In parallel, a growing number of conscientious individuals have continued to work quietly in the background, maximising energy efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption, motivated by both the need to reduce CO2 emissions and to make financial savings. Energy efficiency has always offered a win-win solution. It is the biggest way in which both individuals and organisations can play an active role in tackling the energy challenges that lie ahead, and that can also make a difference today. For the time it takes to build new nuclear power stations and fully demonstrate and test carbon capture and storage technology, effective energy management practices can have an immediate effect both on CO2 emissions and the bottom line. Unfortunately, not all organisations have a dedicated energy manager – often the role is taken by facilities, estates or environ-

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mental managers who have many other competing demands. The good news is that attitudes are changing. What was once seen as a “nice to have” role is becoming essential for forward-thinking organisations, as shown by the increase in numbers of energy managers in the UK and worldwide. Energy efficiency continues to move up the government agenda with increasing worldwide pressure to sharpen energy efficiency legislation and create new incentives. Central to this strategy is the launch of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (formerly the Carbon Reduction Commitment). It is a mandatory scheme applicable to those organisations who have one or more half-hourly electricity meters settled on the half-hourly market; and who used at least 6,000MWh of half-hourly electricity during 2008. This is the clearest signal from UK Government yet that it takes the importance of energy management seriously. Essentially, the CRC is a carbon emissions trading scheme, designed to provide a financial incentive to reduce emissions by placing a price on carbon. Participants will have to purchase allowances equivalent to their emissions each year. The more CO2 an organisation emits, the more allowances it will have to purchase, providing a direct incentive for these organisations to reduce their emissions. Those organisations involved will be required to give details of their energy consumption, and these will be used to compile a league table. Revenue from the sale of allowances is either deducted from or “recycled” back to participants dependent upon their position within the league table. A healthy performance against the baseline year will generate a bonus, while the worst performers will incur a financial penalty. In addition to the clear financial incentives, the

Eco-innovation

The Energy Institute

www.concerto.be

BEYOND COMPETENCE

While expertise is one of our main strengths, we do not think it is enough. Above all, a real partnership rests on individuals and the quality of their relationships. Relationships based on listening, trust, proximity and sharing. It is through enthusiasm and understanding that large projects get built. With about 3,300 employees around the world, Tractebel Engineering (GDF SUEZ) is one of Europe’s major engineering companies. We offer state-of-the-art engineering solutions and consulting to power, nuclear, gas, industry and infrastructure customers in the public and private sectors. Tractebel Engineering is part of GDF SUEZ Energy Services, one of the business lines of GDF SUEZ.

www.tractebel-engineering-gdfsuez.com CHOOSE EXPERTS, FIND PARTNERS

scheme will also affect organisations’ reputations because the league table will be published each year. The CRC is an example of market forces being harnessed to provoke positive actions and it should be welcome news to all those who have been “banging the drum” and investing time and money in energy efficiency. However, those who have yet to integrate good energy management into “business as usual” should beware. Registration began on 1 April this year and those organisations eligible and required to participate in the scheme must register by 30 September. Heavy fines are in place for those who fail to do so. The introduction of the CRC aims to tackle the estimated 5,000 large public and private sector organisations responsible for around 10% of the UK’s emissions – a further 15,000 organisations that use at least one half hourly electricity meter, but less than 6,000 MWh will still need to register and declare their electricity use. There is currently quite a bit of debate over whether the CRC will actually make a significant difference and whether the costs will outweigh the benefits and provide enough incentive to invest in energy efficiency measures. However, if nothing else, the scheme is raising the profile of energy efficiency; suggesting that moving towards reducing energy on a wider scale will become more pressing. A good place to start is with the BS EN 16001 energy management standard. Launched in the UK by the BSI in 2009, it is the only standard to focus solely on energy efficiency. This standard was the first of a wide ranging portfolio of standards aimed at supporting the European Energy Services Directive with an emphasis on improved energy efficiency. Designed to help organisations establish the systems and processes necessary to improve energy efficiency, this should lead to reductions in cost and emissions through systematic management of energy. It is intended to apply to all types and sizes of organisations, accommodates diverse geographical, cultural and social conditions, and takes into account legal requirements and information about significant energy aspects. It also requires organisations to measure their consumption; conduct an audit and investigation as to exactly where energy is being consumed; draw up a list of opportunities for making savings; and incorporate them into energy policies. These standards may not be mandatory but they provide a formal structure to energy management, outlining good practice to developing effective energy efficiency measures, thus saving you money. However, while new energy standards have generated much interest in Europe, there is still a shortage of energy expertise in organisations, and more importantly a lack of awareness and recognition at boardroom level of the contribution energy efficiency can make.

However, despite those responsible for energy management often being highly skilled, offering a whole-systems approach to energy efficiency, the role and responsibilities of energy managers has not had the authority and status it deserves.

Chartered status for Energy Managers In recognition of the important role energy management plays and with a desire to raise standards and recognise the valuable professional role of energy managers, the Energy Institute (EI) has introduced the title “Chartered Energy Manager”. Over many years, the EI has supported these individuals through developing the original National Occupational Standards for Managing Energy, by providing a vocational qualification, open learning qualifications and short courses. And now, by introducing this title, the EI will enable individuals undertaking such professional development to achieve the highest standards of competence and commitment. This new chartered title is only available from the EI and will support and recognise professional practitioners who manage energy to reduce use, increase efficiency and reduce emissions. But why is this so important? Chartered status is a visible mark of quality, competence and commitment, and can offer a significant edge in today’s competitive environment. It is important to be able to provide a recognised award to those qualified and experienced in energy management, offering independent validation and integrity, reflecting an individual’s professional training, experience and qualifications. And, in turn, it is hoped that this will raise the profile and valuable contribution of those working in energy management. Never has energy management been more pertinent. The provision of this new title of “Chartered Energy Manager” to recognise the skills and experience of this crucial role, along with the launch of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and the BSI energy standards, are all aimed to provide an ever greater range of support, to meet the growing industry demand.

The Energy Institute The Energy Institute is the leading chartered professional membership body for the international energy industry, responsible for the development and dissemination of knowledge, skills and good practice, working towards a safe, secure and sustainable energy system. Supporting all those studying and working in energy, and with over 14,000 individuals and 300 companies in membership, it offers learning and networking opportunities to support career development. Delivering professionalism and good practice, the EI addresses the depth and breadth of energy in all its forms and applications, providing a scientific and technical bank of knowledge for industry.

For more information about chartered status, training and development for energy managers, please visit: Website: www.energyinst.org

Buildings account for approximately 40% of the UK’s carbon emissions, and so those responsible for energy management play a vital role in making buildings work more effectively and sustainably. From monitoring energy bills to spearheading capital projects, they are often central to championing a culture shift in the workplace to lead new directions and encourage colleagues to consider how they can improve their own energy use.

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Eco-innovation

The Energy Institute

Eco-innovation

anemos-jacob GmbH

anemos-jacob GmbH Oldershausener Hauptstr. 22, 21436 Oldershausen, Germany Tel:+49 (0) 4133 210696 E-mail wind@anemos-jacob.de www.anemos-jacob.com

Innovation in wind resource assessment Herbert Schwartz, anemos-jacob GmbH

Why is ‘innovation’ commonly conceived as something positive? Strictly speaking it means simply ‘renewal’, but whilst ‘renewing’ is understood as putting something used back into a more or less original state, ‘innovation’ is commonly employed to describe an improvement. In contrast to ‘progress’, ‘invention’ or ‘modernisation’, innovation describes an evolutionary development which raises quality by making an existing product or procedure cheaper, more elegant, more precise, simpler, more versatile or less consuming etc. Its positive character seems to be least questioned compared to the other words above. The present contribution describes why anemos-jacob GmbH (aj) considers innovation to also be the best route for improvements in wind resource assessment. For convenience, it has become common to use the term ‘wind resource assessment’ for a range of activities needed in the wind energy sector. Strictly speaking, hardly any of our clients wants to know the wind resource of a site. They are interested in: »» the expected average energy production of a planned or existing wind farm »» the variation of energy production with time »» the mean and extreme atmospheric conditions as far as these are relevant for the fitness of wind turbine types for the site »» an optimised selection of turbine type and wind farm lay-out. Of course, the wind resource needs to be known in order to give appropriate answers, but this little direct interest in the wind and its structure may be one reason why there has been relatively little research and improvement in this topic during the past decades. Before discussing evolution and revolution in wind resource assessment, it should be noted for completeness that major improvements could be achieved in this sector simply by applying existing knowledge and techniques: a) It is an almost daily experience for wind resource specialists to receive measured wind data without any documentation or with just little (or wrong) information on where and how these have been captured. All over the world we have learnt at school how to document experiments and, I admit, most of us have hated that but it definitely made us remember these lessons forever. So why, when it comes to providing the base information for projects that

cost many millions, are they commonly omitted? There is no other area in wind farm development where a few more hours spent can be similarly valuable than when a wind measurement set-up is documented in detail over its entire lifetime. b) Another possibility to improve the accuracy of many wind measurements at hardly any cost would be to follow the internationally agreed recommendations of the International Energy Agency. These were issued in 1999 but the majority of wind measurement installations still ignore them. c) Finally, it is common to use the cheapest possible measurement equipment. The cost of high quality and more precise equipment (most of which is produced in the UK and other European countries) is still nearly negligible compared to the overall cost of the development of a wind farm – it simply needs to be used. The wind is a very complex physical phenomenon. Its character changes dramatically between day and night, between landscapes and latitudes. Wind specialists still regularly find surprises and, between each other, happily admit that we still have a lot to discover and learn. This makes our work exciting every day. Being a relatively young and dynamic branch, the wind energy business seems to prefer revolution to evolution. Since the wind flow models, measured data and information at our disposal are not fully satisfactory, an impressive number of companies have emerged during the past 10 years with new wind flow models, tools, instruments and data sets. The market happily expected miracles from each new development and was ready to pay much more for them than for the previously established techniques. Surprisingly, this behaviour seems to still be going on after many deceptions. For instance, aj agrees that the potential of three dimensional flow models is much bigger than that of the WAsP model, which was developed more than 30 years ago and is still the most wide-spread wind flow calculation tool. But aj has seen only very few examples where in practice the results gained with a three dimensional flow model were significantly more realistic than those obtained with WAsP. There still seems to be a long way to go until real progress is made in this area. Aj shares this search but successfully pursues,

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for the daily work, a more evolutionary approach by learning what the deficiencies of WAsP are and how to live with them. For example by comparing: »» the measured change of wind speed across the different measurement levels at met masts »» the differences of wind resource between several met masts at the same site »» the differences in energy production between the individual wind turbines within many wind farms with the corresponding differences obtained from model calculations it was found that many of these model errors show systematic patterns, eg in the vicinity of forests, depending on the region or as a function of the geodetic height. Knowing these errors, manual adjustments are made as deemed sensible when using WAsP. This reduces the uncertainties attached to the results significantly. It may sound obvious that such an approach is taken (and for more complex flow models as well) but it is still considered as fringe by the mainstream. Clearly much more time is then needed compared to simple ‘drive-through’ calculations and reports. The competition between revolution and evolution also characterises the market for wind measurements. About 10 years ago, remote sensing devices called SODAR appeared on the wind energy market and were hailed as the future of wind measurement (after having been used in meteorology for quite a while) thus replacing the common measuring masts equipped with cup anemometers. This fashion calmed down after a few years for cost, technical and practical reasons. The measuring masts kept dominating the market. They simply became bigger and were enhanced

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for easier installation. aj’s particular approach when designing wind measurement projects is to use more cup anemometers than is common, which helps reducing the uncertainty regarding the wind speed profile and the extrapolation to higher levels above the mast. Meanwhile, new remote sensing devices called LIDAR have emerged on the wind energy market (again after being known for some years in meteorology). These cost a multiple of SODAR instruments but they are the latest ‘must have’. The reader may already suspect what aj is using instead: improved SODAR instruments that have been developed over the past few years and which offer higher availability and better accuracy than the previous ones. These come ready for use on trailers and can be moved easily from one place to another. Depending on the project, aj partly pursues a new strategy, which is to operate two SODAR instruments in parallel. This allows for determining fast the difference in wind resource between two places, eg between one site where the wind resource is already known and a new site, or between different locations at the same wind farm in complex terrain. anemos-jacob GmbH is an independent specialist for wind resource assessment, initially established as anemos in 1990. It now houses the largest group of wind resource experts in Germany. The leaders are the meteorologist and specialist for regional climate modelling Prof. Dr Daniela Jacob, and the aerospace engineer Herbert Schwartz, who had been working on wind turbine modelling, development and testing since 1984 before joining aj in 2000.

Eco-innovation

anemos-jacob GmbH

Eco-innovation

university of greenwich

For more information, contact: Greenwich Research & Enterprise E-mail: enterprise@gre.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 8331 7867 Website: www.gre.ac.uk/enterprise

University of Greenwich With its research into renewable energy, biofuels and more, the work of the University’s Bio-Energy Research Group will have a positive effect on African countries in particular The use of biofuels instead of fossil fuels is an important route by which to achieve major gains in the reduction of carbon emissions. Among renewable energy sources, only biofuels can be used to fuel combined heat and power (CHP) or cooling, heat and power systems (CCHP), and new technologies based on the exploitation of industrial by-products such as glycerol, food wastes, and agricultural by-products are paving a way forward to ensure food production is not compromised and renewable resources are not wasted. CHP describes technologies that generate electricity simultaneously with useable heat in one single, highly efficient process at or close to the point of energy use. Tri-generation technologies can provide cooling as well as heat and power (CCHP). The Bio-Energy Group at the university, led by Professor Pat Harvey, undertakes research into renewable energy, biofuels and the use of algal and non-food plant systems for CO2 capture and the synthesis of novel chemicals. The Group has expertise in the analysis, extraction and catalysis of plant and microalgal energy reserves, and researching solutions for food and plant-based ‘wastes’ for energy extraction; plant growth in contaminated/ degraded environments, and establishing global plant-based supply chains to meet future needs. Overseas project work includes capacity building in South Africa, Namibia and Ghana to create sustainable, non-food bio-oil and microalgal supply chains for providing CHP electricity, and in the future, the chemical feedstocks needed to replace fossil fuels.

couple biogas clean-up with microalgae cultivation in open ponds, offering the potential for simultaneous carbon recovery, energy capture, gas purification, nutrient sequestration and cleaning of AD effluent water. Co-development of a glycerol biofuel market is predicted to stimulate and stabilise the biodiesel industry sector providing the necessary timelines to establish alternative, new sources of glycerol, ultimately the better fuel. In this regard, significant attention is now being paid to halophytic microalgae that generate up to 80% of their mass as glycerol in highly saline environments. However, industrial-scale production of glycerol from algae still needs fundamental and applied research to optimise economical ways to deliver micro-algal glycerol from saline waters. This has now become a major theme in the bio-energy research programme at the University – a project that is expected to feature as a very significant output of the ACP programme and of great importance in Namibia, where halophytic microalgae occur abundantly in salt ponds along the coastline.

Professor Harvey is leading on a £750,000 EU-ACP sponsored ‘BioFuels Africa’ project to accelerate the capacity building of biofuels technologies in Africa. This collaborative project is taking advantage of transferable breakthrough technologies in Europe and combining these with local expertise, business incentives and specific project opportunities to accelerate development of biofuel supply chains for CHP/CCHP applications that will deliver distributed energy systems to remote locations in African countries. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an efficient way to sustainably process heterogeneous food waste and plant by-product streams to produce bio-methane for CHP and take-up of AD in Europe is accelerating. Innovative processes are now being developed to

Salt pond in Namibia – the red colour is attributable to Dunaliella Salina (red algae)

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Eco-innovation

The next industrial revolution Astrid Severin, Greenovate! Europe’s managing director, examines innovative resource and material efficiency Since the first industrial revolution in 1760, industry has based its productivity on a seemingly abundant nature, and focused on increasing labour efficiency. This situation is now shifting as it becomes clear that natural resources are scarce and the world will soon run out of some of its most valuable resources whilst at the same time labour has become abundant. For companies to stay competitive, the next industrial revolution has to focus on resource and material productivity. In the manufacturing industry, recycling and resource efficiency can unlock large potential for innovation, growth and higher profitability. In a medium-sized manufacturing company, on average, material consumption accounts for over 40% of operating costs. When adding electricity, waste and waste water treatment to the bill, material costs account for nearly 50% of all costs compared to an average of 20% for personnel costs. With this in mind, resource efficiency makes common economic sense: manufacturing companies can be more profitable by simply using less resources. It is for these reasons that resource efficiency is among the few topics SME managers are currently ready to invest in. Clearly, resource efficiency is a priority for future competitiveness. There are three main levels of innovation on which it makes sense to address recycling and resource efficiency in manufacturing, as shown in the following table: Principle level of innovation

Innovation measures to increase recycling and resource efficiency Improved product design inc resource selection, product dimensions, etc

Product

Increased product use properties, in particular product life-time and recyclability at end-of life Integrated eco-efficient product/ process design Advanced manufacturing and recycling processes Optimised operating parameters Reduction of cuttings and rejects

Process

Reduction of the use of operating fluids and supplies, including water Improvement of cleaning and conditioning processes Recycling of production wastes Use of advanced resources Transport processes Storage

Production environment / supply chain

Packaging resources and recyclability of packaging wastes Integrated supply chain optimisation (eg based on life-cycle analysis)

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At product design level, a medium-sized French manufacturer of electric ovens, Bourgeois, has ventured into a complete redesign of their product following key economic and environmental parameters. During the design phase, the functional parameters of the product have been systematically analysed against a newly defined set of environmental benchmark indicators. The impact is clear. The systematic design process has resulted in impressive reductions of the number of components (-36%), weight (-10%), external volume (-25%), effluents (-44%), water (-18%) and energy (-35%) use. The ovens are now also three times less noisy. Resource efficiency in SMEs can be approached at two levels, and in two time frames:

Short-term efficiency gains at single firm level At single firm level, investing in resource efficiency yields an average savings of 2.5% of the turnover or 5%-6% of material costs. As a rule of thumb, these savings can be obtained with no or very low investment, and they can bring a Return on Investment in less than a year. But these savings do not happen by themselves. Manufacturing SMEs need know-how and individual advice on how to go about it. This can be effectively tackled through resource efficiency audits and individual consultancy. While in-depth efficiency audits can become quite costly, a first rather simple audit is mostly enough to yield first savings at relatively moderate costs. Some Member States have already started widely rolling out such support schemes.

Mid-term efficiency gains at supply chain level The largest savings can be made when the entire supply or value chain of a product is optimised from a resource efficiency point of view. Usually, a number of different companies are involved in the production of a final product such as an airplane. The various components are manufactured by different suppliers – often in different locations – before being assembled. The output of one company is the input of another’s processes. However, very often, the output specifications do not correspond to the input needs. To make them match, many resources are wasted. On the other hand, co-operation between the different layers in the supply chain could bring about important efficiency gains, realistically assuming a savings potential of 20% of material costs within a 15-year horizon. Achieving 20% savings in an SME will require continuous efforts, and action not only at single firm level, but at supply chain level. Tapping that 20% would lift the entire sector to a higher level of competitiveness compared to other world regions. No programme deals today with the supply chain level/system level. If the EU devised support for supply chain change, it would bring unprecedented added value. But most SMEs cannot switch to more resourceefficient processes on their own. They need knowledge, consulting (individually or via professional associations), and incentives.

Eco-innovation

Greenovate! europe

Eco-innovation

Reaching out to manufacturing SMEs Resource efficiency – like energy efficiency – needs to reach the masses, and not only the best. Until now, innovation support has not reached a sufficiently large number of manufacturing players to trigger a step-change and make entire supply chains more innovative. Support remains the realm of a few who know how to get it and who are able to face the administrative hurdles. We face here in fact a systemic market failure for innovation support services to sustainable manufacturing. In order to reach the masses of companies, the innovation support instruments must be SME friendly. With the current cumbersome and slow conditions for access to funding instruments, few SMEs will be able to use any programme. One rather novel tool that is currently being tested for a number of applications around Europe is the so-called innovation voucher. A voucher is a paper that can be exchanged against a service. In the case of innovation vouchers, an SME can apply to a public authority for a voucher to help it realise its innovation plans with the help of external expertise, technical or business expertise. In the end, vouchers are just another form of public grants. But these grants have a number of distinctive features: a) they come in rather small amounts, ie between €2,500 and €50,000; b) the application is SME-friendly and non-bureaucratic; and c) it takes rarely more than a month from the moment of application until the voucher is granted.

Greenovate! Europe – open innovation for sustainable business Greenovate! Europe is a unique European group where key innovation players of the innovation value chain act through an integrated eco-innovation partnership. The group acts as hotspot for eco-innovation and links developers of new environmental technologies and services with all types of expertise needed to bring the innovation to the market. Based on this rich pool of expertise, the Group can demonstrate that green innovation is profitable to both businesses and the world we live in.

vein, companies will commercialise their unused in-house knowledge while focusing their own market activities on core strategic growth areas. Open innovation with external partners offers many advantages such as cost efficiency, risk sharing, external creativity, increased flexibility and speed. To facilitate open innovation processes with SMEs, Greenovate! Europe and its members are currently working in four publicprivate innovation partnerships aiming to develop SME friendly tools for the companies to access research, business expertise and new markets. In co-operation with industry associations and 15 national and regional public innovation agencies, Greenovate! Europe is developing and implementing sector-specific innovation voucher schemes focusing on recycling and resource efficiency in manufacturing, sustainable construction, the renewable energy sector and waste water. By 2012, at least 640 green innovation vouchers should have been granted in Austria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the UK with the support of Greenovate! Europe. The project on recycling and resource efficiency in manufacturing, REMake, is offering innovation vouchers for 265 companies in five different countries. Calls for voucher applications have been launched by the French Innovation Agency OSEO (voucher value: €15,000) and the Germany Agency for Material efficiency (voucher value: €17,550). Calls in Spain, (Navarra and Valencia), Italy (Milan) and in the UK will follow shortly. For more information on the voucher schemes, visit: demea: www.demea.de OSEO: www.oseo.fr WRAP: www.wrap.org.uk Innovhub Milano: www.mi.euroinfocentre.it Generalidad de Valencia: www.gva.es Government of Navarra: www.navarra.es

REMake: Be more profitable by simply using less resources!

Greenovate! Europe’s experts facilitate the transformation of enterprises into sustainable businesses through a process of open innovation. Through this process, valuable ideas and solutions can be sourced most effectively inside an organisation and from external resources, and new products or applications will be co-developed with lead users and key customers. In the same

The European innovation project REMake aims to design, implement and test a novel scheme to support innovation in the manufacturing industry including fabricated products, plastic products, surfaces finishing mechanical engineering. REMake has been organised as a public-private partnership involving national and regional innovation agencies, industrial associations, technical centres and innovation experts from France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, and the UK. The REMake project enables manufacturing SMEs to tap into the potential that recycling and resource efficiency offer in an easy, tailor-made way. With the support of the REMake experts, companies can assess their savings potential and can discover in a simple, hands-on manner how material efficieincy measures and life-cycle approaches increase their profitability. REMake offers: 1) Analysis of the potential for resource efficiency measures and savings in individual manufacturing companies; 2) Access to technological and business expertise through 300 innovation vouchers; 3) Organisation of special consulting and training modules for SMEs including ecodesign, life-cycle analysis and environmental standards. www.europe-innova.eu/remake Project coordinator: Uwe König, ZVO

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Greenovate! europe

For more information, contact: Dr Algirdas Šakalys, Competence Centre of Intermodal Transport and Logistics Plytines st. 27,LT-10105 Vilnius, Lithuania Tel: +370 5 274 5075/+370 68 661 66 E-mail: algirdas.sakalys@vgtu.lt

A platform for efficiency The East-West Transport Corridor Association aims to develop an important logistical link Transport and logistics, in the broad sense, is difficult to fit into a specific geographic framework and its development compared to other sectors has been mostly affected by globalisation trends. Rapid socio-economic developments and the growing power of new global economic actors imply a need for harmonised, coherent EU transport policy, as well as for inter-regional transport initiatives overriding the borders of EU countries. In this tightly interconnected globalisation process, it becomes vitally important to develop and enhance horizontal co-operation among countries, notwithstanding their economic or political frameworks, with a view to systematically eliminating procedural barriers, promoting interstate dialogue and matching national economic interests. Thus growing competitiveness inspires us to create new forms of collaboration to effectively solve transnational problems in transportation and logistics and to find the best solutions to current challenges. This summer, the companies of Europe and Asia have received a significant signal for prompting activity within interregional transportation and logistics area: the international East-West (AsiaEurope) Transport Corridor Association (EWTCA) was founded in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, on 29 June this year at the Constitutive Conference of the Association in Vilnius. The conference attracted almost 100 participants from 14 countries: Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Latvia, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Belarus, China and Lithuania. The new established EWTCA now consists of six transport and logistics business associations, 14 non-associated companies, four public administrative institutions and two universities. The methodological background for the EWTCA activity was prepared by the Competence Centre for the intermodal transport and logistics of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. This concept was based on the successful example of the activity of Lithuanian intermodal transport technology platform (LITTP), which unites Lithuanian transport business, research and administrative structures, aiming to promote intermodality and common activity in the national transport sector. Following the successful partnership examples, first and foremost the EWTCA is expected to activate the co-operation between transport and logistics companies, intermodal transport operators, consignors and consignees, governmental bodies, academic and research institutions. It promotes dialogue between the interested parties embracing the corridor with a view to addressing the emerging problems.

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The Association is obliged to fulfill these functions: »» Strengthen the co-operation between transportation, logistics companies, intermodal terminal operators, shippers and consignees, national, regional and domestic authorities, science and research institutions along the East-West Transport Corridor (EWTC) »» Initiate the simplification of cross-border procedures and documentation »» Initiate removing of bottlenecks in the development of infrastructure and operations »» Initiate and promote implementation of common key performance indicators (KPIs) and services standards along EWTC (with focus on green transport) »» Promote co-operation between private and public sectors »» Disseminate best practices and modern logistics solutions »» Support IT networks development among EWTC partners »» Represent the associated EWTC partners in the European Commission and international transportation organisations, as well as in national and regional institutions. By fulfilling these functions, the EWTCA particularly aims to develop the East-West transport corridor, which is expected in the short run to become an important and effective transport link in the global transportation and logistics chain in Europe and Asia. Furthermore, an important methodological task of the EWTCA is to realise the green corridor concept within the EWTC. The implementation of this concept will be started first in the Baltic Sea area. In this sense, the Association will assist in implementing the transport policy within the EU Baltic Sea Strategy with a special focus on green transport development. The regional perspective of the East-West Transport Corridor is the starting point for the implementation of a green transport concept. Finally, of the utmost importance, being an innovative instrument for partnership, the EWTCA should make a significant contribution and generate added value in terms of handling and developing trade flows between Europe and Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, China and other Far East countries. This shall be supported by the efficient co-operation between the shippers, transportation and logistics companies, intermodal terminal operators, national, regional and domestic authorities and research institutions considering not only the BSR market needs, but also the global trade demands of Europe and Asia.

Eco-innovation

the east-west transport corridor association

Eco-innovation

SusChem

Rethinking water in a sustainable way SusChem has joined forces with the Water Supply and Sanitation Technology Platform to look for solutions to the increasing challenge of water supply for industry and urban areas, as Ger Spork, Innovation Manager SusChem, explains need to compete. The integrated water management system put forward by SusChem and the WSSTP will include water reuse, complementary water streams and reduced water consumption. This is a true shift in thinking and demonstrates that there is a great opportunity for complementary usage compared to the current situation of competing for the same resources. The challenge of available water will clearly increase in the years to come, with the impacts of climate change and new industrial processes based on renewables. The final objective is to build jointly-funded urban-industry demonstration projects. This would be a perfect example of a publicprivate partnership (PPP). We’re on the brink of something incredible here and it’s too big for industry to do alone. Ger Spork, Innovation Manager SusChem

The EU has 36 Technology Platforms, but, as with all innovation-related areas, working together makes much more sense than working in isolation. SusChem has joined forces with the Water Supply and Sanitation Technology Platform to look for solutions to the increasing challenge of water supply for industry and urban areas. The project will be looking not only at solving problems like access to clean water globally where the industry can provide solutions but will also look at the chemical industry itself which is a major water user.

RETHINKING WATER… Water issues are complex – too complex for any part of society to address in isolation. But industry, as one of the main users of water, can take a lead and provide solutions.

The first guiding principle of the cooperation which started in 2009 is that water should be seen as a valued commodity, a precious resources, not just as a never-ending utility stream. SusChem and the Water Platform have put forward a high-level roadmap for sustainable water use in an integrated water management system between the chemical industry, urban water and value chain partners.

It is time to rethink the traditional approach – because water for public and industrial use should not need to compete for the same resource. The European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem) and the European Water Platform have taken the initiative to revalue water as a precious raw material rather than a utility product.

The need to review our society and industries’ approach to water is clear. Even WHO Environment and Health ministers identified a lack of clean water due to insufficient infrastructure and climate change as a serious threat to children’s health and one which it plans to address in the near future.

The chemical industry is building strong partnerships to provide sustainable solutions – an approach that reflects SusChem’s strategic mission to harness chemical innovation to respond to societal challenges.

SusChem – let’s talk chemistry today for tomorrow’s innovations

www.suschem.org

The new SusChem approach to water management will mean water for public use and water used in industry would no longer

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Innovation: the key to a better built environment Deborah Pullen, Director of the Modern Built Environment Knowledge Transfer Network, looks at the challenges of tackling big carbon-producing activities We are all now well aware of the need to halt the acceleration of global warming through excessive carbon emissions and its potentially catastrophic effects on the planet. Government has set the target – an 80% CO2 reduction by 2050. To have a fighting chance at achieving this target we need to accelerate the actions that will reduce our emissions.

challenge and a great opportunity, where innovation is key to achieving success.

This means tackling the big carbon-producing activities and doing it now. Even if the scientists are found to be scaremongering with accelerated projections (which is unlikely) the economic argument alone should spur us into action: the costs of fossil fuel are increasing at a rapid rate – recent research by uSwitch.com says that the average household energy bill could nudge £5,000 a year by 2020 if current price trends continue.

This is where the Modern Built Environment Knowledge Transfer Network comes in, providing a framework to enable innovation to happen more easily across the sector. Funded by the government’s Technology Strategy Board, its mission is to increase the exploitation of innovation in the built environment for demonstrated business benefit.

So far we have failed to adequately tackle buildings and homes, which account for 50% of the UK’s total emissions. All of us working in the built environment have a responsibility to get things right to develop new communities that are not only affordable, functional and low carbon, but that ultimately improve and enhance quality of life for existing and future generations. It’s a huge

It’s not just product innovation but innovative design that addresses a changing society, as well as better and cleverer working processes and practices.

To date, the MBE KTN has over 10,000 members, forming a critical mass of innovators in the built environment. Its activities support fully the Technology Strategy Board’s priorities for competitive research funding, with close alignment to the Low Impact Buildings Innovation Platform, assisted living and valueadded manufacturing agenda in order to ensure that its members are best placed to take advantage of funding opportunities and innovations from the platform. The MBE KTN also works with other knowledge transfer networks to find new innovations and technologies from other sectors that can be successfully applied in the built environment. This includes products and solutions, including materials, electronics, environmental and creative industries, and provides significant market opportunity for innovations from these industries. Working with its members, the MBE KTN has identified four priority challenge themes where innovation can be successfully applied to provide benefits for the UK economy. These themes are:

Energy and Carbon Efficiency The requirement to reduce energy consumption is driven by the need to reduce carbon emissions as well as energy bills and the continued reliance on overseas energy supply. The challenge is not necessarily to develop new products and systems, but often to use the right products in the most appropriate way. Insulation and Air Tightness, Lower Carbon Products, Lower Carbon Energy Supply and Building Controls all form part of this larger challenge. Showcasing low-carbon innovation is a key activity for the network. Recently 20 new or near-to-market innovations that addressed the carbon-reduction challenge were displayed at the MBE KTN stand at ECOBUILD2010.

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Modern Built Environment KTN

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Modern Built Environment KTN

Ranging from energy-harvesting paving slabs to waterless radiators, they were selected from entries to a competition in 2009. The overall winner (voted for by visitors to the stand and members’ online votes) was an interactive paving slab that generates energy from footfall. The Pavegen system works by converting the kinetic energy from people's footsteps into electrical energy which is stored in a battery within the paving slab. A rubber panel on the top of the slab flexes with each footstep and the force generated is used to power an energy mechanism within. The energy produced can provide power for lighting, signage and information displays without the need to wire these electrical items into the national grid. Five hours of constant footfall would be enough to power the lighting of a bus stop all night.

significant challenge for climate-change adaptation. This area of activity covers the fabric and design aspects of buildings and thermal comfort issues. It considers the need for protection from extreme external temperatures. Design for Future Climate Change is an area that the Technology Strategy Board is very much concerned with and ran a collaborative research and development call in this area in summer 2010.

Life Extension and Refurbishment

Process Efficiency

With the increased realisation that the UK has an ageing infrastructure and building stock, which has to be maintained rather than replaced, there are strong drivers to tackle performance improvement. Carrying out activities within the confines of an existing structure is altogether more challenging than starting with a blank canvas.

The built environment must be designed, built and operated efficiently to deliver optimised business performance. This challenge covers a breadth of issues, closing the circle from how we design buildings through to how users interact with buildings, including the ways in which new technologies and systems can be incorporated into the construction process.

This theme considers components of existing structures with similar or new materials to extend life or increase performance. If these solutions are to be implemented widely throughout the built environment we need to emphasise the importance of economic viability.

Systems integration has been identified as a very complex challenge for the industry. How can new systems be effectively and economically incorporated into the build process? This includes a breadth of systems from new construction systems, such as insulated concrete formwork, new environmental systems such as grey water recycling, new heating systems such as ground-source heating or new building management systems.

The Technology Strategy Board has recognised the importance of this issue through its Retrofit for the Future competition. The importance of this issue has been reflected in the unprecedented number of applications received.

Engage with the MBE KTN

Climate Change Adaptation

The MBE KTN is keen to engage a wide range of industry stakeholders in its activities. It relies on the active engagement of industry to: »» Help us further define these challenges »» Influence government priorities for increased investment »» Showcase your innovations »» Point you towards the UK’s world-leading research capabilities »» Help you find solutions from outside the built environment »» Help new companies interested in this market »» Put you in touch with the right partners to collaborate with for effective innovation.

There is a clear need for the built environment to innovate to adapt to increased frequency of extreme weather events, hotter summers, wetter winters and the associated effects of water availability and thermal comfort. Thermal Inertia has been identified as the most

For more information, visit: Website: www.modernbuiltktn.co.uk

Occupancy Experience is currently a major focus for the MBE KTN. The importance of how occupants interface with buildings is increasingly gaining recognition as one of the most important factors contributing to building performance. The industry must deliver buildings that respond to the occupants’ needs and enable them to reduce their own carbon footprints. Improvements in interfaces between occupants and building hardware will form a key part of the MBE KTN’s activities in this area.

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Driving towards an electric future Is Europe ready for an electric cars market? By Françoise Nemry and Christian Thiel, Scientific Officers at the Joint Research Council Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, examine the evidence

Important national and regional initiatives are currently being taken by the EU Member States and, in parallel, the momentum is increasing with the industrial plans for the mass market penetration of fuel-efficient conventional and hybrid vehicles and an important roll-out of electric vehicles in 2011. Also the European Commission is moving towards that direction at European level.

The European Commission Strategy In April 2010, the European Commission launched a strategy on clean and energy efficient vehicles1 for encouraging the development and eventual widespread use of this means of transportation in order to help the European car industry to strengthen its leading role globally basing its production on clean and energyefficient technologies. This strategy contributes to the Europe 2020 objectives for a smart and sustainable growth, which includes the European commitment to achieve a 20% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, a 20% share of EU energy consumption coming from renewable sources and a 20% reduction in primary energy use by 2020. With the new strategy on clean and energy efficient vehicles, the Commission wants to provide an impetus to these technologies at the European level and seize the full potential of green vehicles to contribute to fight the climate change, reduce the oil dependency of Europe and revitalize Europe’s industrial fabric. In this line, the Commission will continue its legislative programme on vehicle emission reduction including its mid term review; will support research and innovation in green technologies; and have proposed guidelines for demand-side incentives. A number of actions announced in the Communication focus on enabling this technology. Among them, ensuring that alternative propulsion vehicles are at least as safe, comfortable and userfriendly as conventional ones; promoting common standards that will allow all electric vehicles to be charged anywhere in the EU; encouraging installation of publicly accessible charging points; promote the development of smart electricity grids or updating the rules; and promote research on recycling of batteries.

JRC’s latest contributions to analyse the potential future electric cars market penetration The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is a Directorate General of the European Commission and provides independent scientific and

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technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of many European Union policies. Also in the field of energy and transport, and from various perspectives: technologies, security, savings, emissions and economic impacts. The JRC Thematic Area “Development of a Low carbon Society” addresses these issues, with the contributions from the JRC’s Institute for Energy (IE) and JRC’s Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) which is precisely, among other duties, in charge of estimating economic impacts. In this context, the JRC is studying the future outlook and potential impacts of a larger scale electric vehicle deployment in Europe. A thorough benchmark analysis of various advanced vehicle options was made at IE in co-operation with the JRC Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES) in the context of the work that the JRC does for the Information System of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SETIS).2,3. The following vehicle technologies were selected for the comparison: »» Advanced gasoline vehicle that features a downsized turbocharged gasoline direct injection engine with 70 kW power output and a starter based stop-start system »» Advanced diesel vehicle that features a downsized common rail direct injection engine with 74 kW power output and a starter based stop-start system »» Advanced gasoline hybrid vehicle that has a downsized turbocharged gasoline direct injection engine with 62 kW power output, hybridized with a 14 kW electric motor and a 2 kWh Lithium-Ion battery in order to perform limited pure electric driving (a few hundred meters up to a speed of 50km/h) »» Advanced diesel hybrid vehicle that has a downsized common rail direct injection engine with 63 kW power output, hybridized with a 14 kW electric motor and a 2 kWh Lithium-Ion battery in order to perform limited pure electric driving (a few hundred meters up to a speed of 50km/h) »» Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) with a 11.5 kWh Lithium-Ion battery, a 95 kW electric motor and a 56 kW gasoline engine in a series hybrid set-up »» Battery electric vehicle (BEV) with a 24 kWh Lithium-Ion battery and a 80 kW electric motor. To compare the key parameters of these technology options, the technologies were applied to a hypothetical generic 2010 European compact class vehicle and further technical improvements for the future years to 2030 were assumed for the vehicles and fuel/energy production processes.

Eco-innovation

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With the current and anticipated future average EU electricity generation mix as a result of the overarching European energy policy the BEV is clearly and robustly much more favourable from a CO2 well-to-wheels WtW emission perspective, when compared with a PHEV, advanced gasoline, advanced diesel and hybrid vehicles. This also holds true for a renewable fuel share of up to 25% via 2nd generation biofuel routes for the road fuels and further ICE efficiency improvements of an additional 15% from 2010 to 2030.

The performed comparison shows that a coherent policy strategy for electrification of road transport in combination with decarbonising the electricity supply can have a very positive impact on the WtW CO2 emissions of future vehicles as well as the related CO2 abatement costs. The reinforcement of smart electricity grids in Europe should further help to leverage the full potential of road transport electrification in combination with demand shaping that could go well hand in hand with an increase of intermittent renewable electricity generation.

The PHEV is between the BEV and the advanced diesel hybrid vehicle. Hence, the coming PHEVs as an intermediate step and the BEVs in the medium to long term have the potential to significantly reduce the CO2 emissions in road transport as well as the reliance on fossil fuels. If the PHEV can maintain its viability in the longer term, depends very much on its further technology evolution and its ability to maximise electric driving in reality. The adequacy of the currently used driving cycles needs to be investigated in more detail for the case of BEVs and PHEVs in this context. For the PHEV it is especially important to determine the share of pure electric driving on a sound basis as this has a direct impact on the calculation of the tailpipe CO2 emissions in the cycle.

The IPTS has recently published the report entitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Plug-in Hybrid and Battery Electric Vehicles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Market penetration scenarios of electric drive vehiclesâ&#x20AC;?4, that presents a prospective analysis in relation to two of the current bottlenecks for the diffusion of electric vehicles: the performance and cost of batteries, and the access to charging infrastructures.

However, the high cost penalty that is linked to BEVs and PHEVs will remain a problem until 2030, when learning effects could have reduced the cost penalty to a level that would guarantee acceptable pay back periods shorter than six years for the BEV and a level that is comparable to hybrid cost penalties for the case of the PHEV. If the replacement costs for components or insurance premiums are higher and stay higher than for conventional cars, it could take a longer time until a competitive level for the total cost of ownership (TCO) is reached.

Based on projections on these factors, the analysis develops scenarios for the future market for electric cars and provides indicative estimations of the impacts on energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the road passenger transport sector at an EU level. The crucial parameter driving the demand is the total cost of ownership (TCO), made up both by the purchasing costs and the variable running costs.

Higher taxes on electricity or a higher deviation between real life electricity demand and cycle demand do not dramatically increase the payback period for EVs and PHEVs in the long term.

The study builds on previous techno-economic characterisation analysis addressing the potential future evolution of costs and efficiency of critical technology elements (batteries, recharging devices, energy-recovering devices, and so on). These have been done also at the JRC, (based on in-house expertise and literature review) both at IE and IPTS.

According to the different technology characteristics, the scenarios deliver alternative technology penetration rates. The JRC study shows that the deployment of pure electric cars is expected to remain quite limited at least until 2020. On the contrary, a faster market penetration is expected in the case of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

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According to the JRC scenarios for market penetration in 2030, electric vehicles could contribute to decreasing overall European CO2 emissions from road passenger transport by a share ranging between 4% and 12%. The development of the electric car market could also reduce fuel consumption from 6% up to 20% by 2030 compared with the scenario where electro-mobility is not at all developed. The carbon intensity of the electricity mix has been kept unchanged across the scenarios (assuming the reference EU-PRIMES profile for each Member State). This implies assuming that the electromobility market penetration does not affect significantly the generation mix. Indeed, the results obtained in terms of market shares confirm this hypothesis: the policy levers decarbonising the mix rely on the renewable sector and/or the tightness of the carbon emissions caps imposed to the sector by the EU Emission Trading System.

Barriers and drivers for electric cars The two crucial parameters used for the scenario analysis have been the battery cost and efficiency on the one hand, and the access to recharging infrastructure on the other hand. Assuming different degrees of progress in both of them, a two-factor scenario table has been developed. It is important to underline that these scenarios have been limited to the EU market (a rather stagnating one compared with the growth rates in emerging economies). This makes the different scenarios differ basically in the market shares, but not substantially in the total market volume, which is the main source of divergence in other studies recently published. The technology market shares obtained for each scenario are broadly in line with them. The IPTS report shows that future deployment of electro-mobility will depend highly on grid access for charging batteries. The majority of car trips are short and related to commuting in urban and peri-urban zones; therefore most experts agree that the optimal places for locating charging infrastructure are homes, working places and public places in urban areas. Some recharging stations in motorways would also be needed. The JRC study estimates that

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the cost of developing a full charging infrastructure for the whole European Union would amount to at least €€3bn per year. Under a fast and large scale development of charging infrastructure, the market penetration of electric cars would at least double by 2030 compared with a scenario with much more limited development of recharging points. Depending on the several assumptions made, the resulting increase of electricity demand due to road transport would be 40 to 150 TWh at an EU level, corresponding to a maximum 4% of the projected total electricity consumption by 2030. This result tends to show that, for the scenarios considered, a significant (but not massive) electro-mobility share in road transport would not induce any dramatic pressure on the power market Another important barrier for the development of the electric car market is the cost of batteries, which leads to high up front expenses of electric cars. Business models can help to make the electric car more attractive by spreading these costs over the car’s lifespan. However, even on a lifetime perspective, electric cars today are still less cost effective than their conventional counterparts. Progress in battery performance and costs are possible, though. While today the price of batteries reaches up to €800/kWh, experts expect them to have a price of as low as €200-300 per kWh by 2030. Such progress will represent an important driver in future electric car market deployment. However, the study concludes that its full effects would better manifest when a complete charging infrastructure is deployed. For more information, visit: Website: www. ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu 1. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/ LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=C OM:2010:0186:FIN:EN:HTML 2. Thiel C, Perujo A, Mercier A (2010): Cost and CO2 aspects of future vehicle options in Europe

under new energy policy scenarios, ENERGY POLICY 38 (11); 2010. p. 7142-7151 3. http://setis.ec.europa.eu/ 4. http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ publications/pub.cfm?id=3360

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The National Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage

Do you want to know more about the NCCCS? Contact Dr Sarah Mackintosh, Programme Manager E-mail: sarah.mackintosh@nottingham.ac.uk www.ncccs.org.uk

Leading the way to a sustainable future The National Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage is a collaborative institution that aims to lead the world in research and training in a growing and increasingly vital global industry

Carbon Capture and Storage

interdisciplinary and explicitly target the challenges of implementing the full process chain.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has the potential to reduce CO2 emitted from fossil fuel power stations and other industrial sources by up to 90% and is vital in the mitigation of global warming. CCS technologies are considered an essential bridge between fossil fuel energy and future renewable based energy. By 2030 it is estimated that the CCS sector alone will turnover £6.5 billion per annum and support 100,000 jobs. The individual processes involved in CCS are not novel, but the full chain of technologies (capture, transport, and storage) has yet to be demonstrated together at commercial scale. Therefore the main requirement of new CCS research is that it should be

The National Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage (NCCCS) The National Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage (NCCCS) is a pioneering joint venture that brings together the combined expertise of the British Geological Survey’s CO2 storage centre of excellence and the University of Nottingham’s engineering group, one of the best in Europe. The NCCCS will be well placed to take advantage of a new industry that will abate 1.5 to 4 gigatonnes CO2/ yr by 2030 and be worth £20 billion/yr. I N N O VAT I O N

Research The Centre often collaborates with industry, international energy advisors, government organisations, universities and other research centres. It is currently involved in a number of projects in CCS, including improving capture efficiencies, compressor technologies and storage capacity assessments. One innovative area of research is the technology of mineral sequestration whereby naturally occurring minerals can be treated to capture CO2. We also work on the carbonation of industrial by-products such as aggregates and slag, which can then be re-used in the building process. The centre is working on innovative forms of monitoring of surface CO2 leakage from storage sites and in using seismic data to monitor deep geological storage of CO2. We have extensive laboratory facilities where the long-term fate of CO2 in rocks is studied in high pressure high temperature environments. Future research will likely focus on integration of the full chain of CCS technology from capture, pipelines to storage and will involve a range of geologists, engineers, mathematicians, chemists and social science experts.

Monitoring tool development â&#x20AC;&#x201C; areal atmospheric measurements

Training

Work With Us

The Centre already has experience in providing Continuous Professional Development courses and has recently run a course in China. The Centre will be running more courses throughout 2011 both in the UK and internationally. We are also planning to develop a Masters course in CCS, which will be run at The University of Nottingham and The University of Nottinghamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campus in Ningbo, China.

NCCCS are always looking for national and international partners from all areas of industry, NGOs and academia to collaborate with us; please contact us through our website for more information: www.ncccs.org.uk

Mineral Carbonates â&#x20AC;&#x201C; each 5cm by 3cm block is 40% weight CO2 and contains 3 litres of CO2.

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The National Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage

Eco-innovation

Business in the community

Learning the skills for successful sustainability Businesses play a major role in driving sustainable innovation, as Simon Lee of Business in the Community explains With the combined threats of climate change, resource constraints, population growth and growing global inequality, the world today faces unprecedented challenges. Creating a more sustainable economy – one where companies balance impacts upon people, planet and performance – is likely to require a fundamental rethink of some of the things we had previously taken for granted. Businesses will play a major role, providing new products and services to enable more sustainable lifestyles, while engaging with us as consumers to encourage widespread adoption. Sustainable innovation can occur across the value chain. It involves working with suppliers, to source more sustainable inputs; with R&D teams, to develop more sustainable products and services; and with marketers, to articulate clear sustainability messages that really resonate with customers, and in doing so promote more responsible behaviours. It is as much a human challenge as a technical one, requiring individuals to start thinking differently – as set out in Business in the Community’s (BITC) recent report, “Leadership Skills for a Sustainable Economy”. Companies that have embraced sustainability as a key source of their competitive advantage are already reaping the benefits, as the following examples show. Those that ignore the challenge risk losing market share, as more dynamic competitors – or ‘disruptive innovators’ – emerge to satisfy consumers’ rising and constantly evolving expectations.

Assessing impacts Measuring the impacts of existing products and services is a good place to start, as this helps identify opportunities for improvement and prioritise areas for action. For example, landscaping materials manufacturer Marshalls – one of our winners in this year’s Awards for Excellence – was one of 13 pilot partners for the Carbon Trust’s carbon labelling project. Consequently, it carbon labelled over 2,000 of its products and reduced emissions in existing product lines by up to 39%, while at the same time introducing a range of new low-carbon products. InterfaceFLOR, another of this year’s award winners, developed a tool to calculate carbon emissions across the whole life of its carpeting products – from raw material extraction to installation, maintenance and disposal – leading to carbon impacts per square metre being reduced by 40% over five years. PepsiCo, whose Walkers brand was one of the first adopters of the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Reduction Label – and the first to retain it for two years – subsequently reduced the crisps’ carbon footprint by 7%. Sustainability means more than just low-carbon, however. Unilever’s internal tool, Brand Imprint, enables brand teams

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to holistically assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of their products. A number of the company’s leading brands have completed the assessment – including Ben & Jerry’s, Dove and PG Tips – leading to changes in everything from the sourcing of raw materials to product formulation, product variants and packaging.

Working with suppliers While there is much companies can do internally, most of their impacts often occur within the supply chain, making suppliers a key potential source of innovation. Companies should constantly scan the horizon for new technologies and developments that could make a difference in their business, work collaboratively with suppliers to develop new ideas and, where appropriate, actively support their implementation. British Gas owner Centrica recently signed an exclusive five-year deal with Ceres Power to install the latter’s Residential Combined Heat and Power product, a wall-mountable unit which replaces conventional gas boilers, producing heating, hot water and electricity within homes. The new unit reduces the need for electricity from the central grid, and can reduce households’ CO2 emissions by up to 2.5 tonnes per annum. Centrica has also invested significant sums to help Ceres Power upscale production to the levels it requires, thereby enabling itself to win significant market share before its competitors gain access to the technology. Sodexo and Bunzl Catering Supplies recently worked together to develop an electric vehicle to deliver supplies to key sites in London – the first of its kind in the catering sector. The 7.5 tonne light goods vehicle is emissions-free and has a range of up to 130 miles, with a top speed of around 50mph; drivers can charge the vehicle at any standard three-phase socket, at only a tenth of the cost of the fuel needed for conventional vehicles travelling equivalent distances. The vehicle is helping both companies meet their sustainability commitments, whilst enhancing their ability to secure contracts with organisations that are themselves committed to improving sustainability.

Sustainable products and services More sustainable products and services can indeed become a key source of competitive advantage. Since its decision to remove energy-sapping patio heaters from its range, retailer B&Q has introduced an extensive range of new, low-carbon products and services such as home insulation, creating new revenue streams and helping to protect its position as the market leader. A number of energy companies are similarly now shifting from a model of “sell more energy” to “help more customers better manage their energy use”. Many are introducing smart meters to help households monitor and reduce their consumption, while EDF Energy recently introduced a new product, Eco Manager, which automatically turns of appliances left on standby. Sustainable innovation can also help tackle a range of wider social and economic issues, as diverse as obesity and global poverty. United Biscuits, for example – owner of the McVitie’s brand – invested over £14m utilising new technology to bring about huge reductions in the saturated fat content of its Digestives, Rich Tea and Hobnobs biscuits. In India, Thomson Reuters and Tata Consultancy Services have developed services to deliver information

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and data directly to farmers’ mobile phones, thereby helping them to achieve significant improvements in their crop outputs and incomes. Further examples of sustainable products and marketing are highlighted in BITC’s recent report, “How Can Marketers Build Sustainable Success?” As part of this ongoing workstream, BITC recently asked a group of senior marketers from organisations including the Marketing Society, Marks & Spencer and Lloyds TSB to consider how companies will need to engage with consumers in the future, in order to promote more sustainable lifestyles. The findings will feed into a major consultation currently being initiated by BITC with UK businesses to envision what a sustainable future will look like, which will in turn help inform His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales’ Garden Party to Make a Difference in September, part of his Start initiative. Start seeks to demonstrate to the public how more sustainable lifestyles could also be more enjoyable, and the garden party will support this by showcasing fun and imaginative potential future innovations.

Internal leadership Business leaders can help catalyse sustainable innovation within their organisations by having in place clear policies and strategies on key issues like sustainable procurement and carbon reduction, with people at board level taking responsibility for achieving the agreed goals. Employees should be provided with a supportive environment in which to share and test their ideas, with strong internal links between key departments such as corporate responsibility, R&D and marketing to ensure effective communication and co-operation. Sustainability measures can also be factored into the personal appraisals of relevant staff. BITC, a business-led movement of over 800 member companies, provides a range of resources to help companies integrate responsible business across all areas of their operations. We highlight and encourage good practice through our website, publications and annual Awards for Excellence. In addition, we are responsible for convening the Prince’s Mayday Network, a collaboration of organisations that have committed to taking action on climate change and growing their businesses in a sustainable way. The Mayday Network is free to join and gives members access to a range of tools to help measure, report and manage their carbon emissions, as well as materials to engage employees, customers and suppliers and a host of best practice case studies.

For information about BITC, responsible supply chain management or sustainable products and marketing, contact: Simon Lee, Research and Development Manager E-mail: Simon.Lee@bitc.org.uk Website: www.bitc.org.uk To find out more about the Mayday Network, contact: Lauren Sandler E-mail: Lauren.Sandler@bitc.org.uk Website: www.maydaynetwork.com

Eco-innovation

Business in the community

Eco-innovation

the centre for low carbon futures

For more information, contact: Jon Price, Centre for Low Carbon Futures, York Science Park, IT Centre, Innovation Way Heslington, York, UK, YO10 5DG E-mail: info@lowcarbonfutures.org, jon.price@lowcarbonfutures.org Tel: +44 (0) 1904 567714

Towards a low carbon future Bringing together renowned expertise and state-of-the-art facilities, the Centre for Low Carbon Futures promotes innovative practices for a competitive low carbon economy The Centre for Low Carbon Futures (CLCF) is a vibrant new research centre at the business end of evidence-based research, development and demonstration of low-carbon innovations. Formed by the Universities of Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York, the Centre brings together internationally-recognised expertise and state-of-the-art facilities to create added value and a strong critical mass to underpin innovation. The Centre plays a key role in “de-risking” investment into lowcarbon innovations to provide the required investment grade flows of finance into large-scale projects, which will enable the scale of solutions required to achieve the UK’s 2050 carbon emission reduction target of 80%. We provide collaborative research and pilot demonstration programmes, as well as research into the social impacts of implementation and skills solutions. Our key focus is the UK’s energy and emission-reduction requirements – with an overall objective to identify and promote innovations in technologies and processes that will lead to a competitive low-carbon economy.

How we operate Our aim is to “de-risk” investment in low-carbon technologies by working closely with businesses and other stakeholders to provide proof of concept, demonstration centres, solutions to adoption hurdles, low-carbon skills training and the carbon-accounting framework required to measure and evaluate performance. The Centre takes a unique approach to developing low-carbon solutions, working across our core university members, engaging natural and social scientists, engineers and economists to deliver joined-up solutions for industrial deployment. This is achieved by working closely with business and other stakeholders to ensure that our research is both commercially relevant and “bridges the gap” between world-leading academic research and the delivery of market-ready solutions. Relative size of funding for expertise areas

Our core activities focus on the decarbonisation of the power and manufacturing sectors and their associated supply chains, but our solutions are applicable to a broad range of sectors. Our ongoing and planned research programmes include: Carbon Capture and Sequestration technologies for the power and industry sector »» Manufacturing process emissions »» Bioenergy and biorenewables »» Renewable energy including wind and solar »» Carbon-accounting frameworks that allow industry to measure and control emissions against an internationally comparable standard »» Decarbonising city regions.

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Visit www.lowcarbonfutures.org for details of our existing projects. 94

MAIN AREAS OF EXPERTISE Together, the four member Universities of Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York bring expertise in a range of areas. This draws on approximately £200million of research funding over the past 5 years in key areas, including: »» Energy: Photovoltaics; energy process engineering; CCS; civil nuclear energy; wind and hydro energy. »» Bioenergy: Biofuels; sources of biomass for energy (e.g. algae); biorenewables; pyrolysis. »» Environment & Resource Management: Effects of climate change on ecology, biological systems, soil, water; and renewable resource management.

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»» »» »» »» »» »»

Risk, Management and Modelling: Decision support, risk management and modelling; safety; environmental impact assessment; monitoring. Atmospheric Science: Atmospheric chemistry; mesoscale meteorology. Transport: Aviation; fuels; exhausts; fluid dynamics; energy efficiency; safety; electric vehicles. Logistics and Supply Chain: Supply chain management and logistics, including marine and port logistics. Government, Policy and Regulation: Policy; water policy; environmental and marine law, and governance. Built Environment: Building materials; acoustics and lighting.

Focal area: Carbon Capture and Sequestration Carbon Capture and Storage has been billed as a primary solution to our emission and energy issues. It represents a significant lever for reducing global CO2 emissions (by -20%) by 2050 and, according to the International Energy Agency, without it, achieving our global targets could be up to 70% more expensive. Questions remain, however, over how the technology will be implemented _ questions which are made more pertinent by the challenging economic climate and tightening public purse.

We also have complementary expertise in: »» High-efficiency power generation and waste heat utilisation »» Biomass utilisation and coal combustion and co-firing »» Gas separation and generation technologies for CO2 capture, O2 generation and H2 purification »» Process integration, simulation, modelling and optimisation »» Design and operation of specialist boilers, gasifiers, turbines and related equipment »» Geological storage, including assessment and monitoring of storage sites »» Port logistics and shipping for CO2 transport and pipeline construction »» Policy, techno-economic and environmental impact assessment. In addition to CCS, our universities have expertise and ongoing research programmes on CO2 utilisation, including synthetic and process solvent applications, photochemical conversion to liquid fuels and industrial chemicals/precursors and bio-sequestration including algal sequestration.

How we engage with business

The previous UK government set up a funding mechanism and committed to a number of demonstration projects around the country, with the aim of making the UK the first choice for investment in CCS. In the UK alone, the sector could be worth more than £3bn a year and is estimated to sustain between 70,000 and one million jobs by 2030 (according to the Carbon Capture and Storage Association).

The Centre works work closely with businesses in pursuit of lowcarbon innovations that can positively impact industry, meeting both emissions targets and the competitiveness needs and priorities of industry across three distinct areas: »» Technology research and demonstration; »» Social and risk aspects of deployment; »» Skills requirement and training solutions.

However, barriers hamper near-term and long-term demonstration and deployment of this technology, not only from classic investment uncertainties and low carbon price in the EU Emission Trading Scheme, but also from significant R&D challenges that need to be overcome to ensure the technical and economic viability of CCS.

There are two main ways in which the Centre collaborates with business:

Yorkshire’s universities, in the centre of a highly intensive carbonproducing region of the UK, can provide a number of key solutions. By taking a collaborative approach to research our member universities provide a joined up and, arguably, more economic approach to creating the scale of solutions required.

Research Challenge Some of the immediate challenges facing CCS include demonstration of capture technologies, the energy efficiency penalty, technology costs, CO2 purity, and the integration of CCS into industrial applications. Furthermore, the reliability and safety of pipelines and shipping, and mapping and verification of storage potential and monitoring technologies and procedures also need to be addressed.

1) Joint projects The Centre can lead funding bids and support industry-led bids and development activities. We are currently providing pump priming funding for research to leverage large-scale EU and UK projects on the development and exploitation of low-carbon technologies such as biorefineries or CCS in an industrially collaborative context. Example 1: The Centre led a collaborative funding bid on Biomass to Power with CCS, which engaged the main UK power generators, leading academic groups and energy consultancies. Creating a strong consortium of expertise and business acumen allowed us to assess the technology and cost barriers of biomass utilisation in power generation with CCS. Example 2: One of the Centre’s member universities recently engaged in a funded collaborative project with a leading steel manufacturer and a technology company to provide a semi-scale demonstration and assessment of the technical viability of algal CO2 sequestration for the steel industry.

2) Knowledge Dissemination

Solution The Centre brings together significant expertise in CCS. Its member universities are leaders in the field, with dedicated pilot-scale testing and development facilities and research experience in fundamental and applied combustion technology, combustion modelling and system optimisation and advanced energy engineering associated with post-combustion, pre-combustion and oxyfuel capture.

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The centre runs regular workshops, roundtable meetings and conferences to help business engage with key academics and access leading expertise in our priority areas. In spring and summer 2010 we held workshops on CCS, Carbon Accounting and Offshore Wind, bringing together business, academia and other stakeholders to identify key developments, challenges and collaboration opportunities.

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Research collaboration & technology transfer

Raising the standards The UK Science Park Association is dedicated to raising the standards of science park provision through an inclusive membership policy and improvement of membership services, ensuring that the brand of Science Park in the UK is maintained as a distinct property and business development offering, not just a real estate initiative

Concourse

WHAT ARE SCIENCE PARKS?

HOW DID THEY BEGIN?

Science Parks are also known as Research Parks, Technology Parks, Technology Centres, Technopoles, Innovation Centres, Technology-based Incubators and Bio-Incubators.

Innovation locations supporting high-tech companies such as Science Parks and Incubators offer a specialist product to high-tech companies. From a property perspective the fact that the market is specialist has meant that property companies in the 1980s and 1990s had to make a positive choice to invest time and money to developing knowledge of the sector. Those companies who, for whatever reasons, chose to invest, are key stakeholders and key players in the science park movement today. The majority of these companies are members of UKSPA.

It is possible to name a property development a â&#x20AC;&#x153;science parkâ&#x20AC;? even if there is no technology transfer or support for tenants. The UK Science Park Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (UKSPA) role is to support the maintenance of high standards of science park provision in the UK through initiatives for members that help them to develop their knowledge and understanding, grow their networks and share good practice. UKSPA aims to raise the standards of science park provision through an inclusive membership policy and improvement of membership services to ensure that the brand of science park in the UK is maintained as a distinct property and business development offering, not just a real estate initiative.

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However, the story did not start with property, but rather with the process of 'commercialisation', whereby a discovery made through research can, given the right business advice, be developed into a start-up company able, over time, to generate income from the commercialisation of the idea. 1986 was the year when universities were given ownership of the intellectual property generated within their institutions. As companies began to spin out of universities

Research collaboration & technology transfer

The UK Science Park Association

Research collaboration & technology transfer

The UK Science Park Association

and the private sector, it became obvious that there was a need for physical space to support them. The public sector, in the form of Local Authorities, Regional Development Agencies and Devolved Administrations, initially viewed science park developments as property developments. Publicsector funds have been invested in capital build in an effort to provide the facilities required to retain or grow commercial activity within a particular region. By the turn of the century, the public sector recognised that this was not enough and so incubation policies were created that recognised the value of an incubation support process. The debate over the value of a process strategy over a property strategy ensued. Would a focus on process rather than property be the answer? Analysis has shown that a focus on process alone was not sufficient. A new strategy merging the two elements of property and process has already emerged and hopefully will be increasingly evident in RDA and Devolved Administration enterprise and innovation strategies in the coming years.

FACTS AnD FIGURES Estimated annual turnover of tenants: £6bn Floor space: 2.1 million sq m Number of employees: 71,000 Number of tenant companies: 3,300 Number of locations under development: 8 Number of locations supporting tenants: 71

PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT In the 1990s, partnerships between universities, the private sector and the public sector were rare and, where they existed, they were not necessarily effective. Today, many science parks are made up of partners from all three key sectors, all bringing their skills and agendas to the table. Analysis of the formative years of partnership working in the sector revealed that there was a need for improved communications between partners by recognising the occurrence of miscommunication resulting from the differing cultures and expectations of the three sectors.

Science parks continue to recognise the value of support mechanisms for their tenant companies and also regard the presence of an incubator service as a way to attract new companies to the area.

Many of UKSPA’s Business Affiliates involved in science park developments start with partnership development work, which in their view is critical.

At the same time, it has become clear that successful incubator tenants require grow-on space. So what was once a clash of “property” versus “process” is now emerging as a new era of property-process-economic development partnership.

Given the right property, partnership and process, how should the product be managed to best effect? It was during the first half of the noughties that the results of many different and disparate analyses started to reveal some of the critical success factors.

Chesterford

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Colworth

This is the beginning of a new stage in the science park evolution and UKSPA’s role is to support its members who are operating in this arena and are beginning to benefit from these new insights and developments. Recently, there has been much comment and debate regarding “third generation” science parks. Third Generation (3G) science parks are recognised as an integral part of the infrastructure that supports the growth of regional research intensive clusters (RICs). The extent of the impact of science parks on their regional knowledge economy is governed by factors outside their control, such as the calibre of research in their local university, the attractiveness of their city or region to the most talented people, the availability of risk capital throughout the lifecycle of technology-based businesses and the efficiency of local networks connecting players in the triple helix of business, academia and public sector. In short, building a science park in a region won’t necessarily guarantee the emergence of a RIC, but it’s quite difficult to identify one that doesn’t have a successful science park. The most obvious contribution of science parks to the innovation system is physical – they provide a variety of often specialised accommodation on flexible terms. Certainly in the initial stages of cluster development, private developers won’t take the risk of building speculative laboratories or data centres for an unproven market. Even in more mature markets, there needs to be innovative public/private sector partnerships to fund the provision of innovative facilities to small companies with limited cash and a short trading history. In some cases, shared technical resources can be provided to all tenants by science parks. Examples of this include expensive software development platform technology, clean rooms or sophisticated testing equipment. At the opposite end of the scale, the UK government is supporting the development of science parks around Daresbury and Harwell, recognising that major national science facilities should be accessible to high-tech firms – start-ups can’t afford their own synchrotron.

A third area where 3G science parks play a role in the innovation system is in acting as a focus and stimulus for the multiplicity of networks that are integral to their success. Sometimes described as 'optimising serendipity', science park management involves creating opportunities for interaction between the key players – entrepreneurs, academics and investors. This may be achieved through social or professional events organised by and held on the park premises but it is also a guiding principle in building design – using space to encourage innovation. So, today’s science parks and technology-based incubators are critical ingredients for a successful knowledge-based economy. They provide: »» A focus for entrepreneurial talent »» Support for high-tech businesses »» A link between businesses and universities »» Specialist offices and laboratories »» Flexible tenancy agreements »» Bespoke business support at all stages of company development. As to the future of science parks, well, nothing is certain. The economy has begun to ease out of a recession where capital was increasingly difficult to access as financial institutions attempt to recover from poor lending decisions in the property sector. We still have no real feel for the extent or nature of this economic downturn, and at the time of writing there is still speculation about the shape of this downturn, and whether or not economic recovery will be a very different shaped curve according to where you are in the world. But one thing is clear – investors of any nature will be looking very carefully at their returns from their investment in the property sector, which is why I am delighted to report that UKSPA are currently looking at a project that will create a new asset class for science parks, so that over time we can prove to the world that technology incubators and science parks are an excellent investment proposition.

A less tangible, but as important, contribution by the science park is often one of image and brand. The global competition between regions for talented people and innovative firms is fierce, and a successful science park bestows an advantage to a region trying to develop its knowledge economy through foreign direct investment.

Today, there is no better place to locate a firm wishing to undertake research or develop a new technology, and UKSPA members are seen to be providing the safest environment in the country for this type of firm.

The image of a science park can also act as an attractor to talented individuals, whose concerns are not just the first job offer but subsequent ones for them and their partners.

For more information, contact Paul Wright: E-mail: paul.wright@ukspa.org.uk Website: www.ukspa.org.uk

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Research collaboration & technology transfer

The UK Science Park Association

Research collaboration & technology transfer

Kuopio science park

For more information, contact: Dr Ilpo Kuronen, Program Director, Health and Wellbeing. E-mail: ilpo.kuronen@kuopioinnovation.fi Dr Arsi Rosengren, Development Director, Medical Biotech E-mail: arsi.rosengren@kuopioinnovation.fi Dr Marja-Leena Laitinen, Development Director, Nutrition and Food E-mail: Marja-leena.laitinen@kuopioinnovation.fi Dr Anneli Tuomainen, Development Director, Cleantech E-mail: anneli.tuomainen@kuopioinnovation.fi?

Kuopio Science Park A health and cleantech innovation hub, whose success has attracted world-class players What makes Kuopio Science Park different in the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s large science park community is our value to the city of Kuopio, Finland. Every fifth citizen in the city works or studies in the Kuopio Science Park. The University of Eastern Finland, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, University Hospital of Kuopio, and almost 200 knowledge-intensive companies constitute the heart of the innovation hub, which has firm foundations in medical and environmental sciences. The hub has been able to help plenty of new innovations spring up that have been commercialised by local companies. This success has also attracted world-class players such as Honeywell, Ark Therapeutics and GE, which have established their R&D units in the hub. Molecular medicine, combined with clinical and populationbased research, creates a new perspective to the development of prevention, diagnostics and new treatments for many endemic and acquired diseases. Furthermore, the role of nutrition, exercise, other lifestyle choices and well-being for maintaining health constitutes an important field of research and commercialisation in the hub. For the companies working in the medical field, the hub offers holistic R&D infrastructure. We have well-equipped laboratories, imaging capabilities, a GLP-grade experimental animal unit, and a number of providers for preclinical and clinical studies.

Kuopio Science Park is a compact area of innovation makers, such as the University of Eastern Finland, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, and almost 200 high-tech enterprises, all located within 1km circumference

Kuopio Innovation Ltd.

Our networks reach out to national and global organisations, financiers, subcontractors, policy and decision-makers, distributors, and alliances, among others. Innovations such as virus mediated gene therapies by Ark Therapeutics, eHealth technology and concepts by Mega Electronics, ReaScan Immunoassay platform by Oy Reagena Ltd, novel ultrasound technology for the assessment of bone-fracture risk by Bone Index, and many others, are our references of success.

Cleantech is our emerging sector, with a strong emphasis on air-quality monitoring and clean-water processing, by using, for example, sensory technologies and environment informatics. The companies in this sector usually spin-off from the academia projects, but recently foreign companies have also seen this opportunity and started to invest in the joint projects. They seek novel technologies to be used in industrial processes. New innovations are projected to produce a remarkable increase in process efficacy, especially in the paper and pulp and packaging industries.

Research and development in clinical nutrition and food safety has attracted foreign companies to establish joint projects with academia in the Science Park. One of the leading ideas is to find natural ingredients for healthier diets. Finnish arctic berries, for instance, have been a true cornucopia for researchers at the University of Eastern Finland since they have been able to characterise a number of compounds with beneficial effects on human health. These projects have been carried out in close collaboration with academia and local companies, and are good examples of how to make use of the innovations in this Science Park. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why CROs, such as Oy FoodFiles and Oy MedFiles, have established their facilities in Kuopio Science Park.

Also, reductions in wastes and emissions are looked for. For instance, Kuava offers computational models for enhancing customers' competitiveness. These tools, based on statistical modeling, are used for developing environmentally friendlier and more efficient processes and products. Numcore was established to commercialise the results of scientific projects of the inverse problems research group in the University of Eastern Finland. Numcore innovatively merges the experience and knowledge from the academic and the engineering worlds. The company has come up with a novel technology for flow-through and probe-type sensors, troubleshooting and measurement services for process industry.

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Institutionalising innovation With its flexibility and willingness to adapt to needs, the European Research Council (ERC) is contributing towards institutionalising innovation as a vital part of Europe’s future, says its President Helga Nowotny

The Europe 2020 Strategy for an Innovation Union, to be officially released in December this year, will have to tackle what I have called the institutionalisation of innovation1. This is a paradoxical task. Innovation, often defined as the success of an idea on the market, is the result of specific activities aimed at enhancing the production process or at introducing new products. While nobody doubts its importance for economic growth and societal development, its result cannot be foreseen and success remains unpredictable. Many actors are involved: individuals, firms, organisations, networks – as well as governments. Moreover, invention and innovation are continuous processes. Most important innovations go through drastic changes in their lifetime and subsequent improvements may be vastly more important than the initial idea or invention. Trying to capture this inherent unpredictability, heterogeneity and non-linearity of the innovation process, results in viewing innovation today as constituting an innovation eco-system. Helga Nowotny

So, how can any government, let alone the European Commission, steer investments in innovation and facilitate innovation if there remains uncertainty of the utility of such investment? The lessons of the past have shown that governments are not good at picking winners. The once so popular discourse on National Innovation Systems based on the idea of nationally centralised innovation is rapidly giving way to ideas of “open innovation”. A more distributed and hybrid eco-system emerges, in which public and private actors mix, market and research move closer to each other. Moreover, the ideas of collective property rights and of open access have begun to challenge the more orthodox views of intellectual property rights. What remains uncontested, however, is that innovation processes are dependent on a variety of contingent conditions: institutional, national and European contexts increasingly under the pressure of global competition; regulatory frameworks, including the role of public procurement and intellectual property rights; the specific field of scientific and technological knowledge; geographical scale and historical place; as well as the persistent Schumpeterian human element of leadership. Despite this inherent heterogeneity, research on innovation makes certain patterns visible. One is the temporal dynamics of innovation, which makes the prediction of outcomes and their timing impossible. Innovation as a political challenge remains a collective bet on our future. The other is the spatial, that is, geographical dimension, where excellence (and opportunities it provides) attracts excellence, and where innovation eco-systems emerge.

institutionalisation of innovation Much has been written on the European paradox: the alleged weakness of the European knowledge society manifesting itself in Europe’s inability to turn its enormous research capabilities into economically tangible returns. But European policy discourse often overlooks the fact that an inherent tension exists everywhere in the world between the demands of policy-makers for practical innovation and the deeply rooted interests of scientists in curiositydriven research activities. Instead of naively wishing this tension simply to vanish (or even more naively, believing that specific outcomes of the production of new knowledge in basic research can be commissioned), the tension has to be addressed – and managed. In this respect, it may be of interest to recall that 65 years ago the US government’s landmark report Science-The Endless Frontier was published. This

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European Research Council

Research collaboration & technology transfer

European Research Council

brief report, commissioned by President Roosevelt and prepared by electrical engineer Vannevar Bush, famously laid the ground for the post-war success and lasting dominance of US science and technology. In practical terms, it led to setting up the National Science Foundation. But in more subtle ways, it succeeded in managing the tension between policy-makers’ impatience for practical innovation and the pleas by scientists to continue and expand government support for research that had served it so well during wartime. By broadening the meaning of the phrase “basic research”, Bush succeeded to secure a pragmatic compromise between scientists and politicians. Basic research could be carried out for curiosity’s sake while at the same time meeting national needs2. Decades later, this view became enshrined as Pasteur’s Quadrant, which famously was defined by Stokes as “use-inspired basic research”3. Thus, when the European Research Council (ERC) was set up in 2007 as the most innovative part of FP7, many celebrated it as Europe finally having succeeded in having a world-class agency with the mission to fund frontier research at EU level. It could now compare with the role played by the US National Science Foundation (although with a much smaller budget). It was also widely recognised that the pervasive changes in the economy and in society introduced during the last 30 years through ICT, biotechnology, nanotechnology and others almost exclusively derive from the scientific and technological breakthroughs in the technosciences. Investigator-driven frontier research opens new opportunities for scientific and technological advance, and is instrumental in producing new knowledge leading to future applications and markets. Yet the question remains how to manage the inherent tension between the political impatience of seeing practical results and to foster innovation and the inherent uncertainty and risks that scientists face when actively pushing forward at the frontier between what is known and yet unknown. It is therefore worthwhile to ask whether, and if so how, the ERC can lead also in moving towards the institutionalisation of innovation. It builds on the premise that without excellent research at the frontier of science there will not be sufficient new knowledge and research technologies available to make innovative processes possible. Although not all innovation is science-based (most incremental innovation consists in continuous improvements of processes and products that already exist), there can be no doubt that radical innovation, the kind of epochal breakthroughs that lead to a complete paradigm change of the economy and society, is impossible without frontier research. The ERC’s bottom-up, individual investigator-oriented, excellenceonly based approach therefore constitutes the most promising way of building up a diverse and cutting-edge knowledge base in Europe. By supporting high-calibre as well as young scientists at European host institutions, the indispensible basis for future prosperity and economic growth through innovation is being created. The objective of the ERC to reinforce excellence, dynamism and creativity in European research will make Europe more attractive for the best researchers from both European countries and beyond, as well as for industrial research investment.

Proof-of-Concept funding With more than 1,600 granted projects in only three years, the ERC has accomplished an impressive agenda. The ERC’s activities already stimulated a healthy competition for grants

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among European scientists and scholars of high calibre on an unprecedented scale and, for the first time ever, European universities have entered a healthy competition. The ERC also had already substantial impact on national funding schemes: additional funds were injected in several countries for runner-up candidates who were deemed excellent, but could not be funded by the ERC due to budgetary limits. The term “frontier research” conveys the fact that especially in emerging research fields elements of basic and applied nature cannot neatly be separated. Frontier research technologies, that is technologies that are developed in the course of research to answer specific research questions, play a significant role in enabling new discoveries. These frontier technologies also often have a high potential for other uses and purposes outside the lab in which they originate. The US has been much better than Europe in understanding and capturing their potential and hence is expert in facilitating more porous boundaries between basic research labs and industry. The SBIR mechanism, among others, has been one of the more successful policy instruments employed towards this end4. The question is therefore what the ERC can do to take some first steps towards the institutionalisation of innovation. Three years into existence, first results of these projects are beginning to emerge. European industry and business, looking for cutting-edge research of interest to them, is invited to interact with ERC grantees. However, after successfully conducting a project at the frontier of science and in the earliest stage of an innovation, an invention or a new technology needs further verification through testing or prototypes, through the identification of a potentially appropriate market. In this period of transition, when developing a technology is deemed promising, but too new to validate its commercial potential, attracting investors who would be interested in risking their capital is particularly difficult. To bridge this period commonly described as “Valley of Death”, the ERC’s Scientific Council is now proposing a new additional granting option. From 2011 on, the new “Proof-of-Concept” funding option will provide additional money for conducting a proof of concept of an already ERC-funded project. Based on a promising invention or idea, this funding option will support the early days of a potential innovation in order to verify whether the project has market potential. This will help establish visibility and viability, clarify technical issues and overall direction, and provide feedback for budgeting and other forms of commercial discussion valuable for later stage funding. The ERC will continue with its core mission to support frontier research in the European Research Area. At the same time it acknowledges the vital importance to facilitate and open up the many pathways leading to innovation. The idea to support the commercialisation of a promising idea is not new. But it proves the ERC’s flexibility and willingness to adapt to needs when identified, and underlines once more that the ERC can contribute towards institutionalising innovation as a vital part of Europe’s future. For more information, visit: Website: www.erc.europa.eu 1. Helga Nowotny (2010) “Institutionalizing Innovation: from Schumpeter to the Europe 2020 Innovation Union”, to be published in: Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Special Issue: Knowledge Triangle Policies and Practices 2. Roger Pielke, Jr. (2010) “In Retrospect: Science - The Endless Frontier”, Nature,

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vol. 466, 19 August, 922-23. 3. Donald Stokes (1997) Pasteur’s Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation. Washington, D.C.: Brookings. 4. Jens Rostrup-Nielsen (2003) “Innovation Policy and University/Industry Relations”, The IPTS Report, no. 79, November, 26-33.

Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster Nørregade 7B DK-1165 Copenhagen K Tel: +45 33 22 02 22 www.copcap.com

Denmark’s largest cluster initiative up and running Denmark’s largest cluster initiative has been launched by a number of the country’s leading companies, organisations and public research institutions within cleantech to create a worldclass cleantech cluster. The cluster is granted by the EU, the Growth Forum for the Zealand Region and the Growth Forum for the Capital Region of Denmark, as well as by the stakeholders themselves. The objective of Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster – CCC – is to become the unifying and co-ordinating point of entry to the Danish cleantech sector, whether you are a businessman or researcher, CEO or managing director, entrepreneur or interested in cleantech. In CCC you can seek advice and guidance about the possibilities of entrepreneurship, business partners, research, technologies, patents, events, conferences and networks. In short, CCC gathers and manages all the information which is somehow related to cleantech in Denmark. As part of the project, CCC is obligated to fulfil a number of objectives. After the five years have passed, the cluster must, amongst other things, have created 1,000 new jobs, attracted 25 foreign companies to Denmark, established 8-10 public-private partnerships and formed six new industry-specific networks within cleantech.

One point of entry to Danish cleantech Furthermore, CCC is divided into five main activities. The first activity is the actual facilitation of CCC. It consists of a secretariat which operates the cluster and co-ordinates projects and activities amongst the cluster’s actors. Moreover, a number of initiatives are undertaken such as a Knowledge and Information Centre – a one stop-shop – which will ensure targeted information, advice and access to activities and relevant material to businesses, research institutions and organisations. Public and private partnerships will also be highlighted, which by mapping and visualisation of public actors’ needs, will develop new solutions and technologies. At the website energymap.dk country-specific campaign modules, development of an investor forum and Danish research and education competencies are made visible.

exhibition of Danish cleantech technologies in full-scale. The third activity, matchmaking, stimulates industry-specific networks that will strengthen companies' international competitiveness through increased knowledge sharing, formation of new consortiums, new collaborations on testing and demonstration, new development projects between the network’s actors and consequently innovation. The fourth activity is innovation and entrepreneurship. Here, entrepreneurs can get targeted information on how to find and attract the right customers, develop their product, shorten time to market and reduce development costs. In addition, help is provided to build basic facilities that cover the companies’ joint needs and benefit cleantech companies in all of Denmark, just as the technological knowledge transfer from universities to companies is to be strengthened – among other things by the establishment of a gap funding pool and completion of cleantech PhD studies.

Transparency: a strengthening factor Finally, CCC is characterised by an international outlook, and as such CCC collaborates with 10 to 15 of the world's leading cleantech clusters. This way we ensure that CCC and the Danish actors in the cluster are linked to foreign knowledge, networking and business opportunities for the benefit of all actors within the clusters. The international cluster co-operation will be a platform for knowledge sharing, identification of relationships and potential market opportunities across the clusters’ companies. Only by knowledge sharing and learning from others can all the actors within the cleantech sector improve themselves, and ‘inclusion’ is an important guideline for CCC’s work. The entire cluster way of thinking is based on collaboration between actors and the new ideas and products that are created, just as assistance to small entrepreneurs and financing of the valuable inventions all benefit the entire value chain within the cluster – whether you are public or private, large or small, new or experienced.

Increased collaboration across the industry, test and demonstration is the second activity, and here companies, in close co-operation with the research community, configure and test technologies, while the city Frederikssund in northern Zealand, which is experienced in new forms of finance, will serve as a world

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Putting people first Research Councils UK invests in people and skills to maintain the UK’s world-beating research base Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the strategic partnership of the seven UK Research Councils. By investing in training and managing the next generation of researchers, RCUK is contributing to the impact of research and helping to bring major benefits to the economic and social wellbeing of the UK. Professor Rick Rylance, RCUK Champion for Research Careers, believes that investment in people is key to the future prosperity of the UK. He says: “Research is crucial if we are to find our way out of the economic crisis and huge societal challenges facing the UK today. People are critical to research. Whether they are researchers striving to find urgent solutions to the challenges confronting society or those whose lives are touched by the discoveries of research, it is people that make a difference.”

Each year, RCUK invests around £3bn in research covering the full spectrum of academic disciplines, including the medical and biological sciences, physical, mathematical and engineering sciences, social sciences, economics, environmental sciences and the arts and humanities.

Investing in the future The UK research base is recognised as excellent and world-leading, and this reputation has been achieved through continued development of the people within it. It is not only the impact of research, but the impact that highly skilled individuals have on the economy and society that has created this inspiring global position. RCUK encourage researchers to communicate with the wider public about their work and, where possible, involve the public with the research they are undertaking. Working in schools and talking about research is another way of demonstrating the importance of research to our future. It is essential that we inspire the next generation to ensure that UK research continues to have strong global position. Working in partnership with UK business means that cutting edge technologies and developments reach the wider public as quickly as possible. Strong collaborations between research and business also make the UK an attractive base for international companies to conduct research and development. A strong research base will help to secure the long-term prosperity of the UK. By supporting talented people, their expertise will reach a wide audience and the effects of their research will continue to have an impact in the future.

Impact Research has an impact on all our lives. Whether it is an invention that makes our lives better or a breakthrough in experimental science that leads to more questions about the origins of the universe, research is important. Impact arises from the application of knowledge, skills and experience developed in the course of research. It depends on the people who apply their research, or who can see the potential of discoveries made by others. RCUK supports a wide variety of people who have an impact, including Dr Jenny Tillotson, Senior Research Fellow at Central St Martins, who was inspired by working as a buddy with HIV and AIDS sufferers and created a “wearable emotional support system”. Jenny has pioneered a new way of combining technology and fashion to deliver fragrance through clothes. The “e-scent” button technology is now being commercialised and has attracted the interest of a major UK retailer. By working with a younger audience, researchers are able to help inspire the next generation to follow in their footsteps. During his

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long and respected career, Martyn Poliakoff, Professor in Chemistry at the University of Nottingham, has worked with researchers around the world to develop applications for Green Chemistry, creating cleaner, more sustainable ways of using and disposing of chemicals. He has also dedicated a large part of his work to widening interest in chemistry and engineering in young people, and developed the “Periodic Table of Videos”, which explains the elements in a more accessible way. Other researchers use their expertise to highlight a variety of ecological issues affecting the world today. The plight of the bumblebee made front-page news in 2006 when Professor David Goulson first took his research out into the wider world. As a conservation biologist, he had become frustrated by the gulf between academic research and “practical, on-the-ground conservation”. He decided to translate what he had learned into practical conservation measures and launched the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in May 2006, which now has a membership of more than 6,000 people.

employable across a wide range of occupations. Today, UK researchers work with some of the biggest global names in business including Samsung, Siemens, GlaxoSmithKlein, Boeing, the BBC and Rolls Royce. Over 80% of Doctoral graduates are using their research skills, even though many work in roles which are not classified as research.

Research councils uk Research Councils UK is the strategic partnership of the UK's seven Research Councils: »» • Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) »» • Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) »» • Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) »» • Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) »» • Medical Research Council (MRC) »» • Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) »» • Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

Beyond research The experience of doing a PhD has a significant impact of the perceived employability and career decisions of doctoral graduates. Over 90% feel their PhD experience enables them to make a difference in their workplace. Of the 4,500 Doctoral graduates funded by RCUK each year, over half will move out of higher education and take their skills into the wider economy.

For more information about RCUK, contact: Tel: 01793 444592 E-mail: communications@rcuk.ac.uk Website: www.rcuk.ac.uk

UK researchers are very highly regarded by businesses around the world. Their specialist knowledge, skills and experience in working creatively and independently, makes researchers highly

For more information about the RCUK Framework for the Future: Excellence with Impact, visit: Website: www.rcuk.ac.uk/framework

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Regional development Richard Tuffs, Director of European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN), explains why regions have a crucial role in ensuring the Innovation Union’s success If nothing else, the present economic and financial crisis has brought home the point that Europe needs to innovate or lose out to smarter competitors looking from afar as the global herd grazes on greener pastures. This message has recently been underlined by the European Commission’s EU 2020 communication and the work on the European Research and Innovation Plan, including its vision of a European Innovation Union. According to the EU Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, the Innovation Union is about improving “framework conditions and access to finance for research and innovation so as to ensure that innovative ideas can be turned into products and services that create growth and jobs. The aim of this is to re-focus R&D and innovation policy on the challenges facing our society, such as climate change, energy and resource efficiency, health and demographic change…Every link should be strengthened in the innovation chain, from ‘blue sky’ research to commercialisation, promoting knowledge partnerships and strengthening links between education, business, research and innovation.” The failure of the Lisbon Strategy was due to the lack of ownership and buy-in at national and regional levels exacerbated by the economic and financial crisis and the resulting downward economic spiral and the insecurity of the markets about Europe’s potential to pull itself out of this quagmire. To set a vision of a European Innovation Union is certainly the right signal in these times of crisis and it remains important to get the regions on board, precisely because the EU and its Member States need active and competent regional actors with the mandate and budgets to invest in smart specialisation and the knowledge economy.

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The forthcoming negotiations on the EU budget for 2014-2020 will be a key indicator of the EU’s ambitions to promote innovation. The EU can certainly increase its productivity and the effectiveness of its spending, most of which is carried out at Member State levels for the agricultural and cohesion policy, which together make up nearly 70% of total EU expenditure. In the current economic climate, governments across the EU are currently struggling to regain the confidence of the markets and are being forced to reign in exploding public debt and cut spending. However, just as much as some governments have pledged to retain spending on education and health, so should governments resist pressures to reduce expenditure for R&D and innovation and regional agencies that can help deliver R&D and innovation on the ground such as moves by the UK government to abolish or weaken the regional development agencies. National spending cuts have increased pressure on the future EU budget. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has recently stated that, “As we reduce our deficits, I think it is very important that we both argue to make sure that the European budget is, over time, reduced rather than increased”. However, despite its obvious deficiencies, the EU is still the best show in town and its evolution has demonstrated that it has emerged stronger and more coherent from every crisis it has faced. Where would we go without it? Without a strong EU governance system, a strong internal market that recognises an increasingly integrated EU economy and increased investment in competitiveness and innovation, we may be preparing a future giant open-air museum for tourists from China and India!

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European Regions Research and Innovation Network

Research collaboration & technology transfer

European Regions Research and Innovation Network

The role of regions in innovation Innovation is the critical component of building smart economies and driving long-term economic prosperity, increasing productivity growth and if spread across key sectors of the economy) ensuring broad-based economic growth. New research published by NESTA shows that 6% of UK businesses with highest growth rates generated half of the new jobs generated by existing businesses between 2002 and 2008. It is also more and more recognised that innovation performance relies on a well-functioning system, where regions play a key role. Thus, in the context of strategies to promote smart, innovation-led growth, governments are increasingly focusing on the regional dimension or a “place-based or territorial approach” encouraging their regions to take leadership. Smart governments are focusing on regions as places, where positive externalities and formal and informal institutions are more likely to arise, supported by a policy model which is characterized by multilevel governance and where integrated interventions are tailored to places and their specific economic and societal opportunities and structural weaknesses (efficiency and equity) rather than simply focusing on sector-based policies. The key challenge here is to link the different parts of the system and its actors and create meaningful and stable interactions and knowledge flows, hence the concepts of the knowledge triangle and triple helix. Interactions often depend on geographic proximity and an ecosystem that allows new ideas to emerge, which is at the core of cluster policies aiming to create positive externalities, i.e. a virtuous cycle of competitiveness that drives innovation, improves productivity and boosts growth and jobs through new products, services and business ventures. The recent Barca Report “An agenda for a reformed cohesion policy” has backed this approach. Barca argues that any policy for innovation needs to be place-based. By definition, the knowledge base on which interventions need to be built is local. Tackling unused innovative potential, requires capacity building geared to places and it must be given adequate time to produce results.

Regions need to lead by example The ingredients are well-known, at least to some extent, but while it is the dream of every local or regional politician to replicate the success of thriving high-tech innovation clusters, it is devilish hard in practice to get the mix of money, universities, high-tech talent pool, entrepreneurship culture and attractive lifestyle options right. It is also something you can only influence to a limited extent, at least as a region. But the advantage of regions is that they are able to take a longer-term view and cultivate innovation over time. Increasing R&D excellence and R&TD infrastructures (supply push) is first and foremost about a change of culture, where efficient innovation systems (demand pull) mobilize the intellectual and entrepreneurial capacities to create an innovation friendly business environment (especially for SMEs) in all regions and in all sectors (not just high-tech). Supply side interventions are also more and more complemented by demand-side interventions. Public sector procurement accounts for around 17% of GDP – a sum that rises far higher in some cities such as Stockholm and Helsinki. Thus there is a much scope for the public sector to stimulate innovation.

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But, despite the EU’s attempts to promote pre-commercial procurement stimulating innovation, there is still wide gap between the EU and the US. The public sector can do more than encourage innovation. Public policy has enormous impact on creating new markets (for example sustainable transport, healthy ageing). While policy makers increasingly understand this lesson the public sector often lacks considerably in putting their own house in order and leading by example, for example on public service innovation, e-governance, the health system, social inclusion, promotion of innovation skills, life-long learning, and so on, all areas where the EU Commission has initiated and will initiate through the Innovation Union flagship a host of meaningful initiatives. Innovation, at least in Europe, has also become a positive metaphor for problem solving in general. Problem-solving involves partnership not fragmentation and cries out for a place-based approach advocated by the European Commission and networks such as ERRIN. Clearly, microeconomic competitiveness problems cannot be efficiently tackled by overdoses of macroeconomic or sector based policies but need integrated, place-based regional policies. Place-based regional innovation strategies and action plans integrating multilevel governance (national-regional) and horizontal (inter-ministerial) cooperation are a necessary first step while grassroots ownership of innovation strategies are required. In a nutshell: place matters, networks are critical, patience is necessary and leadership at all levels (EU, national and regional) is essential. In many regions, innovation policy is still integrated in regional policy-making. Policy makers are often educated in regional policy but not in innovation policy. In Europe, we see that more and more regions are implementing innovation measures, not only because of the EU Structural Funds have been asking for this following the strong linkages made with the Lisbon Strategy and now the Europe2020 Strategy, but also because they have learned their lessons, not least because of the transformative nature of the EU’s regional development policies. The Research and Innovation Plan and the revision of key EU policies and programmes, such as the EU’s RTD, Industry and Cohesion policy, will further promote integrated policy-making. The EU’s R&I plan will most certainly have a regional perspective, as it is recognized that Europe2020 and the Innovation Union will only work with active commitment of regional stakeholders. Regional innovation is a local, bottom-up process, but Europe (comprising its national governments) has an important role to play: providing resources, coordinating development and innovation efforts, and stimulating communication between levels of government and among regions. Without regional support for innovation, three threats dominate the landscape. First – and this is difficult to measure – some companies will simply fail to come into being, or, if launched, fail to find fertile soil for their efforts. Second, innovative new companies may have to move to find success - perhaps far from the universities and federally funded labs where the innovations themselves were developed. Third, existing companies, particularly SMEs, may be squeezed out of business, simply because they are unable to manage the transition to higher value innovative services and products.

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So, while knowledge and technology are increasingly valuable commodities in today’s world, rewards do not necessarily go to those who have a great deal of these things, instead they go to those who know what to do with knowledge, information, and technology once they get it. It is ideas coupled with the entrepreneurial spirit to commercialise them that matter most.

Regional diversity and smart specialisation Regional diversity is clearly an asset in that respect that advocates for different routes to growth through innovation and smart specialisation. Effective regional innovation policies must leverage existing strengths, competitive advantage, and local stakeholders to encourage development that maximises the competitive advantage of the region. Identifying competitive advantage is one side of the coin. The other side is a long-term and unwavering commitment by politicians such as dictated by the Europe2020 Strategy. A sustained and large investment of time, money, expertise and leadership is not only desirable but fundamentally necessary to the creation of regional research and innovation economies across Europe. Investing in cluster management, for instance, lacking immediate payoffs for politically powerful constituencies, has historically had limited appeal compared to the alternative “locational” strategy of attracting large investments from elsewhere. On a general level, we find different interpretations of innovation in the regions, for example metropolitan regions focus more on services, open innovation and living labs, other regions focus more on environmental technologies and “green growth” or creative industries and in many of the new Member State regions the challenge is still to build vital and functioning innovation systems as such. Regional innovation for most regions in the EU is still basically about knowledge absorption (education and training, advanced business services) and diffusion (technology transfer, ICT, entrepreneurship) rather than about knowledge generation (science efforts). Innovation challenges are clearly not all the same to all kinds of regions, they are differentiated according to the development level of regions. For some technological development will be the answer, for others, they need to produce other types of organisational and regulatory innovation, before they can engage in technological innovation. Having said this, for most regions the problems are not dissimilar, i.e. the lack of commercialisation expertise at many universities, the lack of access to enough seed-stage and earlystage venture capital, the lack of management talent, workforce talent and industry-specific talent to create new local companies or to upgrade existing companies, such as SMEs, and a lack of a “critical mass” of supportive individuals and businesses. The skills dimension, also promoted heavily by the European Commission through the modernisation of ESF support for regional actions or upgrading workforce skills, entrepreneurship and skills partnerships and the “new skills and jobs” flagship initiative, is crucial. Skills and talent, both managerial and workforce, are vital for regions that wish to create or expand vibrant innovation economies.

facilitating and supporting their involvement in EU cooperation projects, and galvanize public education and research institutions. While there is no rulebook – although the OECD is currently working on one with first results should be available this autumn – there is an abundance of good practice to learn from. That is why identifying and exchanging the knowledge and knowhow needed and facilitating and promoting EU projects between the regions to enhance their research and innovation capacity and link their innovation actors across Europe, are at the heart of the activities of ERRIN, the European Regions Research and Innovation Network. ERRIN is a dynamic growing European network that, currently, groups more than 90 regions in 20 European countries. Its membership includes triple helix actors such as regional authorities, development agencies, innovation agencies, universities and chambers of commerce. ERRIN derives its strength from the strong commitment of its members, nearly all of which are represented in Brussels, which has become a hub for regions interested in linking into the EU’s funding opportunities, learning from each other and doing business together. ERRIN’s thematic working groups (including ICT, Energy/Climate Change, Health, Innovation Funding and Skills, Transport, Biotechnology and Food, Science in Society/Science Communication, RTD Futures, Nanotechnology and, soon to come International Cooperation and Design/Creative industries are led and coordinated by these regional offices. This provides a two-way platform for regional officers and innovation practitioners from the regions, based in Brussels to work closely with their R&D and innovation practitioners in the regions, which imbues the network with a rare dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit akin to the ambitions of its member regions. However, ERRIN is still a young network and works hard every day to realize its full potential. Created in 2001 as an informal Brussels-based network, ERRIN saw a more formal growth phase under a European project “Regions of Knowledge” action and followed this up with a membership-based network in 2006 – a good example of a sustainable EU project. Given the renewed impetus for research and innovation at European and member state level and, of course, in the regions themselves, and our unique position to capitalise on these developments, we are optimistic that we will be able to deliver on the visions of our founding regions and be a key partner in helping deliver the Innovation Union on the ground by mobilising our members and building their capacity for the challenging tasks ahead. It is thus a particular pleasure for us to provide the introduction to this special section on regional innovation of “European Innovation” and we are looking forward to continuing this fruitful cooperation. ERRIN thanks Claus Schultze, the previous director of ERRIN ,for his major contribution to this article

ERRIN’s mission

For more information, visit: www.errin.eu

Ideally, regional innovation policies should encourage local strengths, stimulate shared advantages, encourage the creation and development of human networks, support the internationalization of its research and innovation actors, for instance by

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Harness the power of your global operations networks to create value

Executive Education In today’s globalised markets, customers are demanding more value through customised products and services at lower prices. This challenge can only be met through network-based capabilities that must replace the traditional company-centric view. Managers must therefore be able to develop innovative operations strategies to harness the power of a global eco-system and ensure sustainable competitive advantage and value creation. INSEAD has a comprehensive and unique portfolio of Operations Management programmes that will help you meet these global challenges: — Manufacturing in a Global Network — Strategic R&D Management — Supply Chain Management — International Project Management

Professor Dr. Tamas Meszaros, Rector Tel: +36-1-482-54-33 E-mail: tamas.meszaros@uni-corvinus.hu Website: www.uni-corvinus.hu

Corvinus University of Budapest A recent injection of funding aims to put this popular university at the forefront of international research Corvinus University of Budapest is an internationally recognised, high-performing teaching and research institute and a market leader in its specialist fields in Hungary. The number of students enrolled exceeds 17,300 and it has always been a popular choice amongst students. It offers everything from higher vocational training through to college and university BAs, doctoral programmes and postgraduate and adult educational programmes. Nine accredited doctoral schools conduct PhD training at the university. Corvinus University of Budapest also carries out research work extending to many areas of socio-economic life. Its research strategy is based on the university’s aim of becoming an internationally listed research centre. It was recently awarded nearly E8.5 million euros, with which Corvinus is establishing five interdisciplinary centres of excellence, in close collaboration with various institutional units and faculties: »» Sustainable development, livable region, livable urban landscape: exploration of the technical, ecological, natural, landscape and socio-economic framework of sustainable development in the Central Hungarian Region as a model area; establishment of requirement systems; analysis of the possible development processes; science-based design-theoretical development for regional development; territorial design and landscape/settlement architectural design; the development of methodological and regulatory recommendations. »» Competitiveness of the international economic processes and the Hungarian business sector: establishment of the internationally-recognised centre of scientific researches related to the competitiveness of the microeconomic, especially the Hungarian corporate, sector. »» Challenges and solutions in the food science of the 21st century, the future R&D tasks of the food verticum cluster: development of complex tandem- multidimensional-multicomponent analytical methods in the field of food qualification; molecular detection of pathogenic bacteria and fungi with new methods; development of humane food technologies and operations to increase shelf life; development of environmentally friendly packaging systems; research of food ingredients facilitating health-conscious nutrition; producing new breeds through the exploration of breeding gene pools; application of resistance research in horticultural crop production.

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»»

Knowledge-based economy in Hungary, conditions of the increase of R&D performances and strengthening of the innovative approach: promotion and encouragement of the innovational activity of small and medium-sized enterprises. Beyond the analysis of the causes of weak and late adaptation and innovative sterility, we are primarily searching for the opportunities of convergence, and want to define its conditions, introducing the best international and Hungarian practice in the SME sector. Efficient state, professional public administration, regional developments for competitive society: Corvinus University of Budapest is aiming to become one of the European centres of interdisciplinary social science researches and a scientific base for the modernisation of the Hungarian public sector.

The priority research aims to answer economic, social and environmental problems, such as: »» Environmental impact, land use and landscape structural problems of the region »» Lack of global climate change researches »» Problems of Hungarian micro/macroeconomic competitiveness »» Problems of ensuring food safety »» Low level of Hungarian R&D&I performance »» The position and disputed role of the modern state, the low efficiency of public administration. During the implementation of the project, the University is planning to involve 280 researchers and 165 PhD students. Significant lab renovations also started in the beginning of summer. The research results are expected to increase the number of publications, involve talented students in research, increase the number of academic and doctoral schools, lead to the direct appearance of research results in education, and build relationships with fellow universities and the business sector. At least 358 internationally certified articles, 65 monographs and numerous patents are expected to come to fruition. The result will be the establishment of centres of excellence that are able to ensure their survival through the use of the knowledge gained, not only for the 36 months following the completion of the project, but also long after that. The implementation of these is guaranteed by the initiated talent and mentor programmes.

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Carnot Institute

Contact Pasteur MI Director: Jean-Christophe Olivo-Marin 25-28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France Tel: +33 (0)1 45 68 85 06 E-mail : jean-christophe.olivo-marin@pasteur.fr www.pasteur.fr/pasteurmi/ www.instituts-carnot.eu

Pasteur Infectious Diseases Fostering health through outstanding research

The "Pasteur Infectious Diseases" ("Pasteur MI") Carnot Institute is associated with the Institut Pasteur, which is a private, not-for-profit foundation established in 1887. The Institut Pasteur is one of the worldwide symbols of French science and culture. This international influence is the result of a history rich in major scientific achievements. In many fields, particularly those related to infectious diseases, such as microbiology or immunology, the Institut Pasteur is a world leader. Regarding research, the main priority remains the struggle against infectious diseases with the objective to remain one of the leading institutions in the world.

Pasteur MI includes 700 permanent staff and 245 post-doctoral and PhD students working in five specialised departments (Virology, Microbiology, Parasitology & Mycology, Infection & Epidemiology, Cell Biology & Infection), dedicated to research on infectious diseases. The goal of research performed at Pasteur MI is to understand the basic mechanisms of host (in particular human) cells/pathogen interaction, to eventually develop tools to diagnose known or emerging pathologies, and perform the clinical validation of vaccines and therapeutic treatments. Our research aims to provide an answer to today’s societal expectations regarding public health problems, whether in developed or developing countries. In order to strive against infectious diseases, the Institut Carnot Pasteur Infectious Diseases will rely on results from basic research and on assistance from technological platforms, to produce major advances in the following five topics: strategies for treatment of AIDS and cancers of infectious origin; study of emergent diseases, in particular of viral origin (identification of pathogenic agents causing emergent or already known pathologies); study of resistance mechanisms to antibiotics; study of virulence factors; and the fight against parasitic diseases (malaria, leishmaniosis, toxoplasmosis etc). Pasteur MI brings together basic and applied research activities involving numerous research partnerships with SME and large pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies. Important industrials partnership recently initiated will foster in the coming years the development of new vaccines, new rapid diagnosis tests and innovative drugs.

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For more information, contact: Dr Ir Michel Morant, MscEE PhD MBA CLP, Managing Director Interface Entreprises-Université, 4, Avenue Pré-Aily, 4031 Liège (Angleur), Belgique Tél : + 32 4 349 85 10 Fax : + 32 4 349 85 20 E-mail: interface@ulg.ac.be

Since the late 1990s, it has been accepted that universities have a third mission, in addition to education and research: services to society. Even more, the university should be involved in society by taking part in cultural projects, ethical reflections, philosophical debates, and economic development. Economic development has two dimensions: the regional development (macro-economy) and the industry-university relationships (micro-economy). In both areas, the university can play a key role. Western European economies are increasingly turning into knowledge economies. The Liege Region, for instance, was based on heavy industries: mines, steel, heavy mechanics, weapons, textiles. However, since World War II, these industries have been declining, with huge losses of employment. The University became aware of its responsibility and decided to set up a science park in the 1970s, build a new campus in the 1970s and 1980s, and set up an industry-liaison office in the early 1990s, and a Technology Transfer Office in the late 1990s.

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Industry/university research

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Now, the hot spots of Liege are the aerospace industry, advanced materials, biotechnology, digital imaging, logistics and medical devices. In all these sectors, the University is fully involved in industry/university research. Setting up new start-ups also contributes to the renewal of the industrial structure and changes the image of the region. About 100 high-tech spin-offs have been created, and some are leaders in their markets. This is the more visible effect of the university involvement in the regional economy. A second aspect is seen in the region’s attractiveness to foreign investors: its availability of skilled people; access to up-to-date laboratories; being plugged into a fertile environment; and openess to the world. Furthermore, the interaction between laboratories and companies is an efficient way to pull new opportunities into the market. In the last 10 years, the relationship between academic research and industrial research has drastically changed, turning from the ‘open science model’ toward ‘the open innovation model’. The University has moved from a sub-contractor position toward a partner position. This involves new responsibilities, new challenges and new opportunities: »» New responsibilities in managing research projects and in controlling Intellectual Property

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New challenges for correctly balancing partnership agreements and for building technology transfer in order to maximise the use of research results across different business areas New opportunities to follow research and development processes right up to the actual product reaching the market, thus feeding the innovation pipe.

This new era is challenging for scientists, but also for companies and especially SMEs. By fostering the innovation network of the region, the University contributes to pulling SMEs into the global market of the knowledge economy. Patenting, licensing, startups, networking, thinking internationally, and conducting good research then becomes part of the daily routine for all steps of the innovation chain.

Disseminating knowledge Last but not least, the first responsibility of the University is to educate people and to disseminate knowledge. By offering a large scope of continuous education programs, in the technology area as well as in the management area, the University helps managers to face the changes that occur more and more rapidly. The University should be involved in all these aspects, and supported to boost the innovation culture in its environment, increasing the added value of the region. About 100 new companies in 20 years, 20 patents filed a year, 15 technology transfers a year, and 150 European research projects – these are the effective outputs of this policy.

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New opportunities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Your investment location in Europe.

It is only the perfect interplay of factors such as economic strength, infrastructure and cultural life which makes a region a strong investment location. North Rhine-Westphalia is unique in many ways. Profit from the countless possibilities and conditions that Germany‘s most populous state has to offer you. Regardless of the industry or the project concerned, this is where you find the ideal prerequisites for new opportunities. More than 11,700 foreign companies have already decided in favor or the metropolitan region North Rhine-Westphalia. Contact us – we will gladly convince you, too. As a one-stop agency we are here to support you in your investment projects:

NRW.INVEST GmbH Economic Development Agency of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) Völklinger Str. 4 40219 Düsseldorf, Germany Tel.: +49 (0) 211 13000-0 Fax: +49 (0) 211 13000-154 E-Mail: nrw@nrwinvest.com www.nrwinvest.com

www.nrwinvest.com

For more information, contact: Mag. Markus Costabiei, MBA, Executive Director tech2b National Spokesperson AplusB Incubators, Hafenstraße 47-51, A-4020 Linz, Austria Tel: +43 732 9015 5601 E-mail: office@tech2b.at Websites: www.tech2b.at www.international-incubator.com

Making ideas a reality Incubator Building bridges between research and science, tech2b is creating foundations for success High-tech incubator Tech2b is an organisation funded by the public sector that supports and promotes the foundation of innovative, technology-orientated companies in Upper Austria. As a service organisation with a focus on technological research and dynamics, we help scientists and students to put the results of their research to use in the form of establishing a company. We are leading the way into the future, to make new things possible. Research, technology and innovation change the life of everyone, yet knowledge of the processes and developments that have taken place in these areas does not spread with the same fervour. In accordance with our philosophy, we believe that the basically positive effects of research, technology and innovation are of great significance to tomorrow’s society when they are developed, openly discussed and implemented with the corresponding level of ethos and critical reflection.

critical effect We feel that the effect on competitive power – thus on growth and employment – and the contribution to solving the greatest societal challenges (climate change, scarcity of raw materials, ageing population, and so on) are critical. For this reason, as part of tech2b, we offer company founders from the academic high-tech field a starting platform that eases the beginnings and simplifies the start-up phase of the company foundation. We do this by building bridges between research and science and by supporting the foundation of technology-orientated companies. In this manner, we offer a picture of how research benefits people. We extend our offerings to those who wish to make a contribution to high-tech company foundations – whether as researchers, providers of ideas, founders, financiers, managers, or in any other role. We guide people taking corporate risks or experiencing economic success, and give room to ideas, growth, development and dreams.

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In 2001, the unique ‘Academia plus Business’ (AplusB) structural program was initiated with the support of the state of Upper Austria, the Federal Ministry and the Association for Research Promotion. This program forms the basis for the work of tech2b and makes sponsoring funds available. Up to now, tech2b has achieved 54 successful business projects, more than 38 successful business foundations with over 200 employees, more than 60 patents and over €15 million in capital made available to the benefit of the participating companies. In order to further develop the high-quality work of tech2b in a sustained manner, the tech2b team made the decision at the end of 2007 to optimise processes on the basis of their experiences to date, to further expand international contacts and offerings, to continue to make possible the access to capital, and to offer founders who have left the incubator the support that they need to achieve market entry, through the newly-conceived program “Business2excellence”. The offering is rounded off with the newly-created IT program “International Incubator Hagenberg”, which also gives foreign founders a unique opportunity to establish innovative IT start-ups.

Brain gain beats brain drain The International Incubator Hagenberg is an initiative of the Hagenberg Software Park (SWPH), implemented in cooperation with tech2b and the regional government of Upper Austria to specifically support the influx of high-tech business founders from abroad, to counteract the movement of business abroad and thus to generate jobs and value creation. Visit www. international-incubator.com for more information. In this manner, we create a better foundation for the success of your ideas, we sharpen awareness of ongoing changes as well as of the complex interaction between technological, economic and social aspects, and forge the path to a new future. This is our job, our goal, our obligation.

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Research collaboration & technology transfer

University of Eastern Finland

For more information, visit: Website:www.uef.fi/english

University of Eastern Finland With its high standard of competitive research, the university is well placed to face the challenges of the global research landscape As one of the largest universities in Finland, the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) emphasises international co-operation, a multi-disciplined approach and a high standard of teaching and research in its mission. The University was established on 1 January 2010 as a result of a merger involving the University of Joensuu and the University of Kuopio in Finland. Thanks to its high standard of teaching and competitive research, the new university is able to face the challenges of the perpetually changing global research and innovation environment. Furthermore, being one of the most important universities in Finland, the UEF aims to be among the leading 200 universities in the world. The UEF meets working life needs by providing a high level of research-based education in nearly 100 major subjects and degree programmes. The university has approximately 14,000 degree students, and about 1,100 international students study at the university each year. The innovations created in research enable the creation of academically-driven business and employment opportunities, which attract companies to eastern Finland. The high level of research also enables the creation of social innovations. The UEF invests not only in its areas of expertise and researcher training, but also in the establishment of new significant areas of expertise in education and research. The university’s efforts in renewing its research activities seek to create new avenues for multi- and cross-disciplinary research. The university targets resources in its areas of expertise in research, which comprise the most efficient and successful fields of the university. Its areas of expertise in research are: »» Forests and the Environment »» Health and Well-being »» New Technologies and Materials The university is a national leader in research relating to forests. The extensive research carried out by the university on forests and the climate, and on natural resources and the human habitat, bring together natural sciences, health sciences and social sciences.

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Academic Rector Kalervo Väänänen

Emphasising the sustainable use of natural resources, the university’s research in the field constitutes an internationally unique research cluster. As an expert in health and well-being, the university conducts research in molecular medicine to uncover the basic mechanisms behind various endemic diseases. Clinical and population-based research, on the other hand, is used to find new prevention, diagnostics and treatment methods for these diseases. Furthermore, the university studies the role of nutrition, exercise and other lifestyle choices in maintaining health. The university’s high level of basic research in natural sciences serves as a foundation for developing new technologies and applications in biosciences, information sciences, material sciences and nano sciences. The university creates new knowledge and applications for technologies pertaining to medicine, information and communication technology and the human habitat, as well as to the related technologies for their production and application. In addition to the above areas of expertise in research, broadbased expertise pertaining to Russia and selected fields of teacher education are among the areas to be strengthened at the UEF. The University of Eastern Finland co-ordinates the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in Cardiovascular Diseases and Type 2 Diabetes Research. Furthermore, the university’s research groups are involved in the Centre of Excellence in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Meteorology of Atmospheric Composition and Climate Change, and in the Centre of Excellence in Inverse Problems. The University has co-ordinated the Nordic Centre of Excellence SYSDIET on Food, Nutrition and Health, and been involved in the Nordic Centre of Excellence HELGA, investigating the health aspects of wholegrain products, and in the Nordic Centre of Excellence in Neurodegeneration. At the moment, the university’s research groups are involved in the Nordic Centre of Excellence in Cryosphere-Atmosphere Interactions in a Changing Arctic Climate (CRAICC). As well as this, the university has received an ERC Advanced Grant in Life Sciences.

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For more information, visit: Website: www.uma.es

University of Malaga Launched in 1975, the University of Malaga is one of the most dynamic and fast growing research and education institutions in Spain. It presents 18 faculties and 51 degrees and 36,400 students (among them 25% in Engineering and 14% in Experimental and Health Sciences), 2,400 researchers (27% of them in Experimental and Health Sciences and 18% in Engineering). The university’s most active research fields connected with entrepreneurship are ICT, Environment, and Renewable Energies (roughly 70% of the total). Many of the UMA research projects are also financed through other European, national and regional government programmes. Therefore, the university has a great deal of experience in European Research Programs, and participates in numerous projects within the European Framework Program, with over 20 active projects within the 6th and 7th FP. The University of Malaga has, among its main objectives, the application of theoretical knowledge into business practice, taking advantage of new technologies. This specific function is covered by the University Institutes Building that the UMA owns in the Parque Tecnológico de Andalucia (Technological Park of Andalusia, PTA), a perfect link between the academic institution and the business elite. The connection that the university and the PTA enjoy is extremely close. The Park is a place where first-class technology is produced, which explains why the university develops its more innovate projects here. The construction of a new Biocomputation Building in this park, the only one of its kind in Andalusia, is good proof of this. With little more than 25 years of existence, the University of Malaga has become a significant promoter of culture in the city, whilst at the same time providing a considerable base for technology and research in the future. Málaga University is one of the points of the so-called ‘productive triangle’ of the city, which also comprises the airport and Andalusia’s Science and Technology Park. The Technology Park is bound to the university through its highly qualified professionals, the constant flow of ideas, and advanced technologies. Furthermore, a project known as ‘Andalucía TECH’, promoted by the University of Málaga and the University of Sevilla, has recently received the consideration of Campus de Excelencia Internacional (International Excellence Campus), the most important award in the field of modernisation of universities in Spain.

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Researchs Tools European Projects Office In response to new changes in the European Programs for R&D and the excellent projection in recent years by the research community, the Office of European Projects of the University of Malaga has been created to respond to new demands and needs of its researchers, to encourage participation and facilitate the management of European research projects, technological development and innovation. Malaga University Research Results Transfer Office is entrusted with the tasks of promoting and managing the activities for the generation, organisation and dissemination of the expertise generated in the university, along with scientific and technical collaboration, facilitating interrelations between university researchers in a business and social environment and encouraging their participation in the different programmes for the promotion of R&D&I activities. Research Support Central Services (SCAI) is part of the University of Malaga, and is destined to giving integral, centralised technical and scientific support to different research groups of the university, and to public institutions and private companies. Ever since its creation in the mid-1990s, the SCAI has consolidated its position as a provider of high added value to University of Malaga, facilitating the development of the different lines of research carried out at the university and supporting the creation of new lines. Moreover, it has become one of the most notable indicators of the evolution of research at our university.

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Professor Tomasz Szmuc Vice-Rector for Science AGH University of Science and Technology al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland Tel: +48 12617 2007 â&#x20AC;&#x192; Website: www.agh.edu.pl

Environment and Climate Changes at AGH University of Science and Technology

Studies within the scope of environmental protection, research into climate changes, their monitoring, forecasting and prevention, as well as adapting to these changes, are some of the most rapidly progressing research and development areas at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow. These research subjects are an important part of scientific and research activities at the following faculties: Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection; Faculty of Energy and Fuels; Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science; Faculty of Mining Surveying and Environmental Engineering; Faculty of Foundry Engineering; and Faculty of Drilling, Oil and Gas. Research works conducted at AGH-UST are a response to growing economic and social demand in Poland and worldwide, due to existing and rising threats. An important feature of this research is fruitful collaboration with the Polish government, European Union agencies, industry and non-governmental institutions. Issues connected with the effective use of the country's energy resource base in terms of balanced development have lead to the advancement of research on natural fuel resources and reserves in Poland, and their proper utilisation. As a consequence, there is now experimental research into the processes of sorption/desorption on hard coal and mineral sorbents in the light of environmental protection, research into physical chemistry properties of coal-based and inorganic materials, combustion of natural gas with the use of nitrogen-poor oxidizers, application of layered aluminosilicates in adsorption, and catalytic processes. Research is also conducted into the resources of other raw materials, as well as fresh and mineral underground waters. An important activity area of AGH-UST researchers is studies within the scope of renewable sources of energy. An example of this type of research is geothermics, which encompasses research into the methodology of identifying the thermal potential of rock masses, along with the preparation and exploitation technology of borehole heat exchangers.

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Research in the field of environmental protection aims at determining the influence of industrial activity (especially mining, metallurgical engineering, oil industry, and foundry engineering) on the environment. Its aim is the development of new methods leading to the reduction of pollution in the air and soil, as well as surface and underground waters. The influence of municipal economy, tourism and other human activities is also monitored. Research into climatic changes is conducted on the basis of geological and geophysical data, such as the information preserved in tree trunks, skeletons of tropical coral reefs, glaciers, sediments on ocean, sea and lake floors. For a paleoclimatologist this is a substitute for such modern instruments of climate measurement, such as thermometers or instruments used for the measurement of the amount of rainfall. Research is also conducted into other fossil indicators of climate: coal, bauxite, iron oxides (red beds), evaporates, tillites (ancient glacial moraines), and warm-temperate fauna and flora. Regular measurements of the concentration of the main greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O) in the air in Poland are carried out on an analytical level comparable to the best world laboratories. AGH-UST scientists and researchers have participated in many research projects of the European Union within the Framework Programmes 4, 5 and 6, connected with research into the dynamics of carbon circulation on the European continent. The Integrated Carbon Observing System (ICOS) is a European initiative within the framework of European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). ICOS has received EU funding for the preliminary phase of the system (2008-2012). It is estimated that ICOS will continue to work for the period of 30 years, and will be financed by EU member countries. A comparison of current measurements with paleoclimatic data will allow a more precise calibration of results and better forecasting of future climatic changes. Among others, they will be based on some existing and currently-developed computer models.

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Research collaboration & technology transfer

The Open University of Cyprus

Open University of Cyprus PO Box 24801, 1304 Nicosia, Cyprus. Tel: +357 2241 1600 Fax: +357 2241 1601 E-mail: info@ouc.ac.cy Website: www.ouc.ac.cy

The Open University of Cyprus This new and expanding university aims to accommodate the ever-growing demand for lifelong learning and quality-driven programmes at all levels The Open University of Cyprus is a newly-established state university (2006), having its first graduates in 2008. Is the first and only university in Cyprus providing open and distance education at undergraduate and postgraduate (Master and PhD) levels and vocational programmes, in the framework of lifelong learning and continuing education. The OUC is pioneer in distance teaching and learning methods, utlizing an innovative high-technology electronic platform to provide education in an interactive environment. Students are pursuing university education in three cycle programmes, offered in several subject areas. The degrees awarded are equivalent to those of all accredited universities worldwide, regardless of teaching methodology, while all programmes are structured on the basis of ECTS. Part of what makes a successful university is a strong record in research. The OUC is committed and promotes broad, vibrant and quality research in various areas, while also aiming towards the development of methodologies and corresponding high technologies for open and distance learning. Encouraging its academics to collaborate in research projects at national and international levels, the OUC is growing fast, fostering and supporting aspiring research personnel. Its current spectrum of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes includes: »» Management of Health Units (PG): research interests deal with “Epidemiology”, “Quality of Public Health Systems”, “Emigrants and the Health System”, “Management/Assessment of Health Units”, “Measurement of Health System Performance”. »» Educational Studies (PG): research interests include “Women in Education”, “Educational Leadership”, “Multiculturalism and Social Justice in Primary Schools”, “Intercultural and Peace Education”, “Poststructuralist Theories in Education”, “Social Justice Pedagogies”, “Distance Education”, “Discursive, Political and Cultural Aspects in Curriculum and Pedagogy”. »» Hellenic Civilization Studies (UG): research interests deal with “Ancient Greek and Latin Theatre”, “New Comedy and

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the Theatrical mask”, “Excavations of Ancient Artefacts”, “Historical Geography and Prosopography”. Information Systems (PG): research interests deal with “Applied Information Systems”, “Information and Communication Technologies”, “GIS”, “Multimedia”, “ICT in Secondary Education”, “Internet-related Risks for Young Adolescents”, “Web 2.0”. Business Administration (PG): research interests deal with “Banking and Finance”, “Administration of Semi-governmental Organizations”, “Public Administration”, “Banking Portfolios”, “Administration of Private Companies”.

Newly-established programmes include: »» Communications & Journalism (PG): research interests deal with “Human Sciences and Communications/Journalism”, “Society and Communications /Journalism”, “Methodology, Skills, Tools of Communications/Journalism”, “Reportage: Political, Finance, Sports”, “Political and Social Communications”, “Corporate Communications and Journalism”. »» Environment Conservation & Management (PG): research areas include environmental systems management and especially “Biodiversity Conservation”, “Ecology of Terrestrial Ecosystems”, “Renewable Energy Sources” and “Waste Management”. »» Theatre Studies (PG): research interests include “History of the Theatre”, “Theatre and Performance Theory”, “Greek and Roman Theatre”, “Ancient Drama and its Reception”, and “Theatre in Education”. »» Greek Language and Literature (PG): research areas include “Theoretical Linguistics”, “Sociolinguistics”, “Discourse Analysis”, “Literary Stylistics”, “Literary Theories” and “Cultural Studies”. The OUC is a dynamically expanding university promoting lifelong learning, on the principles of distance teaching, fostering an innovative, pedagogically sound environment. Aspiring to accommodate the ever-growing needs of modern society for quality-driven programmes, the OUC establishes itself as a leading educational and research institution.

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Innovation management & business services

How can the international trademark system help SMEs? Do you want to protect your trademark/brands abroad, but are unsure of how to do it in a swift, efficient and cost-effective manner? Do you want to know what your competitors are up to? Debbie Ronning, responsible for the legal development and promotion of the Madrid system at the World Intellectual Property Organization, explains how The Madrid system1 is an international mechanism for the registration of trademarks. In its 120 year history, it has constantly expanded and evolved in tandem with the changing commercial landscape. Today, it is a dynamic and expanding system. It offers a simple, cost-effective, efficient and user-friendly option for registering and subsequently managing trademarks in more than 80 countries and the European Union (EU). The Madrid system is of benefit to trademark owners as well as the national authorities responsible for administering trademark registration systems. It is a “one stop shop” for the registration and renewal of trademarks. By submitting one trademark application to one office, paying the associated fees in one currency, it is possible to register a trademark in as many as 842 countries. There are currently 853 members of the Madrid system, including major economies like China, US, Japan, Russian Federation, the European Union (EU), Turkey and the Nordic countries. It is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)4, an international organization within the UN and based in Geneva, Switzerland.

vital Statistics As of December 31, 2009, some 525,562 international registrations were in force, equivalent to over 5.6 million active national/ regional registrations involving 169,939 trademark holders. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) holding one or two trademarks account for almost 80 percent of the users. Over 30 percent of the registrations in force belong to SMEs. The top ten filing countries of the Madrid system are Germany, the EU, France, USA, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy, China, Japan and the Russian Federation. In terms of business environment, this list confirms the solid institutional development of the European trademark system and the emerging business opportunities in China and Japan. In 2009, WIPO received 35,1954 international applications representing. While this represented a decline of 16 percent compared to figures for 2008 – a consequence of the global economic downturn – the first six months of 2010 show an increase of 10% compared to 2009. In the registrations recorded in 2009, applicants specified on average goods or services covering two to three classes5. In 42.2% of the registrations, just one class was specified. In an average international registration, 7.4 countries were designated and applicants paid an average fee of 3,408 Swiss francs

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for an international registration in 2009. Fees paid amounted to less than 3000 Swiss francs for 57 percent of the registrations.

How does the Madrid system work? When you – or your client – are thinking about obtaining trademark protection abroad, you need to consider where you want to protect your mark and how to do so. There are three options: the national route the international route (Madrid system) a combination of the above

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Your choice of option will depend on the markets in which you are going to operate and whether or not those countries are members of the Madrid system. If you want to protect your mark in a non-member country, then you must use the national route. This means you need to file applications with the national trademark office of each of the countries in which you want to protect your trademark. With this option you will have to process many different kinds of national application forms, in several languages, pay fees in a variety of currencies, and deal with several different legal systems, practices and time limits. You will also have to appoint a local representative to act on your behalf before each of the national offices concerned. You may need to keep track of many registrations and many renewal dates. If you want to protect your trademark in countries that are members of the Madrid system, then the international route is the best option. You will then only have to file one single international application, in one language (English/French/Spanish), pay fees in one currency (Swiss francs). You will only need to appoint a local representative if your registration is refused by one of the designated countries. You will end up with one international registration that covers a number of countries and will have to keep track of just one renewal date. You will also benefit from a range of information services and useful guidance provided by the national offices on how to process an international application. Moreover, should you encounter difficulties with a designated country, the national office of that country can be of assistance. As the EU became a member of the Madrid system in 2004, an applicant can now also designate the EU when seeking to protect a trademark abroad. Should you wish to protect your trademark in a group of countries in which some are members of the Madrid system and others are not, then your best option might be to combine both of the above options.

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Innovation management & business services

WIPO

Basic features To qualify to use the Madrid system, applicants need a connection with a Member State of the Madrid system. In other words, they must run a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment, be domiciled in or a national of a country that has signed up to the system. The connection you choose is up to you.

to manage. As new countries join the system, these can be added to an international registration. The Madrid system increases predictability and makes it easier for companies to protect their trademarks abroad.

This means that even if you are domiciled in a non-member country you can still use the system if you have a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in a country which is a member of the Madrid system.

benefits

Once you have established that you can use the system, you then need to acquire a “basic application or registration” in the country of which you are a national, operate or are domiciled. You then submit your international application to the national office of your basic application/registration, referred to as the “Office of origin.” An international application can be based on one or more “basic” applications or registrations.

It is a very effective system, as one single international application produces the same legal effect in many countries and there is a fixed dead line for confirmation or refusal of the legal effect in each country concerned.

The international application must be identical to the “basic” national application in relation to the name of the holder, the trademark, and the list of goods and services covered. In completing the international trademark application form you will need to decide which countries (or region) to designate. In other words, you need to identify the countries in which you would like your trademark protected. You can select any or all of the members with the exception of your own “Office of origin”. The Madrid system clearly defines the formal conditions for processing an international registration. Designated countries determine, in accordance with their own laws, the scope of protection and whether or not protection can be granted. Members of the Madrid Protocol may refuse an application, but within a specified time limit (either 12 or 18 months). If you have not received a refusal within the time limit, you can legally assume that your trademark is protected in that country. A designated office that has completed the examination process within the specified time limit of refusal must from January 1, 2011, issue a statement of grant of protection. This will give trademark holders positive information about the status of their trademark well before the expiry of the time limit for refusal. If you designate seven countries in your application form and you have only received one refusal within the maximum 18 month time limit, then your trademark is protected in the other six countries. Even when you have received a refusal, it may still possible to contest it in accordance with national trademark law in the country concerned. The international registration provides protection from the date of the international registration6. One of the advantages of the Madrid system for SMEs is that a company can grow and expand at its own pace. For example, a company can start by designating two or three countries in the international application, and as the business prospers, it can expand the geographical protection of its trademark by subsequently designating additional countries (as long as they are part of the system of course). In this instance, a company may simply add to the one international registration number established, meaning that there is still only one international registration number and one renewal date

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In using the Madrid system, trademark owners can take advantage of a simple, efficient and cost-effective means of obtaining and maintaining the protection of their marks abroad.

The Madrid system also supports economic growth and international trade insofar as it enables companies to gain access to new markets and to develop their export potential. It further creates a more favorable climate for foreign investment in home markets.

How WIPO can help you WIPO offers a range of useful information and services, which are free of charge and available from the Organization’s website (see below). Various tools that are helpful when you are preparing your international application are also available online. For example, the Fee Calculator7 calculates the fees for the various countries in which you are seeking trademark protection and the Madrid Simulator8 helps in the filing process. In addition to a variety of legal texts, guides and notices, WIPO’s online Gazette9 of International Marks provides information about all new registrations, subsequent designations and changes. The Gazette and the online search database ROMARIN are particularly helpful for those seeking to identify future trends or to keep track of the activities of competitors.

For more information, visit: Website: www.wipo.int

Notes 1 The Madrid system is governed by two treaties: the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (1891 and the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (1989) 2 Applicants much first register their trademark in their home country before registering internationally using the Madrid System. 3 www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en 4 www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/madrid/en/statistics/pdf/ summary2009.pdf 5 www.wipo.int/classifications/nivilo/nice/index.htm?lang=EN 6 The date of the international registration will be the same as the date on which the international application was received by the Office of origin. 7 www.wipo.int/madrid/feecalc/FirstStep 8 www.wipo.int/madrid/en/madrid_simulator/ 9 www.wipo.int/madridgazette/fr/index.html 10 www.wipo.int/romarin/

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Innovation management

Can the public sector buy innovation? Over the past year, a scheme to harness the power of procurement to drive innovation has been gaining ground in the UK. Mark Glover of the Technology Strategy Board explains viability. It can then progress to a development contract in order to create the initial product, before the company takes it to market. Essentially, SBRI is an economic match-maker that results in a fully funded development contract between the company and the government department. The benefits of embracing the programme are two-fold. For government, SBRI brings the latest innovations from fresh, new companies that often have not worked with government. For business, SBRI creates new opportunities for companies to prove their technology idea and an intelligent lead customer to help shape and validate a solution in response to a specific departmental need, providing easy access to government departments’ procurement processes.

Mark Glover

As the world navigates choppy economic waters, governments in the UK and elsewhere are primarily aiming for two things: getting public finances back into shape, and building the foundations for future growth. In the UK, the government has promised to focus closely on efficiency and savings across almost all corners of Whitehall, with the spotlight falling on, among other things, the government procurement process. Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron has also said that the coalition government aims to make the next decade in the UK "the most entrepreneurial and dynamic in our history." Since 2009, a new scheme, SBRI – or the Small Business Research Initiative – has been linking these two areas of effective procurement and entrepreneurship, paving the way for business to provide innovative solutions to public sector needs. Often the resulting products and services hold the promise of being much more costeffective in the long run than current solutions. SBRI, which the Technology Strategy Board champions, is designed to squeeze out the best value new ideas from the procurement process. At the same time, the programme helps to drive private sector innovation, with all of the economic spin-off benefits that it brings. At its heart, SBRI uses a competition to generate new ideas to solve difficult problems and then, in conjunction with the relevant government department, delivers short term contracts to those successful businesses, allowing them a route into a process that traditionally has been difficult to penetrate. This happens under a two stage development process. First a product idea is awarded a feasibility study contract to prove its

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SBRI allows departments and managers in the public sector to use some of the money spent on goods and services to drive innovation, operating under the EU pre-commercial procurement legal framework. The process also supports the public sector, allowing it to foster the growth of new technical solutions. This allows for the exploration of high-risk, new ideas in a controlled process. Since the Technology Strategy Board relaunched SBRI in 2009, over 500 contracts have been issued with a total value of £35.5m. 18 public bodies including the MoD, the Home Office and Defra have all used the programme to good effect. Good examples are found in the Department of Health, which is currently working with companies creating solutions to prevent healthcare acquired infections. The Ministry of Defence has been an extensive user, while another SBRI competition, Retrofit for the Future, was co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board, the Department for Community and Local Government and the Homes and Communities Agency. The Retrofit competition sought new technologies to improve the environmental performance of social housing, and has now resulted in over 80 projects around the country and created new business openings for many construction and maintenance companies. Following the Comprehensive Spending Review many public sector budgets in the UK are strained, but departments which can see the SBRI process as a way to deliver more for less in response to these pressures are likely to reap the benefits in the long run. From the business perspective, in years gone by British entrepreneurs would cast envious glances across the Atlantic while US colleagues enjoyed the support of a domestic small business procurement programme. We now have such a thing in the UK as well – and it is a model that other European countries are looking at. For more information, visit: Website: www.innovateuk.org

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Innovation management & business services

small business research initiative

Innovation management & business services

European Patent Office

The continent of innovation Europe is a hotbed of new ideas and inventions that contribute to its progress and prosperity, and the European Patent Office is the cornerstone to their success

The European Patent Office and the European Commission will be handing out the European Inventor Awards 2011 (see www.epo.org/european-inventor) on 19th May 2011 – Europe’s most important and prestigious innovation award, to individuals and teams of inventors whose pioneering work has contributed to progress and prosperity in Europe, and to shaping the world we live in. The 2010 laureates were recognised for their outstanding works in the fields of synthesis of football-shaped carbon molecules or “fullerenes”, liquid wood made from waste from paper production, laser scanners used in the automotive and aerospace industries, the civilian use of the GPS system and the mobile use of fuel cells . Other nominations related to technical innovations that have contributed to the success of the Wii console, cancer research, conservation of drinking water and to internet access straight from a wall socket. The calibre of these nominations shows that Europe is a continent of innovation. At the heart of this success lies a solid system of patent protection. Patents give inventors the exclusive right to prevent others from exploiting their invention for a limited time ─in exchange for disclosing the details of the invention. This acts as a strong incentive to innovate. Indeed, many important inventions might not have seen the light of day without the patent system.

Roots in Europe The patent system has come a long way since the first patent law was passed by the city of Venice in 1474 to protect the interests of inventors by assuring them the right to their inventions and prohibiting unauthorised copying. In 1624, the Statute of Monopolies was enacted in England, which allowed patents to be granted for a limited period to the “true and first inventor”. Other important conventions and treaties followed in the 19th century as more national patent laws were enacted. The setting up of the International Patent Institute (IIB) in The Hague in 1947 as a common resource for patent searching and archiving ushered in a European approach to patents. Recognising the need for closer co-operation on patent protection, 16 countries signed the European Patent Convention (EPC) in 1973, setting up an international organisation, the European Patent Organisation with its executive body, the European Patent Office (EPO). Its development is an outstanding success. Today, the Organistion has 38 member states and two associated states. Receiving over 210 000 patent applications per year and with

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nearly 7,000 staff, the Office is one of the largest and most important patent offices in the world. The EPO has its headquarters in Munich with offices in The Hague, Berlin, Vienna and Brussels.

European patents and the grant procedure The EPO examines patent applications in all fields of technology applying a centralised and uniform grant procedure. Today it is possible to obtain patent protection in up to 40 European countries reaching a market of some 600 million people on the basis of a single application in one of the EPO’s three official languages (English, French and German). This makes it the largest transnational patent system in the world. Since no unitary EU-wide patent yet exists, patent applicants need to select the countries in which they would like protection. The patent granted by the EPO has the same legal effects as a national patent does in each of these countries. It serves as gateway to the European market for well over 40 000 innovating companies annually from all over the world seeking patent protection in Europe. Under the EPC, patents are only granted for inventions that are new (not known to the public in any form), involve an inventive step (not obvious to a skilled person) and are industrially applicable (can be manufactured or used industrially). The EPO’s examination procedure serves to establish that these criteria are fulfilled and that a patent may be granted. While the patent system is generally open to all technologies, there are a number of exceptions to patentability under the EPC, such as

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scientific discoveries, mathematical formulae, aesthetic creations and methods of doing business, to name a few. Other restrictions are found in the area of biotechnology.

ber states in December 2009 on establishing an EU patent that would be valid in all EU countries and has provided input to the discussion on the design of a central European patent litigation system to accompany it.

The benefits of patents

A breakthrough political agreement on the creation of an EU patent and single patent court could pave the way towards a true supranational patent system in Europe – which has been discussed since the 1960s and anxiously awaited by European businesses, as it is a pivot for securing their competitiveness vis à vis their rivals from other regions. The Belgian EU Presidency, therefore, put great effort into furthering this dossier, and, in November 2010, an agreement to introduce the EU patent seems close at hand.

A growing number of individual inventors and businesses - both SMEs and large companies - are realising the commercial impact of patenting their inventions. Patents give companies the possibility to reap the rewards of their investment and recoup development costs. They have also become an important tool for measuring a company’s R&D performance, as well as a trading and bargaining chip for cross-licensing and technology alliances. And many companies now consider it important to have a large patent portfolio to be recognised as a serious business partner and raise capital. Patents are not just used in the world of business but are increasingly of interest to academia. More and more public research institutions and universities are now patenting their inventions. Research institutions can start a company to commercialise their patent, or have it licensed by others, which in turn funds university research and opens up new possibilities for innovation. Patents also have an important knowledge transfer function. In return for patent protection, the inventor has to disclose the details of the invention, which are published in the patent document. A large proportion of the world’s applied technical knowledge can therefore be found in patent documents. The availability of this information inspires further inventions and at the same time helps prevent the duplication of R&D work. The world’s largest database of patent information, espacenet, launched jointly by the EPO and European Commission in 1998, contains over 70 million patent documents from around the globe, and is available via the internet free of charge.

The EPO maintains close ties with the EU institutions and cooperates with them in all patent-related questions. It is our clear task to support the EU’s innovation and IP policy with our work. In a number of patent-related projects in Asia, especially in China, where the EPO is implementing a €16m programme to strengthen intellectual property rights – the EPO even acts as executive agency on behalf of the European Commission. To secure the future success of the patent system, the EPO has initiated a policy of co-operation with other patent offices in Europe and also at global level. The world’s five largest patent offices –─ the US, Japan, China, Korea and the EPO –─ have agreed to collaborate closely to develop a strategy to eliminate unnecessary duplication of efforts. As many companies operate globally, a large number of applications filed with the various patent offices relate to one and the same invention. Work-sharing is therefore key to tackling the global workload in the patent system in order to keep it reliable and effective into the future.

Making the patent system work for society

With the advent of a knowledge-based society and globalised economy, the world’s major patent offices have all faced a steady rise in the number of applications in the past decade and growing workloads. There has resulted in a major backlog of unexamined patent applications worldwide. The economic crisis has halted this growth - in 2009 the EPO registered a dip in filing figures of about 8% in comparison to 2008 - but the outlook for 2010 is positive again with a growth of well over 4% over 2009 in the first nine months.

Patents are increasingly in the public spotlight, in the concerns of citizens, and on the agenda of policymakers in Europe and worldwide. What was once an arcane legal instrument is now a much-talked about right of unprecedented economic importance in our current innovation- and information-driven global society. The EPO is actively participating in the debate about how the patent system should be reshaped to better serve the needs of society and industry, create jobs and economic growth, and promote the development of new technologies that will help us to tackle global problems such as climate change, disease, food and water shortages and environmental pollution.

To secure the value of European patents, the EPO puts strong emphasis on safeguarding the quality of patents it grants, aiming to ensure there is always a clear “inventive step” before issuing a patent. The strict application of procedures results in patents which are enforceable and stand up well to legal challenges. The Office also continually strives to improve the efficiency of its processes and cut delays. A package of new measures which entered into force on 1 April 2010 helps to realign the process with a view to speeding up the granting of patents and improving the quality of incoming applications and of the patents granted.

In the field of climate change mitigation technologies, for example, the EPO conducted a joint project with the United Nations Environment Programme and International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development in Geneva to gain a better understanding of the role played by patents in the deployment and dissemination of these technologies in developing countries. The results of this study were presented at a dedicated conference in Brussels in September will also feature on the agenda of a side event at the climate summit in Cancún. Similar studies in other public policy areas are likely to follow.

Meeting new challenges

Co-operation for innovation The EPO cooperates closely with its partners in national and European institutions and European industry to ensure that the patent system continues to support innovation in the spirit of the Lisbon Strategy. The Office has welcomed the progress made by EU mem-

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The exact scope and shape of intellectual property protection is debated - but there is a clear consensus that patents and the patent system are needed to ensure the development and diffusion of pioneering technologies into the future. For more information, visit: Website: www.epo.org

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Innovation management & business services

European Patent Office

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Tom LaForge, Global Director, Human Cultural Insights

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The FEI® TEAM, Along With Our Strategic Board Of Advisors, Has Determined 9 INNOVATION IMPERATIVES – The Topics That Matter Most To You And Your Organisation.

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INNOVATION CULTURE / free up organisational creativity OPEN INNOVATION / when meaningful ideas collide CUSTOMER-DRIVEN INNOVATION / grasp unarticulated needs SOCIAL INNOVATION / the move to sustainable solutions BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION / reset for growth DESIGN INNOVATION / a catalyst for re-definition

FUTURE TRENDS SUMMIT / engage with what matters next GLOBAL INNOVATORS SUMMIT / explore potential in emerging markets ENTREPRENEURS SUMMIT / create opportunity through purposeful risk

2-4 MARCH • MARITIM PROARTE HOTEL • BERLIN, GERMANY www.iirusa.com/feieurope

Anca Jurcovan, Senior Associate, ŢTuca Zbârcea & Asociatii. 4-8 Nicolae Titulescu Ave., America House, West Wing, 8th Floor, Sector 1, Bucharest, 011141, Romania Tel: (40-21) 204 88 90 Fax: (40-21) 204 88 99 E-mail: office@tuca.ro Web: www.tuca.ro

Romania – Innovative Developments in the National Trademark Law

Anca Jurcovan, Senior Associate, ŢTuca Zbârcea & Asociatii.

In April this year, the national legislator brought major changes to the domestic trademark law, innovatively reshaping the registration and examination procedure. Under the revised law, the examination process conducted by the State Office for Patents and Trademarks (“OSIM”) is expected to become swifter and more ‘market-oriented’. As each trademark application is published before the examination stage, market players may now signal ab initio the absolute grounds for refusal. Third parties may submit observations free of charge, within two months following the trademark publication. Public consultation may secure OSIM valuable feedback on the trademark impact in the market. The consultation procedure may prove particularly useful since, during the later examination stage, market surveys are uncommon in OSIM practice. The authority has thus an opportunity to adapt its assessment to the realities of the marketplace, in accordance with the dynamics of customs and trade practices in the relevant fields, as well as evolving public order standards. The examination normally takes six months from publication. In consideration of an additional fee, the current standard term could be reduced by three months. In addition, OSIM has aligned the absolute grounds for refusal with the standards adopted for Community Trademark (ie lack of distinctive character; infringement of public order and accepted

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principles of morality; general admissibility requirements; trademarks which consist exclusively of signs or indications which have become customary in the current language or established practices of the trade; trademarks which are of such a nature as to deceive the public, for instance as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of the goods or service, signs which consist exclusively of the shape which results from the nature of the goods themselves or is necessary to obtain a technical result or gives substantial value to the goods; trademarks which are contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality etc), and added some more of local origin (ie signs with a high symbolic value, especially religious symbols can be refused; trademarks bearing the image or name of a renowned person in Romania). For increased efficiency, the examination procedure has been simplified. OSIM now only ‘filters’ those trademarks ‘affected’ by absolute grounds for refusal. As OSIM shall no longer verify ex officio the similarity or identity with earlier trademarks (relative grounds for refusal) the burden of monitoring the new entries in OSIM publications lies with the holders of trademark portfolios, who must give a notice of opposition to registration within a period of three months following publication. Besides having to be more alert, trademark portfolio holders also bear the onus of proving the criterion for similarity or identity. Moreover, owners of prior rights such as the proprietary right to a name, the right of personal portrayal, copyright, industrial property right, may defend such rights by filing an opposition to OSIM. Should they fail to use the opposition tool before OSIM, holders of prior Community or national trademarks may still go to court and claim the annulment of a subsequent identical or similar trademark within five years after such a trademark has been registered. The applicant must, however, prove that it has at least occasionally used the earlier trademark within the past five years. Last, but not least, as far as the scope of trademark protection is concerned, the law provides for new opportunities ready to be explored on the market: besides the shape of goods or any other graphical signs, companies can now protect sound and image associations as trademarks. Thus, the broadened legal framework now enables market players to innovatively reshape their branding campaigns.

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Innovation management & business services

Tuca Zbârcea & Asociatii.

Calendar

Calendar of events CELL LINE DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING 14-18 FEBRUARY 2011 INFORMA HOLIDAY INN MUNICH CITY CENTRE www.informa-ls.com/celldev

EUROMEDTECH 16-17 MAY 2011 EBD GROUP TURIN, ITALY www.ebdgroup.com/emt

DUAL USE TECHNOLOGY – WORKING TOGETHER DIFFERENTLY 17- 18 FEBRUARY AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE KTN AT-BRISTOL, BRISTOL HARBOURSIDE www.ktn.innovateuk.org/web/working-together-differently

ALL-ENERGY 2011 18-19 MAY 2011 ABERDEEN www.all-energy.co.uk

CLEANTECH CONFERENCE 2011 21 FEBRUARY 2011 QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 CONFERENCE CENTRE, LONDON www.cleantechconference.co.uk

TECHCONNECT WORLD 13-16 JUNE 2011 HYNES CONVENTION CENTRE, BOSTON, MASS. USA www.techconnectworld.com

NANOTECH CONFERENCE AND EXPO 2011 13-16 JUNE 2011 HYNES CONVENTION CENTRE, BOSTON, MASS. USA www.techconnectworld.com

FRONTEND OF INNOVATION 2-4 MARCH 2011 MARITIM PROARTE HOTEL, BERLIN, GERMANY www.iiirusa.com/feieurope

SCIENCE AND INNOVATION 2011 21 JUNE 2011 GOVNET QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 CONFERENCE CENTRE, LONDON www.scienceinnovation-conference.co.uk

BIO-EUROPE SPRING 14-16 MARCH 2011 EBD GROUP MILAN, ITALY www.ebdgroup.com/bes

BIOPHARM AMERICA 14-16 SEPTEMBER 2011 EBD GROUP SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA www.ebdgroup.com

EUROPEAN INNOVATION CONFERENCE 29-31 MARCH 2011 HOTEL LEGOLAND, BILLUND, DENMARK www.eic2011.com

WORLD INNOVATION CONFERENCE 28-30 SEPTEMBER 2011 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE GROUP (BIG) CANNES www.winovc.com

WORLD STEM CELLS AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINES CONFERENCE 9-11 MAY 2011 VICTORIA PLAZA, LONDON www.terrapinn.com/2011/stemcells

CARBON SHOW 21-22 OCTOBER 2011 HAYMARKET BUSINESS DESIGN CENTRE, LONDON www.thecarbonshow.com

CHINA BIO 11-12 MAY 2011 EBD GROUP BEIJING, CHINA www.ebdgroup.com/cbpf

TECHNOLOGY WORLD 16-17 NOVEMBER 2011 EXCEL CENTRE LONDON www.technologyworld.com

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