UKSPA Breakthrough Issue 23

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Advocacy

09 Old barriers still face women in STEM | For more than a decade Anne-Marie Imafidon has worked to break down barriers in STEM and make it a more female-friendly environment. She tells Simon Penfold about the continuing battle.

12 Life sciences transforming North-East London | Dr Grant Bourhill, MD of Barts Life Sciences, describes their transformational initiative working to create one of the largest, most concentrated, Life Science areas in the country.

Support

14 Keeping pace with changing pharma | Scitech's Nick Smith and Mark Randle on the changing nature of their work in pharmaceutical and life science operations.

18 New Carbon Assessment Tools from Labs2Zero | The latest from I2SL on the recent expansion of the Labs2Zero program’s benchmarking and scoring system.

Innovation

24 UK team with mission to clean up space | Nick Shave talks about Astroscale’s bid to become the first company to routinely service and remove satellites in orbit .

28 Chesterford Research Park | How the Park continues to set the standard for UK science parks.

30 Accelerating PACE of research | PACE is a £30m programme to help develop new ways of combating AMR – antimicrobial resistance. Programme Director Dr Beverley Isherwood explains how it works.

Lab Innovations

36 UK science skills: crisis or opportunity? | Research technician Laurence Dawkins-Hall highlights shoots of progress amidst a mire of skills and training issues.

Growth

38 Daubeny will be flagship for life sciences on The Oxford Science Park | The Daubeny Project is by far the largest development on The Oxford Science Park in its historyChief Executive, Rory Maw, reveals how it will cater for the growth in life sciences work on the site.

44 Greenheys project on track for 2026 | Work has started on the £60m Greenheys scheme at Manchester Science Park - Zoe Peace explains how it fits in with Bruntwood SciTech's wider plans.

Impact

48 A career built where science and business meet | Caroline Gray OBE, recently retired Director of the OpTIC Technology Center at Wrexham University, tells Simon Penfold about her 40 year career in Optics and Photonics.

52 Science parks - how to sell sustainability | Carbon-neutral science parks have plenty to offer investors and occupiers, says Liz Sparrow, Partner at Ridge.

54 Geothermal energy - a vital resource in achieving low carbon climate control | Carbon Zero Consulting's John Findlay explores how the energy stored in groundwater and the earth below labs and science centres can be used for both heating and cooling at scale.

Trends

56 Innovation is key for UK growth | These are exciting times, says Professor Julia Sutcliffe, chief scientific adviser to the Department of Business & Trade. And science parks will play a vital role in the UK’s plans for economic growth.

60 Vital role for science parks in accelerating the circular economy | Prova's Ed Willmott explains to us why science parks have a key role to play in creating the UK’s circular economy.

INTRODUCTION

UKSPA CHAIR, J OHN le AK e

A pleasure to serve

this will be my final message to UKSPA members through Breakthrough. I will be stepping down from the UKSPA Board at the end of this year having come to the end of the maximum six-year tenure. It has been a pleasure to serve as Board Director and, since April 2022, as Chair of UKSPA.

In my first Chair’s Message in Breakthrough, back in September 2022, I was reflecting on the “Creating a Scientific Superpower Conference” organised by Bidwells in London and the inaugural UKREiiF Conference in Leeds. A lot of the discussion at the time was focused on utilising the UK’s worldclass scientific assets to drive economic growth through commercialisation of the IP from these assets, but also using them to attract higher levels of international investment. Imperative to this was the need for internationallyrecognised clusters that can both better facilitate the successful commercialisation of this IP but also provide natural homes for overseas companies looking to accelerate their global growth through strategic innovation-focused activities in the UK.

f OCUS ON 40

Therefore, it feels wholly appropriate that in my final Breakthrough message, I should be focusing on our very own UKSPA 40th Anniversary Conference at the University of Warwick in October,

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and some of the key issues that will be discussed during this conference. I’m very much looking forward to hearing from Professor Dame Jessica Corner, Chair of Research England and lead on Places for UKRI and her thoughts on the important part we as champions in the science park sector can play, to support the development and growth of these international-recognised clusters. In particular, where they require a physical home and access to world-class physical assets such as laboratories and workshops, but also their needs for communities of world-class expertise and talent.

We will have a session focused specifically on Innovation Clusters hearing from the likes of Professor Tim Vorley, who leads the Innovation & Research Caucus, on where those clusters exist in the UK and what characterises them. The UKSPA Board and Executive Team have an important job to do to raise awareness of the strength and growth of the UK’s science park sector to government, and emphasizing the benefit the UK has with such a strong and supportive Association for this sector.

gr EAT f UN

I have also had the pleasure of being involved in the planning for a couple of linked sessions we will be running at the 40th Anniversary Conference entitled “Celebrating the Past” and “Looking to

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the Future”. It has been great fun understanding more about the roots of UKSPA and the motivation for setting the Association up in the first place. From the discussion, it was really interesting to note two key benefits that UKSPA has brought to its members over the years (I won’t share all that were identified):

• An open, collaborative community that helped science park leaders share experience and best practise - to enable all of us to raise our game.

• The collective experience and expertise within the UKSPA membership that gave individual science park leaders increased confidence to speak with authority to stakeholders about required developments and investments on their own parks.

ST r ON g f OUNDATIONS

That has absolutely been my experience during my 18 years of involvement with UKSPA. I have many current and former members to thank for their support and advice over that time, helping me on my personal journey at Sci-Tech Daresbury. With those strong foundations, I’m sure UKSPA will be around for at least another 40 years and probably many more beside. I look forward to seeing many of you in person in Warwick and celebrating the success of this wonderful community of UKSPA. ■

Breakthrough is an Open Box Media and Communications publication produced in association with UKSPA. Open Box Media & Communications Premier House, 13 St Paul’s Square, Birmingham B3 1RB. T: 0121 200 7820. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the consent of Open Box M&C.

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ALooking to the future...

s you will have gathered from the preceding introduction to this edition from the UKSPA Chair, John Leake, we are celebrating an important milestone in the history of the Association this autumn with the UKSPA 40th Anniversary Conference & Gala Awards Dinner. We will also be marking the end of an era, as John will shortly be stepping down from his role as Chair after 2½ years, and 6 years in total as a Director of the Association.

I would like to extend my thanks to John (below), both personally and on behalf of the Board and the membership as a whole, for the dedication, drive and professionalism that he has brought to this role.

Under his wise stewardship the Association has emerged from the impact of the Covid pandemic and reestablished itself as a key agent for in-person networking, collaboration and knowledge-sharing amongst its membership and the wider innovation support community.

There will be further changes to the makeup of the UKSPA Board from November, as several other Directors will be stepping down from their roles.

• Ian McFadzen, current CEO of Plymouth Science Park, has also been active on the Board for a number of years, including in his current Officer role as Secretary and Honorary Treasurer. Ian is moving to a new role as CEO of the Ocean Conservation Trust, and we wish him the very best of luck as he ‘dives’ back into his specialist area.

• Jo Stevens, MD of Oxford Innovation Space, who have many innovation centres in membership of the Association, will have also reached the maximum term as a Director.

• Glenn Crocker, Executive Director of Pioneer Group, again with several Science Parks in membership, and former Chair of UKSPA, is also obliged to step down after six years as a Board member.

On behalf of everyone involved, I would like to thank them all for their commitment, passion, expertise and insight, which has been instrumental in UKSPA thriving and growing.

As you might imagine, where there is change there is also opportunity, and the stipulated maximum term for Director positions is designed to ensure that there is a regular flow of fresh ideas, passion and inspiration. With this in mind, I would like to put out a call to all Full members of the

Association, as we look to appoint four new Directors at the 2024 AGM.

The formal call for nominations for these vacant Board positions will go out to the membership in late October, following the conclusion of the 40th Anniversary Conference, with a formal vote to take place in early November, if necessary, to select the successful candidates.

It should go without saying - but I will say it anyway - that in order to be representative of the membership as a whole, as well as looking for specific skills that will enhance the overall capabilities of the Board, including finance, governance, lobbying etc., we will be seeking nominees from right across the broad spectrum of our membership, in terms of organisational factors such as geographical location, size and specialism, as well as personal attributes like gender, ethnicity, background and age.

If you are interested in the opportunity to help shape the direction of the next 40 years of UKSPA, then please do get in touch with either me or one of my fellow Directors to discuss the role and what it involves - and look out for the announcement of the nominations process in the next few weeks – I hope to see you at a Board meeting in the near future! ■

Please send your comments and feedback to the UKSPA team: info@ukspa.org.uk

"I w OU l D l IK e TO ex T e ND my THANKS TO J OHN (le AK e), b OTH P e RSONA lly AND ON be HA lf O f TH e bOARD AND TH e membe RSHIP AS A w HO le, f OR TH e D e DICATION , DRI ve AND PRO fe SSIONA l IS m THAT H e HAS b ROU g HT TO THIS RO le."

The

world according to UKSPA and its members

For more than a decade Anne-Marie Imafidon has worked to break down barriers in STEM and make it a more female-friendly environment. She talks to Simon Penfold about the continuing battle.

Old barriers still face wO men in sTem

Dr Anne-Marie

Imafidon was a child prodigy, with an A-level in computing by the age of 11 and a Masters in Maths and Computer Science from Keble College Oxford by the age of 20.

But she gave up a highly lucrative – and enjoyable – job in data at Deutsche Bank 11 years ago to encourage a new generation of women into careers in the STEM sector.

Since then more than 65,000 young people have been exposed to Anne-Marie’s vision for a more diverse and balance science and technology community through her Stemettes social initiative.

But serious challenges remain for women, in both academia and the wider worlds of science, technology, engineering, maths and the arts.

“When we started there was, if not a denial of the problem, an attitude of not talking about it. Or that women weren’t interested in STEM subjects and jobs,” says Anne-Marie, who was awarded an MBE in the 2017 New Year's Honours for services to young women and STEM sectors.

“In our tenth year I said to audiences across industry that we have moved from flat-out denial to at least lip service on the problem.

“We have had progress in terms of the proportion of women in the STEM workforce and ONS statistics. We have moved on choices of different subjects for GCSEs and for university.

“But in the last year or so we have definitely seen a big ebb in terms what support looks like for women across the sector, in terms of policies that were changed to make things more inclusive, that have rolled back. Whether it is

just down to budgets reducing I don’t know, but we have definitely seen a contraction.

r ETENTION

“And if we look at the stats for retention in the sector, that is also still quite low. There is still quite a lot of work to do.

“I spend a lot of my time getting folks to make an informed decision in their formative years that sets them up to be a big part of that pipeline. But they are still missing in terms of retention.

“There are lots of causes, and a lot of them we have known for a while. A lot of the work on retention has been about trying to counteract some them.

“It’s one thing for people saying they are not being sexist, not overtly doing things, but what is the experience of women in those technical spaces? Are they listened to, are they valued? Are they paid equally?

“And what are the things that are maybe less overt that happen, in terms of harassment? We know a lot of things end up under NDAs, getting swept under the carpet.

“It does start adding up, as a pattern of behaviour. You see it as a woman who goes into different organisations, when you connect with different networks; there are a lot of things left unsaid.

“You don’t want the reputation of someone that is going to rock the boat too much. However, you have been overlooked, you have been harassed, you have been undermined again and again and again in your scientific work.

“It’s really easy to feel there is a time distance to a lot of that behaviour, but it continues to happen. It’s almost part of the culture and continues to be prevalent across scientific spaces.

“If we hark back to history and who we identify as a scientist, they tend to be dead, white, male and bearded. I’ve nothing against anyone like that, or who has three of the above, but there is a pluralism that we need to have, that we need to value and recognise, which we don’t do.

“As a result, science parks have to do a lot of work to do to go against the grain, to ensure that they are being more equitable, more inclusive, and aren't continuing to feed into that cycle.”

fr EEDOM TO EXP l O r E

Anne-Marie Imafidon was born in 1990 and brought up in the East End borough of Waltham Forest, the eldest of four siblings in what she describes as a noisy, loving British-Nigerian family. And tolerant. She is sure her parents –an opthamologist father and linguist mother – must have bitten their lips as their four-year old took the family VCR to bits to figure out how it worked. “But they gave us that freedom to explore and to learn,” said Anne-Marie. That independent inquiring mind found her judged as “disruptive” in primary school. One teacher, however, saw her potential and suggested accelerated learning outside of school.

The result was a string of GCSEs and then that A-level in computing at 11. Studying for a Masters in Mathematics and Computer Science at Keble she was offered internships at Goldman Sachs, Hewlett-Packard and Deutsche Bank – the latter turning into a job offer on graduation.

It was while working at Deutsche Bank Anne-Marie had her ‘road to Damascus’ moment. She was offered the chance to attend the Grace Hopper celebration of women in technology, held in America.

“Up until that moment I hadn’t noticed how much I was in a minority, because I was so focused on the work. But being in that space with 3,500 technical women; I’d never been in a majority female technical space. Oh my goodness, they're all like me. I didn't even realise that I was like me.

“I'd always been so focused on what I was doing. I hadn't even looked up to see I'm really the odd one out; the youngest, the blackest, the female-list in a lot of those spaces.

“A big topic of discussion at the event was that the number of women in technology in the USA had gone into freefall. When I came back I took a closer look and

realised that we had the same problem here in the UK and decided to do something about it.”

The result was Stemettes, a social enterprise to encourages girls, young women and nonbinary people aged five to 25 to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths – later expanded to art and design, or STEAM.

It works through online platforms, STEM clubs, panel events and other programmes.

“Today, for example, our TeamStemette is at the Mercedes AMG Formula 1 HQ with a group of our young people gaining leadership skills and getting to meet the folks at Mercedes to understand a bit of what goes on behind the scenes and how that might turn into a job or a career.

“And they also get to become part of a network of young people who support each other. There's lots of different elements but it is essentially a one-stop place to be that home and that network for

folks who want to explore whether STEM and/or STEAM is for them, outside of formal spaces, and get an idea of the different options.”

“There's a lot of reasons why we're not retaining women. There's a lot of things that we end up punishing women for being and doing. And there's very little accountability, actually, when folks are doing things that contravene women existing in these spaces.

“When you look towards the physical sciences, you definitely see this thinking: if you're a woman, you're less likely to be ‘born’ to do physics, whatever that means. And so you don't ‘deserve’ to be in those spaces. And folks are ‘doing you a favour’ by allowing you to contribute in those spaces, which is obviously nonsense. But that is how things end up operating.

Stemettes grew rapidly and after two years Anne-Marie decided there was only so much of her to go round and quit her role at Deutsche Bank. “They were very supportive, though, and were a major funder for several years.”

“Eleven years down the line we're still here, still getting on with it, still doing the good stuff. We're definitely making a difference. We get to see the difference we're making in terms of their awareness of their options, their connections to networks, especially if they've come from a background where no one's gone to university or they're not working in the same industry.”

So far more than 65,000 young people have passed through the programme, many going on to study STEM in higher education or secure jobs in science or technology.

Aside from Stemettes there are the personal appearances, the

roles on a number of bodies such as the UD Music Foundation and the Council of Research England. She served as the 2022-2023 President of the British Science Association and earlier this summer became Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University.

And, of course, there was her run as temporary arithmetician on Channel 4’s longest running gameshow, Countdown, as maternity cover for Rachel Riley.

“We knew each other, because the number of women in maths is just ridiculously small. When she first messaged me I thought she was having a joke. It was such fun work though.”

ACCOUNTABI l ITY

But it brings us back to how few women are working in STEM. “When you think of the sheer number of people working across maths and science and engineering and the proportion of women is just criminally small.

“The bottom line is that we’re not making the progress we think we have. We're still having the same arguments. Paternity leave and Shared Parental leave have been enshrined in law for ages but so many companies still haven't decided on what their shared parental pay is going to be. There's no impetus at all on companies to ensure that they put a proper structure in place or incentivise men to take it. It would really help shift the dial, but even after all this time parenthood is still seen as a woman’s role. We’re still locked into this.

“So I do get frustrated but not to the point of asking why am I doing this. Mostly because, at Stemettes, we track our impact. At every Monday meeting we have the stories, the cohort of young people who have got Firsts, or never thought of trying for a computing degree or just got their first job in technology or science.

“I definitely can point to story upon story, person upon person who has made that journey, and we know we've had that positive impact. That always makes it worth it, but even more so in aggregate and as time goes on. And it’s the people who know the value of their work and know they are not the problem, even in a hostile space. And that definitely makes all of it worth it.” ■

To find out more, please visit: stemettes.org or aimafidon.com

Clockwise from top: Addressing the liberty latin America Spark event in June; exploring topics at the 'think.commerce' event by google in May; preparing to be welcomed as the new chancellor of glasgow caledonian University in July

Life sciences transforming North-East London

Barts Life Sciences, a partnership between Barts Health NHS Trust and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), is working with a range of private and public sector partners to create one of the largest, most concentrated, Life Science areas in the country. In this article, Dr Grant Bourhill, MD of Barts Life Sciences, describes the transformational initiative.

e are entering the golden age for Life Sciences, with rapid progress being made across several technological areas, including AI, wearables, therapeutics, robotics and automation, genomics, healthtech devices and remote monitoring. Further, private sector investment into Life Science Clusters has also grown substantially, especially since the Pandemic.

One of the greatest strengths in North-East London is our richly diverse community. We have the world’s gene-pool on our doorstep with a population of over 2.5 million people representing 97 nations. The region is also the fastest growing in the country –forecast to grow by about 15% in the next 15 years, equivalent to a city the size of Southampton relocating to the area. The scale and diversity of our population is a huge asset, meaning innovations trialled and deployed in East London have the potential for global impact.

Above: dr grant bourhill has a wealth of experience in the innovation, real estate and research sectors. he is currently Md at barts life Sciences, focussed on driving innovation into healthcare supported by substantial new real estate in east london dedicated for life Sciences. he has worked in both private and public sectors and has been involved in innovation across multiple areas, including clean energy, consumer electronics, space and defence.

he currently sits on the board of the UK Science Park Association and holds an MbA from oxford University.

The founding partners of Barts Life Sciences (BLS), namely Barts Health and QMUL, have been major anchor institutions providing healthcare for the people of NorthEast London for centuries.

Barts Health NHS Trust is the largest in London and the second largest Trust in the UK, is home to three national biobanks, hosts separate research repositories containing over 500,000 human tissue samples, and has over 34,000 patients actively involved in research programmes. That means that Barts Health is consistently one of the top Trusts for commercial clinical trials in the country. From October this year, we will also provide access for industry and academia to our 2.5m anonymised electronic patient records.

QMUL is one of the most cited institutions for medical research globally. It is ranked 14th in the world for research quality and is renowned for strengths in cancer, cardiovascular, genomics, inflammation, precision healthcare, population health, and big data science. It was home to the 100,000 Genomes Project and

recently, one of our Academic Clinicians was featured in the Times list of the top 100 Global Healthcare Practitioners for 2024.

Working with a growing range of industrial and academic collaborators, the focus of Barts Life Sciences is rapid innovation translation into everyday healthcare. This is a win for the local community who get access to leading edge treatments and therapies first but is also a win for industrial and academic partners. For example, we are working with Sanofi to analyse electronic health records to identify people at risk of Gaucher disease, a rare genetic condition. This exciting partnership has the potential to significantly reduce diagnosis times and help patients get the care they need much sooner.

As mentioned, the region already has a large and diverse population alongside globally recognised public sector anchor institutions. The next step is to combine these benefits with world-class commercial facilities, which is what the two

separate but nearby Life Sciences Clusters - in Whitechapel and Canary Wharf - will deliver.

Our ambition is to create one of the largest, most concentrated Life Science focussed areas in the country. Over 2.2 million square feet of facilities already exist, with a further 2 million square feet under construction or awaiting planning consent. Additionally, another 2.6 million square feet of Life Science buildings have outline planning consent. Creating thousands of highquality jobs, the Whitechapel Cluster and Canary Wharf Cluster will be transformational for the region and underpin the Government strategy of the UK being a Life Sciences powerhouse. We are truly enabling an East London Life Sciences “Super Cluster”.

Whitechapel is a unique proposition as it sits immediately adjacent to the Royal London Hospital, one of the largest teaching hospitals in Europe and home to Barts Health’s new Clinical Research Facility.

Research Institute will also be integral parts of the cluster in Whitechapel.

Upon full development, Whitechapel will encompass approximately 4 million square feet, generating around 13,000 direct jobs with a gross value added (GVA) of £1.2 billion annually.

Canary Wharf, just five minutes away, already comprises over 20 million square feet of office, retail and residential space. It is home to significant entities like Genomics England, the MHRA, the UK Health Security Agency, the General Pharmaceutical Council, and growing companies such as AviadoBio.

Whitechapel is also home to QMUL’s campus centred around the Blizard Biomedical Research Building. With over 30% of the population already employed in healthcare, the area plans to expand further with 1.5 million square feet of predominantly commercial life sciences space, as well as retail, residential and community engagement spaces, with support from various private sector partners, including BGO & Lateral.

The area already has a highly soughtafter 40,000 square feet lab incubator managed by Queen Mary Bioenterprises, housing companies like AstraZeneca. To support scaling companies with access to talent, QMUL’s new Precision Healthcare Research Institute and Digital Environment

Canary Wharf Group and Kadans Science Partners are now building a single 823,000 square feet “vertical campus” which is set to be the largest life sciences development in Europe. Plans also include outline consent for an additional 2.6 million square feet of life sciences buildings, with flexibility to incorporate residential properties if needed. As part of the broader estate, Kadans has recently opened a new fully-fitted 40,000 ft2 CL2 lab Innovation facility.

Across both locations, companies will be adjacent to the globally-significant financial sectors in the City of London and Canary Wharf. The recently opened Elizabeth Line provides rapid transport linking Whitechapel and Canary Wharf and connecting them seamlessly with Heathrow Airport and the UK's busiest train stations. Put simply, the area will provide everything that Life Science companies need to succeed. Whether in the Cluster in Whitechapel or in the Canary Wharf Cluster, Barts Life Sciences offer industry partners a streamlined access to deep technical expertise and cutting-edge research and clinical capabilities together with a route to market into the largest Trust in London. ■

We’re eager to engage industry and academic partners who share our commitment to improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities.

For more information on becoming involved with Barts Life Sciences, please visit: bartslifesciences.org or email info@bartslifesciences.org

left: the cluster in Whitechapel will encompass around 4 million square feet upon full development

Below: Visual of the vertical campus at canary Wharf which is set to be the largest life sciences development in europe

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Keeping pace with C hanging pharma Support

For more than 20 years design and engineering consultancy Scitech has been providing pharmaceutical and life science operations with expert practical advice. Nick Smith and Mark Randle talk to Simon Penfold about the changing nature of their work.

hether it is expanding a science park laboratory or creating a manufacturing plant to produce a new medicine, the process calls on a broad range of skills: design, engineering, cost management, construction management, validation and qualification.

Increasingly the call is going out to consultancies to provide these services.

Nick Smith is a veteran in the industry, with time at Rhodia, Sanofi and, most recently, Charles Rivers’ Cobra Biologics, working as a site director, operations director, technical manager, quality manager and a host of roles in between.

But, as the pharmaceuticals and life sciences industries increasingly focus on their core role, they are outsourcing the practical skills that were once part and parcel of dayto-day operations.

Now 55, he said: “When I started my career all the trades would be on the site; you would have a chippie, a domestic sparks, a decorator and so on. Over the period of my career all those skills have been outsourced.

“It’s a general indicator that you don’t carry all those skills anymore, all that capability has gone. And I think that is very relevant to science parks as well. As new businesses set up the investment focus, energy and expertise are all more focused.

“So if a practical problem arises, you can’t just put in a request to someone who’ll pop over that afternoon. Now you’ve got to source someone, fit in to their calendar, and what was hours becomes days and weeks.

“Scitech takes on the role of providing practical expertise on tap, particularly when it comes to creating new pharmaceutical or life sciences premise. There is a recognition from a client that their systems and ways of working are not necessarily suited to what they are embarking on now, with a new build or expansion.

“And it’s the same with start-ups, providing advice on what they are going to need to know. Just yesterday I was talking to a mid-sized client looking for a lot of advice and support on fundamentals.”

INC r EASIN g IMPO r TANCE

Growth in demand for its skills and advice has seen Scitech expand overseas, with operations now in Germany, Holland and Belgium all busy with current projects.

Since May last year Nick has worked as Scitech’s regional operations manager for quality compliance systems. His colleague Mark Randle is UK sales manager: “Pharmaceuticals companies want to get drugs out the door, that is what they do.

“The facilities are a means to an end. As a specialism they are not too worried about it. They don’t want it in-house. Why would you hold an entire engineering team to only build a facility every three or four years?”

Nick chimes in: “It is a result of the continual drive for efficiencies as well. Scitech’s role is increasingly important because of the erosion of practical experience within pharma companies and across the industry as the demographic gets younger.

“Large organisations do carry expertise, but not in large quantities. If there is a need for electrical or aseptic know-how they have to look to organisations like ourselves to find experience, knowledge and the horsepower to deliver it.

Above: Nick Smith Below: Mark randle

“When you are engineering new project, quality assurance and certification gives you exposure to all the parts: commercial, project delivery and the regulatory demands, meeting the expectations of the clients or business as well as the authorities.”

The result is a busy work schedule. Nick is currently handling five major clients with 15 to 20 projects on the go.

Mark said: “We are designing an animal health Centre for Veterinary Vaccine Innovation and Manufacturing (CVIM) facility for the Pirbright Institute at the moment. Nick is doing lots of work with AstraZeneca on aseptic filling. Albumedix – now part of Sartorious – are expanding their manufacturing facilities producing synthetic human albumen.”

From de-bottlenecking processes to providing hardware, upgrading or refurbishing laboratories or creating controlled environment rooms, the team work from early stage development and planning to providing complete turnkey facilities.

Mark: “We design and build highly serviced, technical complex facilities, from discovery to delivery. It is about understanding the pressures our clients face to hit deadlines, hit volumes and manage costs.

“We want to do more work with science parks. We have been working with end users previously on various science parks and believe we bring the experience developers are looking for. There is a lot of interest in science parks at the moment – Big Pharma is constantly monitoring developments.

“Our expertise is in the technical piece and understanding what a client wants to do, taking something from research to clinical trials, or a spin-out from bench-top work to a more controlled laboratory environment.”

Nick added: “An organisation may not have expanded for several

years and then decides they need to grow or upgrade. Another area where we can help is experience with vendors and suppliers. Our clients may not have spoken to an equipment supplier for several years, and things will have moved on in terms of technology. We keep abreast of that.

“From my perspective, I have moved from one side of the fence to the other; from running site operations to providing support and advice to people in that role.”

AS SIMP

l E AS g EO gr AP h Y

Sometimes the advice is as simple as geography because of the development of clusters specialising in fields such as cell & gene work, medical devices or diagnostics.

Mark explained: “Clients come to us wanting to get into a life sciences field. We have to get them to think about what is being offered in their region. Stevenage has cornered the market in cell & gene development, whereas Leeds is really hot on developing medical devices.

“It is important to understand the clusters that sit in areas, particularly when it comes to recruitment. Each sector will attract people interested in that specialism. You can be really up against it trying to recruit people out of their area of expertise.”

Nick adds: “The same constrains apply when we are working with academia, taking an early phase clinical study that may be on the verge of GMP. It can be as simple as identifying a fallow area that can take expansion without having to relocate to a completely new facility.

“And there are the softer services such as sterilisation; does a client need to buy an autoclave they are going to use once a fortnight or should they outsource. The same with laboratory gowning, security or IT infrastructure. Does a science park provide those services as part of its tenancy agreements?

“These are simple conversations, the questions people need to be asking at an early stage. Startups on science parks are often run by highly skilled, highly educated individuals who want to get on with the science; they don’t want to have to worry about the cleaning and the deliveries.”

Mark agreed: “People will be spinning out a new company after discovering something that excites and interests them. They want to concentrate on that. What we do facilitates that, enabling them to do their science. Why would they want to try and project manage building a facility when we can do it for them?

“Science parks provide space for all sorts of startup, from a small start-up laboratory to 200-300 sq m of lab space and larger in some science parks. The issue comes when they need to expand. Is there available space. Incubators are very attractive and people tend not to want to move, but a couple of expanding startups can soon grow to fill up and block that incubator space. What do you do then?”

The pair have also seen how the work on science parks is of increasing interest to big corporations.

“20 years ago the researchers and developers might have been part of a large company,” said Nick. “Now a lot of research is coming out of startups. They get to the point of proof of concept and Big Pharma comes along, rather than spending on their own research. That is the model now. Large companies are acquiring people on science parks, telling them: ‘We don’t want to absorb you into our organisation, with all our policies and procedures, and stifle your creativity, efficiency and innovation. We’ll just be a sleeping partner and if something good comes up, we’ll own it and run with it.”

Mark adds: “A lot of Big Pharma companies now have venture capital arms looking at the science people are presenting, looking at what is coming down the line that interests them.”

At the same time, the market for life sciences is constantly shifting, with more investment now for ADC therapies – antibody-drug conjugates – and less for cell and gene work.

Are there any issues that are common across the industry? Nick smiles; “Common issues? Surprises. At the moment, short term surprises, often people suddenly realising they haven’t got the resources to complete a project they have embarked upon. Can we help?” ■

For more information, please visit: www.scitech.com

n ew c arbon a ssessment tools from l abs2ZerO

The International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) describe the recent expansion of the Labs2Zero program’s benchmarking and scoring system for lab buildings. The program now encompasses operational and embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, complementing the energy-focused tools released last year.

initiated in 2022, I2SL’s Labs2Zero program provides a suite of tools designed to advance the decarbonization of laboratory buildings worldwide.

The development of this flagship program is employing the expertise of major engineering firms and more than 100 volunteers from across the lab industry (including some from the U.K.). We introduced the program’s early features in the Spring 2024 issue of Breakthrough and are pleased to give an update in this issue.

Labs2Zero is gaining traction in the lab industry: since the launch of the pilot Labs2Zero Energy Score in late 2023, the number of data submissions to I2SL’s

Laboratory Benchmarking Tool (LBT) has increased by 300%. The Labs2Zero Energy Score has also been recognized as an approved rating system for energy performance under the GRESB sustainability assessment program for commercial real estate.

The program is continuing to release new features. A vital part of any organization’s sustainability program is the assessment and reduction of GHG emissions, and Labs2Zero has recently been expanded to address that need. In May of 2024, the pilot Operational Emissions Score for lab buildings was added to the Labs2Zero program, and embodied carbon benchmarking was added to the LBT. Each of these releases is the first of its kind for lab buildings.

copyright: Flad Architects

O PE r ATIONA l EMISSIONS SCO r IN

g

The energy consumed by a lab building’s systems and equipment is the biggest contributor to the operational GHG emissions that are under its control. The new Labs2Zero Operational Emissions Score rates a building’s Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions against those of the 1,000 other lab buildings in the LBT’s database. The scoring system adjusts for the essential features of the building (type of lab space, amount of lab space, occupied hours, etc.) and for weather, so that comparisons between lab buildings are balanced. Like the Labs2Zero Energy Score, the Operational Emissions Score is a 1-100 rating where 100 represents the best performance. A building with a score of 80 thus has better operational emissions performance than 80% of other lab buildings. If you already have buildings in the LBT, their Energy and Operational Emissions scores have been calculated and you can find them on the Your Buildings page of the site. This complementary pair of scores

Above left: Alison Farmer, labs2Zero Program director and Secretary of the i2Sl board of directors

left: dirk von below, Flad Architects. dirk is also chair of the labs2Zero embodied carbon technical Advisory council

copyright: cory Klein Photography

now provides a powerful and rapid means of benchmarking building performance.

I2SL will continue to enhance operational emissions scoring in future years. One priority is to incorporate the impact of renewable energy certificates, green tariffs, power purchase agreements, and other renewable energy purchases on Scope 2 emissions. Another is to include more non-U.S. data in the peer group sample against which buildings are compared. The LBT is fully compatible with non-U.S. data and can be used in metric units mode, and so U.K. building owners can easily view their Energy and Operational Emissions Scores and add their data to the LBT database at https://lbt.i2sl.org

Top and above: For the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine’s addition and renovation project, Flad’s life cycle assessment demonstrated a 19% reduction in embodied carbon over the baseline structural model. these savings were achieved by working with the contractor to optimize the concrete mix

E

MBODIED CA r BON TOO l S

Around 11% of global GHG emissions come from the construction sector, and a large proportion is due to building structures and enclosures. This embodied carbon will become ever more significant as efforts to reduce operational emissions bear fruit. Embodied carbon reductions are possible through methods such as alternative material choices and reuse of existing structures.

Due to labs’ unique features and requirements, such as stringent vibrational criteria and higher floor-to-floor heights, the existing tools and studies that cover general buildings’ embodied carbon may not provide a true basis of comparison for lab buildings. In response to the need for benchmarking data for lab embodied carbon, I2SL developed the first embodied carbon database where the international lab community can benchmark their projects. This feature was launched on the LBT in May 2024.

This new tool operates the same way as the original LBT: users

enter their building data–in this case, the outputs of life cycle assessments (LCAs) for embodied carbon–then benchmark against the LBT’s peer group of anonymized buildings using a set of filters. In this way, owners, designers, builders, and consultants can see where their buildings’ embodied carbon intensities fall versus current state-of-the-art construction for similar facility types.

I2SL is working to grow the database of embodied carbon data from lab projects. This will enhance the number of projects and types of project to benchmark against, and will ultimately enable the creation of a Labs2Zero Embodied Carbon Score. This score will be included with the Energy and Operational Emissions Scores to create a full Labs2Zero Scorecard that provides a concise, thorough view of building energy and emissions.

w h AT ’ S NEXT

Several other major Labs2Zero tools are in development. The next release will be the Actionable Insights and Measures (AIM) Report, which bridges the gap between benchmarking and performance improvement. This software tool will provide an automated, high-level energy and emissions audit, with projected savings and costs calculated based on LBT data fields. Later, score certifications and training programs will be added to the suite of tools. ■

Feedback on I2SL’s programs is welcome at info@i2sl.org.

All Labs2Zero scores and tools can be accessed at https://lbt.i2sl.org.

The LBT is free to use, and the site includes Quick Start Guides on using the tool to benchmark operational and embodied carbon.

The Labs2Zero Partnership Program recognizes those who support the program as they contribute energy or embodied carbon data and benchmark their buildings on the LBT. I2SL is grateful to the many sponsors, data contributors, and volunteers whose support makes Labs2Zero possible.

Barrington Jordan-Snedden and David Owen explain Ellab’s role as the leading Validation & Monitoring provider for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, supporting and helping navigate organisations as they grow.

Compliance partner for the biotech industry

in recent years there has been growing recognition of the importance of collaboration and partnership in the biopharmaceuticals industry.

In a move away from the traditional supplier-customer relationship, companies are working more closely together, creating greater understanding of each other’s needs.

This process is key at Ellab, with its avowed mission to reduce the time-to-market and risk of product loss for biotech and pharma companies across the globe.

It does this through its CQV Compliance services, continuous monitoring solutions, GMP consulting and calibration services, working with the world's leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Barrington Jordan-Snedden is Ellab’s strategic partnership

services such as calibration, to ensure their equipment is operating correctly. As a partner who understands their business, we can help effectively navigate through different compliance topics..”

manager covering the ‘golden triangle’ between Oxford, London and Cambridge. He explained: “What we’re trying to achieve with our customers is a meaningful partnership. The strategy is to engage with start-ups at an early stage, and partner them through their commercial journey.

“That could mean spending the first two years providing consultancy, support and advice they need for the future.

“They may not need all our services initially, but they will have more requirements as they reach manufacturing status There will be all sorts of regulatory and compliance issues they will need to tackle and we can help educate them through a process of osmosis, over a protracted time.

“When the time comes to scale up they are well prepared. We supply

David Owen, Ellab CQV Sales Manager and ISPE Northwest Committee Member, added: “The customer can essentially cherry pick what they need throughout their journey. Whether they are a wellestablished business with an R&D facility or an Independent Consultant, we want to offer that support.

“And because our service is essentially modular, early-stage customers can take the bits they need as they grow.

“At the same time, we are working with most of the top 50 global pharma and biotech organisations, supporting them across multiple avenues, even those with well-established internal validation and quality teams. They probably don’t need all of our services, but they will require us for certain specialisms, especially if their own teams are tied up on internal projects.”

Barrington expanded on the theme: “As we forge the relationship there will be certain services that

resonate with a customer straight away. The next steps come as we continue to visit and build our understanding of their business.

“At Ellab we have three main business lines: Validation, Calibration and Monitoring. We can introduce our subject matter specialists from those teams as required. So, rather than having just one key account contact, we build more of a strategic partnership relationship, which means that different departments match up with their respective counterparts.”.

“There are often validation specialists or engineers within an organisation and we have our own validation consultants. So it makes sense for the both of them to speak, but equally they may not be well-versed in continuous monitoring so we've got a specialist there and they can come in.

“It’s not simply about having one contact that is a conduit through which all information passes; there are multiple strands of information exchanges often via several Ellab subject matter experts. Challenges can be tackled together.

"The result is a collective business culture which is immeasurably powerful.

“In the same way, a client may have the logistical challenge of needing to calibrate equipment on several different sites in a very short space of time. So we’ll work very closely with the client to create a seamless project, through collective team meetings.

Barrington continued: “When it comes to monitoring, a client may have a manufacturing plant that is automated with many different component parts within the engineering rig. So you have a lot of points of potential failure, so it will be fitted with a lot of sensors checking things are happening in the right order, in the right time frame.

“We have systems that effectively monitor the lifeblood of that rig. Pressure, Temperature, Humidity etc to ensure that if something is not quite right the maintenance engineer will know about it before things fail. These are highly complex monitoring systems, integrated with our bespoke software to allow the end user more control over both predictive and preventative maintenance. Both of which allow that user to save money on downtime, which could otherwise run into thousands pounds in lost profit.

“Its crucial our business partners have reliable systems in place. As an OEM we can deliver some incredibly effective solutions saving time and money for our clients.”

Calibration, says David Owen, is another constant process. “A customer will have a piece of kit installed in a laboratory or a production line, and will need to ensure that piece of kit is still fit for purpose every six, 12 or 18 months. That period will depend on the regulator and the advice from the manufacturer, but it will need regular maintenance and calibration.

“We carry out calibration to look at the equipment, the instruments, original measurements and test to see if it is still operating to its original required standards, whether that's pressure, heat and temperature, humidity and volume. And you need to validate that work to ensure the systems, the processes and the products meet the need of the user.

“So when a pharmaceutical or biotech organisation is looking to design, say, a new drug, they will establish a set of guidelines right at the beginning for how it will work. And that process will need validating. The production equipment will need validating, as will the packaging, the documentation, the environment in which it is manufactured, how it will be made and stored, how the equipment used to make the product will be cleaned and what processes to follow.

“And it will also specify how it should be transported, a complete checklist to set all these parameters. So here at Ellab we can support them as a Compliance Partner for the entire Commissioning, Qualification and Validation process. That can include establishing the Validation Master Plan to advice on the kit they need or guidelines on expanding a particular facility.

“In the world of pharmaceuticals or biotechnology, if it is not documented then it didn’t happen. It is very black and white, clear cut. You could build the best facility, have the best piece of kit in the world and make the best product ever produced, but if you haven’t followed the correct processes and haven’t documented how you got there, you can’t use it.

“Our involvement can start right at the beginning with a Risk-Based Approach, Integrated Collaboration, Establishing a Strategy for Process Control and Lean C&Q Planning and Execution.

“This is our role, as a CQV Compliance Partner to the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical industry.” ■

For more information about Ellab, please visit: www.ellab.com

Supporting the UK life sciences sector with flexible equipment financing solutions

in a world where technology advances at an eye watering pace, many businesses use flexible financing solutions to acquire essential equipment and the latest technology.

Nick has over 10 years of experience working with organisations at different stages of the drug discovery process, helping them leverage finance so they can access the latest technology without having to use up their cash reserves.

Nick has a strong understanding of the life science supply chain, and the forces that can be critical to an organisation’s success. he firmly believes access to the latest, most accurate and reliable technology, as it is fundamental to accelerate growth and extend their cash runway.

In the United Kingdom, the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) reported that in 2024, its members funded as much as 40% of UK investment in vehicles, machinery, and equipment (FLA, 2024)1. These statistics highlight the critical role of equipment financing in driving economic development. The percentage of equipment financed in the life sciences sector is lower and we are keen to make sure laboratory equipment users are aware of all their payment options when acquiring new benchtop technology.

S UPPO r TIN g T h E UK gO v E r NMENT ’ S vISION

The UK Government’s Life Sciences Vision aims to create a thriving life sciences sector that addresses major healthcare challenges, including cancer, dementia, and obesity. By fostering innovation and collaboration between industry, academia, and the NHS, the government seeks to accelerate the development and adoption of new drugs, diagnostics, medical technology, and digital tools. Flexible financing solutions play a crucial role in this vision, by allowing life sciences companies to invest in cutting-edge technologies and equipment, driving scientific excellence and ultimately, improving patient outcomes.

hE l PIN g UK SCIENCE PA r KS P r OSPE r Science parks are vital hubs for innovation and growth within the life sciences sector and with investment conditions still uncertain, R & D companies are often faced with the difficult decision of whether to acquire new equipment or preserve cash. By considering equipment finance for themselves and their tenants, science park operators can significantly enhance the capabilities of laboratories and research facilities.

AUThOr: Nick hoof (below), Senior Account Manager at dll has strong relationships with many laboratory equipment suppliers and is a regular at industry events.

B ENE f ITS O f USIN g f INANCE

Recent equipment finance statistics published by the FLA reported a 9% growth in new business for Q2 20241, reflecting the growing demand for financing solutions. This trend is particularly relevant for the life sciences sector, where access to state-of-the-art equipment is crucial for research and development. By leveraging equipment finance, organisations can stay at the forefront of technological advancements, ensuring they have the tools needed to drive innovation and achieve scientific breakthroughs. " l e ASIN g R e SO lve S TH e ‘b U y eq UIP me NT OR HAN g ONTO CASH ’ DI lemm A , A ll O w IN g b USIN e SS e S TO AC q UIR e eq UIP me NT w

Life sciences research often requires cutting-edge technology and equipment, which can be expensive. Equipment finance gives organisations access to the latest equipment without needing to pay the full capital cost upfront through options such as leasing or hire purchase. This flexibility allows R & D companies, CRO’s and CDMO’s to choose the financing method that best suits their needs and financial situation whilst preserving cash.

Leasing resolves the ‘buy equipment or hang onto cash’ dilemma, allowing businesses to acquire equipment while keeping cash within the business. This is crucial for life sciences companies that need to invest heavily in research and development. Instead of tying up large amounts of cash in equipment, life sciences companies can use equipment finance to retain cash for other critical activities like hiring skilled talent or taking on new premises.

In addition, fixed repayments allow businesses to budget with confidence. By spreading the cost of high value equipment over several years, equipment finance helps manage cash flow more effectively. This makes it easier for businesses to increase their output or upgrade to the most current equipment as needed. A finance agreement may include the entire equipment cost but a 10-25% deposit is not unusual.

The takeaway from this article is that when buying new laboratory equipment, life sciences companies and science park operators can benefit from considering the alternatives to outright cash purchase. ■

References:

1 Latest Asset Finance StatisticsFinance & Leasing Association (fla.org.uk) https://www.fla.org.uk/ research/asset-finance/

Disclaimer:

This article has been prepared for promotional purposes only. It is not meant as advice on how any transaction or aspect of it should be qualified from a legal, tax, accounting or other perspective. We cannot guarantee that any information provided in this article is complete or accurate or fit for your purposes. We recommend that you seek independent advice.

To get in touch with Nick Hoof: Phone: 07469 146162

Email: Nick.hoof@dllgroup.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ nick-hoof-09251616/

Innovation

e xtending the frontiers of UK science and industry

Nick Shave talks to Simon Penfold about Astroscale’s bid to become the first company to routinely service and remove satellites in orbit.

UK team with mission to CLEAN UP SPACE

The risks posed by orbiting space junk have been well known for decades, but an incident this summer brought the issue to the fore.

A 6,000 kg decommissioned Russian satellite broke up into more than 100 pieces of debris, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter. The ISS crew sheltered in their spacecraft for an hour before receiving the all-clear. It is still unclear what caused the break-up of the RESURS-P1 Earth observation satellite, which was decommissioned in 2022.

After nearly 70 years of space travel, the European Space Agency says recent statistical models estimate there are more than one million pieces of space debris measuring between 1 cm and 10cm orbiting the Earth, posing a significant risk to satellites and spacecraft.

There are 130 million more, measuring between 1mm and 1cm.

“At the moment anything lower than 10 centimetres is harder to

track but we know there are around 40,500 objects greater than 10cm,” says Nick Shave (above). “But anything below 10 centimetres is still a killer item because of the speeds they are travelling.” He should know; Nick is Managing Director of the UK arm of Astroscale, a Japanese-owned company developing the technology to service satellites inorbit and clear debris.

BUI l DIN g ON SUCCESS

Based at Harwell, home of one of the UK’s space clusters, Astroscale is preparing for missions that will actually remove satellites that are no longer in use.

It is building on the proven success of the Active Debris Removal by Astroscale - Japan (ADRAS-J) demonstrator mission and the Harwell-run End of Life Service by Astroscaledemonstration (ELSA-d). In 2021, ELSA-d completed repeated magnetic capture and controlled close-approach rendezvous operations between its two spacecraft in orbit. In April 2024, ADRAS-J sent back images taken within 50 metres of a three-tonne orbiting rocket body, an incredibly small distance in space terms.

This July, Astroscale UK secured an £11.78 million contract from UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency (ESA), in partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb to support the final phase of the End-of-Life by Astroscale-Multiple (ELSA-M) in-orbit demonstration.

Due to launch in 2026, the ELSA-M servicer – designed and

built at Harwell – will dock with and ‘de-orbit’ a Eutelsat OneWeb client satellite which has reached its end of life.

In September, Astroscale UK was awarded a £2.35 million contract by the UK Space Agency to continue development of its COSMIC spacecraft - Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture. This is Astroscale’s solution for a UK national active debris removal

mission to remove two inactive British satellites from space.

This will involve development of its robotic capture system and debris detumbling capabilities.

Nick Shave said: “There are about 40,000 man-made objects bigger than 10cm across in orbit, either satellites, discarded second or third stage rocket bodies or bigger pieces of debris. Of that, there are around 10,000 actual operational satellites.

“I think it was referred to in the UN as ‘a tragedy of the commons’ because no one owns space, so noone takes responsibility for it. It’s a bit like the Wild West. Elon Musk’s Starlink has around 6,000 satellites at an orbital height of 550 kilometres, so when Eutelsat OneWeb is launching its satellites up to 1,200 km they talk about going through the Starlink shell, and navigating that isn’t easy.

“Starlink are having to carry out 200 CAMs – collision avoidance manoeuvres – every day across their constellation, either avoiding their own satellites operating over multiple planes or avoiding spacecraft as they cross through. It’s a space traffic management problem.”

SUSTAINAB l E SPACE

At the moment tracking stations keep an eye on objects up to 10,000 km away. The space around Earth is divided into layers, with the area between 300km and 2,000km considered low Earth orbit.

Medium orbit is from 2,000km up to 30,000km. Beyond that are the geostationary satellites, remaining at the same point above the Equator and moving at the same speed as the planet’s rotation, about 36,000km up moving at 3km per second.

“Our mission is to make space sustainable for future generations,” said Nick. “We have all these legacy spacecraft that have been put up there in this throwaway culture. We want people to think about what happens after you put a satellite in space, about disposing of them correctly.

“That is a recognised part of the circular economy of any other industry on Earth; we’re working on adding to that circular value chain in space. There are a number of different markets we are looking at, with institutional demand from space agencies around the world such as ESA and JAXA – the Japanese Space Agency.

“And we’re starting to see regulators telling operators they don’t just need to safely operate their spacecraft in orbit but they need to dispose of them safely and sustainably. So the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in America has set limits on Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper constellation on when they have to de-orbit their satellites.

“Satellites are all built with redundant systems but there will be a failure rate. And there are a growing number of cheaper satellites in low Earth orbit that are going to fail. Which is where we come in, providing a service for commercial operators when they need it. We’ve used the term ‘space sweepers’ for what we will be doing, but it will be more of an in-orbit servicing company. Because we are being asked if we could upgrade spacecraft, remove an instrument or replace a computer processor.

Above: the team from Astroscale UK

Below: the elSA-M servicer is due to launch in 2026

All images courtesy of Astroscale UK

“That’s in the future though. At the moment we are working with Eutelsat OneWeb, who have docking plates fitted on their spacecraft. They are ferromagnetic and just 200 grammes, so low mass and low impact, placed at the centre of gravity. Our spacecraft has a strong electromagnet and when it gets close to the docking plate, creates a strong bond.

“It is what we are testing in the lab here at Harwell, this magnetic capture system. We’ve been doing both computerised simulations and physical testing in our clean room, working on the guidance, navigation, and control.

“It’s hard. How do you get close to an object in orbit, approach it safely and securely? We have multiple sensors on our spacecraft feeding into the software that has to autonomously work out what to do, which thrusters to fire. Our spacecraft has to be agile, so it has 16 thrusters all around the vehicle.

“ADRAS-J was able to inspect a very large piece of debris. We did a lot of the flight dynamics on that mission, analysing the sensor data and feeding the information back to the operations team in Japan. It was a really good joint effort.

“That mission is proving a lot of our proximity operations, the guidance, navigation, and control software we're building, as we got very close to a rocket body the size of a city bus.

“The next mission is ADRAS-J2 which will go and remove a threetonne rocket body in 2028, using robotics to pull it down until it is captured by the Earth’s gravity, which will act as a space tug.”

w O r T h BACKIN g

Given the comparatively small scale of the UK’s space industry, why did a Japanese company choose a base at Harwell?

“Our CEO, Nobu Okada, had started up in Japan and was looking for a country that would give governmental approval to the ELSA-d test mission, to test the magnetic capture system in space using a simulated piece of debris.

“He went to 10 countries around the world

and the last one he came to was the UK, and they were the only ones who would license it. They thought it was worth backing the idea, so we set up here working with the Satellite Applications Catapult and got some funding to build an operations centre. We operated ELSA-d from the Catapult Building here in Harwell.

“It’s another reason we ended up here; because the Catapult was on site and so were a number of companies that we could work with.”

In 2022 Astroscale UK opened its Zeus satellite manufacturing and operations facilities at the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus and now employs over 200 people. It also has relationships with around 100 suppliers.

“Wherever we can, we try and buy in the UK because it makes it easier logistically, but there are some components we have to go overseas for.

“There is an opportunity here if the market really does take off as we hope; it won’t be just us that will benefit but the supply chain behind us.

Top: the coSMic spacecraft (cleaning outer Space Mission through innovative capture) is Astroscale’s solution for a UK national active debris removal mission to remove two inactive british satellites from space

Above: Astroscale UK opened its Zeus facilities at harwell Science & innovation campus

“We are also seeing growing interest from forward-thinking institutional investors, both here in the UK and in Japan. So we’ve been able to raise around $500 million as we transition to a fully-fledged commercial company.

“I’ve spent most of my career working in the field of space technology, on a number of different programmes and missions including Galileo. After that I worked at Inmarsat, which took me from building software and systems to the satellite operations world. And then I got headhunted for this role. I was very lucky; it’s a dream job.

“My dad got me interested in astronomy as a kid. I took it as an ‘O’-level and even built my own telescope. I went on to study Physics with Astrophysics at King's College London.

“So for me this is a really exciting business to be in. There are high levels of expectation and oversight, particularly since we floated on the Tokyo stock exchange this year, but I’m pleased things are going well.

“It’s a new market with good potential. We need to prove the technology, and we are just a couple of years away from actually capturing objects in orbit with ELSA-M and ADRAS-J. We aim to be the first to do it, which will put us in a position to solve the problems of many agencies and commercial companies going forward.” ■

For more information about the missions of Astroscale, please visit: https://astroscale.com

left: the Astroscale docking Plate enables future proof of satellites for end-of-life removal

the ASSUred cAV highway provides customers with a world-class environment for testing advanced driving assistance and automation

Europe’s Leading Future Mobility Cluster at MIRA

Head of Commercial and Partnerships Jack Bartlett (above) started his career at MIRA Tech Park on the graduate trainee scheme in 2013. He reflects on more than a decade of success building Europe’s leading mobility cluster and looks forward at the opportunity to come….

At MIRA Tech Park, we strive to be a unique and impactful presence in the industry. This isn't just our belief; it's reflected in the analysis of our European counterparts. While many have facilities and accreditations, we have been fortunate enough to successfully develop a comprehensive Technology Park, something our competitors have yet to fully achieve.

We began this journey in 2012 with the opening of the new Control Centre as the central building in our new Enterprise Zone. The Centre was opened by Sir Vince Cable as the Secretary of State for Business and Industry and we were honoured to welcome him back recently to see how we have evolved over the last twelve years. We now boast 40 global tenants generating over £63m in high value employment per annum for people living in the Midlands and we've developed nearly 700,000 sq. ft of specialised R&D space including our latest building pre-let to Warwick Acoustics for the first sustainable manufacturing to take place onsite. Reflecting on our journey, four key factors have contributed to our progress:

1

P OSITIONIN g OU r SE lv ES

gl OBA llY w IT h E NTE r P r ISE

Z ONE C r EDIBI l ITY : Over two thirds of our tenant base have been new to UK businesses located at our site due to the infrastructure they have access to with a very low barrier to entry. New entrants to vehicle manufacturing want to move fast, remain agile, and spend the capital raised on commercialising product. Access to our testing infrastructure and engineering expertise paying just for what they need when they need it is the biggest attraction.

2

Pr O v IDIN g A DYNAMIC

P r OPE r TY SO l UTION : The second thing is being flexible with our property solutions thanks to partnerships. That started with Sir Vince and the Regional Growth Fund enabling road and power infrastructure to start building for occupiers. We need those partnerships more than ever as we plan for our next phase of growth and seek to capture commercialisation opportunities with a 4 million sq. ft property offer from incubation to production.

3

I N v ESTIN g IN INNO v ATION IN fr AST r UCTU r E : As mentioned, global businesses land with us because of the infrastructure we have and that requires continual investment

the vast MirA technology Park Southern Manufacturing Sector would add an additional 2.3m sq ft of advanced manufacturing space

alongside the rapid pace of technological change. We have seen over £200m in capital investment across our site in recent years from our crash lab to a UK first dynamic simulator and from green hydrogen production to our ASSURED CAV facility testing advanced driving assistance and automation. Alongside partnerships - it is the commitment of our parent company enabling this to happen. Without this investment, our unique competitiveness would quickly disappear along with the economic growth we support.

4

S UPP lYIN g T h E r I gh T TA l ENT :

The final thing that sets us apart among our European competitors is our focus on skills delivery at all levels from corporate courses through our Skills Academy; PhD expertise with Coventry University's CCAAR centre of research excellence; and our flagship partnership with Further and Higher Education in the MIRA Technology Institute. Combined with our STEAM Ambassadors school outreach, we work hard to provide pathways for local people into high value employment and for global tenants to attract and retain top talent, fostering innovation and growth.

While there are clear differentiators that set us apart from our global competitors; we cannot afford to rest complacent. I have worked in this industry long enough to see where we are missing critical opportunities for UK Plc. The nation invests heavily in R&D yet often loses the commercialisation returns to other parts of the world. We are asking a new Government to capitalise on our R&D strengths and support the transition from innovation to market-ready products more effectively. This means providing the right infrastructure, incentives, and strategic alignment to help great start-ups achieve success quickly. Britain achieved greatness through academic research, engineering excellence, and a robust manufacturing base. Now is the time to wake up and reclaim that initiative. ■

For more information, please visit: www.miratechnologypark.com

ChesT erfO rd r esearch par K Facilitating ground-breaking science and innovation

The Park is being developed as a low-density scheme, which allows the natural environment, including the Park’s arboretum, lakes and wide-open spaces to play a crucial role alongside the cutting-edge research facilities.

Complementing the natural environment and occupier’s R&D buildings, the Park’s central amenity, The Nucleus, provides all the facilities required to make working life simple, enjoyable and rewarding - as well as fostering collaboration between the community as they meet and interact there.

A N E w Er A :Th E S IDNEY S USSEX B UI l DIN g

With a masterplan for around 1 million sq ft, of which approximately 350,000 sq ft is already occupied, the sympathetic development of Chesterford Research Park continues with construction of the Sidney Sussex Building.

The new 60,000 sq ft fossil free building will further enhance the versatile range of research and development facilities at the Park, which include bespoke laboratory HQ spaces such as the Robinson Building, to the fully fitted laboratory suites within the multioccupancy Emmanuel and Science Village buildings and the smaller individual office spaces within the Mansion House. This range of accommodation has created a Park that can truly offer flexibility and scalability of space for both established ventures as well as those just starting out.

Chesterford Research Park

continues to set the standard for science parks in the UK with its commitment to providing sustainable, state-of-the-art facilities within its inspiring 250-acre parkland setting.

The Sidney Sussex Building will deliver up to ten additional individual, flexible suites spread over three floors, ranging from 2,226 sq ft to 8,409 sq ft. In keeping with the Park’s focus on sustainability, the Sidney Sussex building is designed to be fossil fuel free upon completion and use renewable sources for ongoing energy needs – including an array of photovoltaic solar panels on the roof – whilst also targeting a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.

Each fully fitted wet laboratory suite will include open plan office areas, whilst the laboratory spaces themselves will comprise benching, sinks and fitted fume hoods, as well as heating and cooling systems. The design has been created specifically with flexibility in mind, allowing suites to be combined to facilitate larger requirements.

Beyond the extensive and high-class laboratory spaces on offer, the Sidney Sussex Building will also benefit from a dedicated suite of communal meeting rooms.

Externally, landscaping works will provide a new pond, the planting of new trees and installation of bird and bat boxes to provide an ideal habitat for wildlife, further enhancing Chesterford Research Park’s existing parkland grounds and helping to deliver an overall biodiversity net gain.

Below:

Shane Townsend, Chesterford Research Park Manager, (right) commented: "The Sidney Sussex Building represents the next step in our mission to provide a world-class environment for discovery and is testament to Chesterford Research Park's ongoing commitment to supporting the expansion of the UK life sciences sector.

“Its flexible design and advanced facilities, that can adapt to the evolving needs of our occupiers, will help to facilitate groundbreaking advancements within a sustainable building. We are excited to see the advances that will emerge from this new space."

A N EXCEPTIONA l P A r K

More than just physical space, Chesterford Research Park provides a uniquely positioned ecosystem that supports growth and innovation.

The Park’s strategic location within the Cambridge Cluster, and the Golden Triangle, allows companies to benefit from proximity to world-class academic and research institutions, a highly skilled workforce, and an extensive network of industry peers.

Its low-density development ethos ensures that the parkland setting is preserved, offering a tranquil and inspiring backdrop for groundbreaking work. Within touching distance of Cambridge, excellent public transport links also afford easy access for occupiers, employees and visitors.In addition to public transport, a range of Park provided transport options further helps facilitate an efficient commute for those working on site. These include:

• A daily coach service picking up from three Cambridge locations (two central and a recently introduced third route from the north of the city) in the morning and returning via the same routes at the end of the day.

• A daily shuttle bus service to and from Great Chesterford railway station.

• A car-sharing scheme - LiftShare - for those who need - or preferto travel independently.

• Numerous EV charging stations located across the Park.

A g r EEN AND

BA l ANCED w O r K l I f E

The Park’s design takes a holistic approach to work and life, providing a range of amenities that enhance occupiers’ daily experience. Among these is a 7-hole, par 3 golf course, perfect for a relaxing break or a bit of informal networking. Additionally, within its central amenity - The Nucleus - the Park boasts:

• A modern health and fitness centre to keep teams healthy and active.

• A stylish restaurant and bar, ideal for both casual dining and professional events.

• Dedicated meeting spaces and conference facilities, creating the ideal environment for productive collaborations.

It’s low-density footprint also prioritises green spaces and champions environmentally friendly practices, creating a healthy and inspiring environment. The integration of sustainable technologies and activities ensures that the Park not only supports current business needs and occupier ESG targets but also contributes to a greener future.

Tr U lY DESI g NED

f O r DISCO v E r Y

An inspirational, productive environment, Chesterford Research Park is a location truly designed for discovery. High quality R&D space, with 24-hour security, set within a tranquil parkland setting alongside excellent additional amenity has created the ideal environment for innovation, with everything a team needs to accelerate their activities. As such, it has attracted a diverse and innovative range of occupiers, including Arecor, CellCentric, Domainex, Illumina and Microbiotica. ■

For more information about Chesterford Research Park, visit: www.chesterfordresearchpark.com

Above: the entrance to the Park's central amenity, the Nucleus

left: the terrace compliments the natural environment of the Park's 250-acre surroundings

the new Sidney Sussex building represents the next step in chesterford's mission

ntimicrobial resistance, or AMR, is one of the biggest global health threats. Bacteria are rapidly evolving to resist the antibiotic drugs we have relied on for a century, since Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in 1928.

PACE - Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy - was launched a year ago, a £30 million programme working across the UK and the global scientific community to speed up innovation and develop new ways to combat AMR.

Programme Director Beverley Isherwood explains: “The majority of antibiotics were discovered quite some time ago. There are just a handful of novel ones that have been discovered since the 1980s. Looking across all of them, you can see the point at which the first resistance occurred, and there are now a number of infections that exist in the world which are not treatable by any antibiotic that is available today.

“Without further intervention and bringing on new approaches, new ways of tackling the problem, things today we perceive as routine – C-sections, hip surgery, cancer therapy – that absolutely depend on ready access to effective antibiotics will no longer be routine. There’s a risk we would move into an almost pre-antibiotic era.

“So we absolutely need to get ahead. PACE is about making sure that innovation stays ahead in the race with the bacteria.”

P r OJECTIONS

The numbers are frightening. “1.27 million deaths worldwide were directly attributable to infections caused by bacterial AMR just in 2019 alone, and around 4.7 million deaths were related to AMR. The projections are that, without intervention, those numbers are going to rise significantly: over 8 million people every year by 2050.”

That is similar to the population of London.

The programme was brought together by three managing partners: The Government’s innovation agency Innovate UK, the medical research charity LifeArc,

and Medicines Discovery Catapult, headquartered at Alderley Park in Cheshire, where Beverley works.

Launched in 2016 by Innovate UK, MDC is now one of 10 Catapults across the UK. “We are an independent, not-for-profit organisation and our role is to work across the life sciences sector – including universities and SMEsto help the UK's research and innovation landscape grow and be successful, especially as it relates to medicines discovery.

“I've been at MDC for four years and I'm a Strategy Leader, bringing strategic and scientific leadership to MDC’s infectious diseases portfolio, specifically focused on AMR, which is a huge area of need.”

The role fits. Beverley’s background includes a PhD in molecular virology and 15 years with AstraZeneca and Pfizer. “I've spent about 20 years in medicines discovery. A lot of that in external facing collaboration roles blending together public, private and charity research and looking to translate early-stage innovation into medicines.

“Life science is a real strength in the UK, from the large pharma companies to the small and medium enterprises, the universities and the contract research organisations across the different science parks across the UK. It was a great opportunity to join the Catapult and start to foster these collaborations in a convening and collaborating role.

ACCELERATING paCe Of RESEARCh

PACE

is a £30m programme to help develop new ways of combating AMR – antimicrobial resistance. Programme Director Dr Beverley Isherwood explains to Simon Penfold how it works.

B r EADT h

“In the wider team at MDC and in our partner organisations we have a breadth of people who've been in different parts of the sector, have worked in large pharma, in charities, in small enterprises and have worked in government bodies as well.

“We need all of that collective experience to be able to address some of these big thorny challenges like AMR. It is going to require cross-sector collaboration and that's a huge part of what MDC looks to enable.”

On PACE, Beverley works as joint Programme Director alongside Clive Mason from LifeArc, PACE Innovate UK Lead, Phil Packer and the wider PACE team based at both LifeArc and MDC. Another part of her role at MDC is overseeing a suite of other collaborations. “The longest standing one we have is The CF AMR Syndicate delivered through a very close partnership with Cystic Fibrosis Trust and LifeArc. The Syndicate is helping to bring forward new antimicrobials and diagnostics to realise new treatment options for lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis.

“We have other collaborations in our portfolio too including supporting vaccine development.

“PACE marks its first year of operation this September. It’s a £30 million initiative over an initial term of five years brought together through a collaboration between ourselves at MDC, Innovate UK and LifeArc.

“All three organisations believe in the need for us as organisations, and as members of the science community, to do something about AMR and the huge challenge it poses. The AMR sector is underinvested as a result of wider market failures and challenges. So we came together to try and address that gap in both funding and support to empower innovation and accelerate early stage translation.

“There's a huge amount of innovation in academia, in small and medium enterprises, in the UK and overseas, and this is largely being driven by individual groups, often teams of five or six people with fantastic ideas. What they deserve is proper funding with the wraparound support to go with it, to help those ideas progress and then hopefully be successful at securing continued onward investment.

“What we've created in the UK is one of the largest public-private initiatives in this area. It’s allowed us to create a completely new blended funding stream which lets us work with innovators, the best science globally, and we're helping those global teams access the best of the science and support in the UK to help address the AMR challenge.

“AMR is an area where the UK plays a leading role internationally. The UN General Assembly convened a High-Level meeting on AMR in September at which global leaders aligned around targets to address AMR. Earlier this year, the UK published a new National

Action Plan for AMR with a significant number of commitments being delivered by the UK science community towards meeting global targets.

“One example is the work done by the UK in addressing the broken market in antimicrobial development. You don't really want to use new antibiotics unless you absolutely have to. But the way medicines are typically valued is per use. That doesn't work for antibiotics. What the UK has done is to pilot and now launch a subscription-based approach to paying for new antibiotics and that's a world first.

ANTIMIC r OBIA l S

“It's a multi-sectoral problem that needs to be addressed multiple different ways. Commitments in the UK National Action Plan span initiatives to reduce unnecessary use of antimicrobials, optimise use, improve access and invest in innovation. At PACE, a part of the UK action plan, our focus is all around helping to drive and accelerate early translation to bring forward new antibiotics and new diagnostics.

“There's a need for novel antimicrobials, ones that are increasingly more targeted, that are effective at tackling the multidrug resistant bugs and at the same time not introducing widespread and rapid resistance. You want to minimise that potential to form resistance and the novelty is allowing us to keep ahead of the resistance continually evolving in the pathogens.

“From our first funding round, last October, we were looking for novel innovative early-stage antibacterial therapeutic projects.

And we got an overwhelming response. We received 171 expressions of interest from 34 countries globally - 40% of those applications came from the UKand such a breadth of different modalities.

“There were classic small molecules under development but there were also programmes involving phage, complex medicines, antibodies, and other biological modalities, all against novel targets.

“That portfolio, as it comes online, will be something that helps to drive the novelty and give us more options. There's always going to be a need for multiple different antibiotics to tackle the challenge of resistance.

“It's about having options, having different ways to address the problem.”

Alongside the continual development of new drugs there is a need for improved diagnostics.

“It's hard to prescribe the correct antimicrobials without also having the diagnostics that go hand in hand with that. Although some tests do exist, most antibiotics are prescribed in primary care without a definitive diagnosis. That can and does lead to unnecessary and inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions, which is driving that resistance further, and it also leads to people not being given the correct antibiotics soon enough.

“That is the focus of our second PACE funding round, which launched in September. Here we are looking for innovations in diagnostics with the potential to

reduce inappropriate prescriptions, provide faster results to indicate which treatment should be used and/ or catalyse the move to personalised, narrow-spectrum treatments.

“Because of the nature of AMR, bacteria will continue to evolve and there is always going to be this need for innovation to bring forward new antibiotics alongside appropriate diagnostic tests.

“The innovators that we're working with across the science parks in the UK and internationally are small teams with absolutely brilliant ideas. They need funding in an area that is underfunded and they also need access to the right support.

“Over the last 12 months, PACE has established collaborations and worked with people and organisations across the UK to make sure that PACE portfolio projects are able to move their assets forward with speed and confidence. So we are leveraging the strength and depth of capability across the UK through a network of delivery partners.

“For instance, we've formed a partnership with the UK Health Security Agency who have an Open Innovation in AMR platform. They will facilitate rapid testing of molecules in the portfolio against panels of clinical strains representative of those currently circulating in the community.

“Things like that will help these projects move as fast as they can in the best way possible so that they're de-risked and ready for onward investment.

“These projects that we're working with are, by their nature, innovative, so there is often no clear road map how to go from the start right through to the end and realise patient benefit. So we are working across the sector including with people who have been affected by AMR, through partnership with the not-for-profit organisation We Are Vocal to help ensure R&D is aligned with the needs and priorities of people affected by AMR. Together with the wider community we can make sure that there is a lit runway for these projects, so any potential roadblocks are moved out of the way.

“It's a very motivating and passionate community to be part of. I think the UK science sector is a great community and being part of the international AMR community is special; it's a team sport basically. Hopefully, in our role supporting translation we can get investors and industry excited about the new wave of treatments and diagnostics in the early pipeline and help address AMR.” ■

To find out more, please visit: https://md.catapult.org.uk/ or https://paceamr.org.uk/

Alderley Park - home of Medicines discovery catapult - image courtesy of bruntwood Scitech

f Diagnostic Assays

f Laboratory Products

f Research Reagents

f Sample Collection & UN3373 Packaging

f Custom Made Kits

MonMouth Scientific Safety cabinetS choSen for groundbreaking cardiff facility

When 3D biology pioneers Molecular Devices launched a specialist organoid facility it chose Guardian Class 2 Biological Safety Cabinets from Monmouth Scientific for its innovative work.

Over the last two decades Monmouth Scientific has become one of the UK’s leading suppliers of clean air solutions for laboratories, research centres, pharmaceticals, electronics and the aerospace sector.

Its pioneering technologies have created a range of specialised products in the field of fume cupboards, laminar flow, biological safety and ISO class cleanroom solutions.

Monmoth Scientific’s Class 2 Biological Safety Cabinet utilises a specially ventilated enclosure, developed for sterile material handling and sensitive processes where biological samples are applied requiring a safe work zone, providing protection for the user, sample and surrounding environment.

The cabinet has been independently type tested and approved to BSEN 12469:2000 by the UK’s leading authority on biosafety cabinets, the Health Protection Agency at Porton Down.

That made it the automatic choice for global life science and 3D biology pioneers Molecular Devices for a new facility revolutionising organoid manufacturing

Molecular Devices has a groundbreaking, purpose-built life sciences site in Cardiff, dedicated to research, development and industrial-scale manufacture of organoids.

Organoids’ structures originate from human stem cells and represent organs in the body. They are instrumental in advancing drug discovery by providing humancentric models that give accurate predictions for the safety and efficacy of potential new therapeutic compounds.

The ability to produce organoids at such a large scale is unprecedented and offers the potential to streamline the drug discovery process, allowing for a rapid transition from laboratory research to medical applications and reducing the high failure rates commonly seen in clinical trials.

The Cardiff facility, underpinned by the firm’s proprietary bioreactor technology, is poised to revolutionise healthcare through the provision of large quantities of consistent and reproducible patient-derived organoids. The initiative aligns with the UK Government’s Life Sciences Vision, bolstering the sector, which contributes over £94 billion to the UK economy.

CONTAMINATION CONTROL

To ensure the highest levels of sterility and contamination control within the new facility, Molecular Devices opted to install Guardian Class 2 Biological Safety Cabinets provided by Monmouth Scientific). The need for stringent regulation is critical in the production of organoids, as even minor particulate contamination can significantly impact the quality and consistency of these delicate structures.

Within the controlled laboratory, Class 2 MSCs (Microbiological Safety Cabinets) serve as an essential component, maintaining sterility during the manipulation of cell cultures. The filtration and air flow within the cabinets provide a clean

environment and an air curtain that protects both the user and the cultures, from exposure to contaminants.

The facility is also equipped with advanced air filtration systems and working protocols for laboratory personnel that include the use of non-particulating suits, hair nets, sterile clogs, and an air shower entry system to minimise particulate load.

EXPERIMENTS

Inside the Class 2 MSCs, Molecular Devices’ scientists perform a variety of critical tasks, including:

• Organoid Expansion Projects: Custom expansion of organoid lines for clients, ensuring high-quality, uncontaminated cultures.

• Research and Development (R&D): The team is engaged in many different projects including optimising the growth of organoid lines and tissue types, improving

next-generation organoid expansion technologies and refining organoid characterisation techniques such as immunohistochemical staining to better identify different cell types within the organoids.

• 3D Imaging and Automation: Collaborations with Molecular Devices teams globally aim to enhance 3D imaging and automation technologies crucial for advancing organoid research and their applications.

Monmouth Scientific marketing manager Michael Skidmore said: “This facility allows Molecular Devices to scale up the production of these organoids to an industrial level.

“They now have four of our cabinets enabling them to carry out their work in an environment that protects both the user and the sample from contamination.

“The cabinets use HEPA - high efficiency particulate air – filtration and the air flow creates an air curtain preventing any cross contamination.

“Our biological safety cabinets area tried and tested piece of technology that have proved essential to these kind of applications. When everyone was taking COVID tests and sending them away, they were being processed in Class 2 cabinets, which offer the high standard of protection that was needed.

“At the same time our the HEPA filters we use in our biological safety cabinets and laminar flows, and the activated carbon filters used to trap any biohazardous materials in our fume cupboards, ensure that no material is ducted into the atmosphere, reducing any impact on the environment.”

WORKFLOW

The incorporation of Class 2 MSCs has significantly enhanced the workflow and efficiency at the facility.

Historically, prior to the availability of safety cabinets, tissue culture work was performed on open lab benches, posing a high risk of contamination. The lengthy manipulations and labour-intensive nature of organoid work necessitates long periods of culture work at a time and would simply not be possible. Contamination of cultures would lead to batch failures and substantial financial implications.

The suite of Class 2 MSCs at the new facility each provide an independent sterile workspace for individual organoid lines, mitigating the risk of crosscontamination and ensuring the integrity of large-scale organoid production. This has streamlined operations, improved the reliability of results, and maintained the high standards required for industrial manufacturing.

Elizabeth Fraser, strategy partner at Molecular Devices, said: “Our experience with Monmouth Scientific has been very positive.

“The installation of the Class 2 Biological Safety Cabinets and the opening of our new laboratory facility represents a significant milestone in the industrial-scale production of organoids and an advancement in drug discovery.

“Monmouth Scientific worked with us to ensure the safety cabinets were manufactured, delivered and commissioned in alignment with the facility's setup timeline. Additionally, Monmouth Scientific provide ongoing service and maintenance for the units, safeguarding their performance.

“The project has been instrumental in the successful establishment and operation of our new facility.” ■

Monmouth Scientific are exhibiting at Lab Innovations on October 30-31 at the NEC, Birmingham. The company will be showcasing its clean-air solutions on Stand F30 as part of the SDI Group Lab Partners.

For more information on Monmouth Scientific’s clean air solutions and sustainable recirculating technology, visit: www.monmouthscientific.co.uk or contact our expert team today.

Above and left: A Monmouth Scientific class 2 biological Safety cabinet in operation at Molecular devices' new life science facility, designed for the industrial-scale production of organoids

UK sCienCe sK ills crisis or opportunity?

Laurence Dawkins-Hall, (right) member of Lab Innovations' advisory board and research technician, highlights shoots of progress amidst a mire of skills and training issues.

Tambassador and research technician at the University of Leicester, suggests that the myriad causes of the science community’s talent deficit are related.

he Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) estimates there is a shortfall of 173,000 jobs in the UK’s STEM sectors. This poses all sorts of challenges for the future: how will the country keep pace with the AI revolution? How will we solve the major scientific crises of the future, from disease outbreaks to climate change?

Financial crises have engulfed many academic institutions. Study visa applications dropped 16 per cent between January and June 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. With high-value international recruitment faltering, the Guardian reports that 67 institutions are already carrying out redundancy and restructuring programmes.

However, the difficulty to fill STEM vacancies in 2024 shows that problems go beyond recruitment. Laurence Dawkins-Hall, Science Council

“The roots of this skills shortage are interlinked. An ageing technical workforce, a lack of strategic, joined-up thinking, insufficient investment in infrastructure and poor administration of what funding there is all contribute,” says Dawkins-Hall.

“The disconnect between industry needs and universities’ educational priorities is the first problem. Teaching in higher education tends towards the theoretical rather than applied knowledge. Practical modules reinforce this theory rather than equipping future graduates with the skills required in the workplace.

“Poor utilisation of experience holds back post-graduates and PhD students too,” he asserts. “Research technicians like myself have been moved away from technical training towards routine lab tasks, with that role passing to older PhD students.

“The wealth of experience and troubleshooting knowledge that technicians have accumulated, often over long careers, is passing out of the system when they retire or leave the profession.”

Poor career progression opportunities is among the top cited reasons for technical laboratory staff leaving their positions.

“Another issue is the uneven distribution of wealth between prestigious Russell Group universities and other HE institutions. Inevitably, lack of access to up-to-date equipment and techniques will lead to a disparity in graduate competency levels,” continues Dawkins-Hall.

Clearly, there is a lot to do to rectify Britain’s skills shortage. Despite this, Dawkins-Hall sees existing programs that point in the right direction.

“The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (ifATE), for example, standardises apprenticeship training in terms of required knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSB). This is implemented by Training Providers program(s), inculcated through real workplace experience and assessed by End Point Assessment Organisations (EPAO).

“These programs are run to standards set out by government but aligned to real world workplaces, such that apprentices arrive equipped with skills that are currently lacking in most standard university graduates,” Dawkins-Hall explains.

“The Technician Commitment is also affording participating personnel and institutes training and networking opportunities that will improve morale, augment CPD opportunities and offset the current unsustainable exodus of technical staff.

“Only by sharing and promulgating these successful initiatives will we address the skill shortages that threaten to stymie British science in the coming decades. Lab Innovations is the perfect place for the industry’s brightest minds to do this,” concludes Dawkins-Hall. ■

To be a part of the UK laboratory community’s solution to the skills crisis, join us at Lab Innovations on 30 and 31 October at the NEC, Birmingham.

Register for free: lab-innovations.com

a

& 31 October 2024 NEC, Birmingham

30 & 31 October 2024 NEC, Birmingham

30 & 31 October 2024

NEC, Birmingham

Step into a world of endless possibilities once again at Lab Innovations. Expand your professional circle, exchange ideas, and gain invaluable insights to propel your lab practices and processes to new heights.

Step into a world of endless possibilities once again at Lab Innovations.

DAU b EN y will be flagship for life sciences on Th E Oxf ORD S CIENCE PARK Growth

work began this spring on the Daubeny Project at The Oxford Science Park, to deliver three new state-of-the-art laboratory and office buildings across 450,000 sq ft of space – 41,806 sqm. When it is completed in 2026 it will provide life sciences space for both the Park’s existing occupiers and new companies.

Each of the buildings will offer enhanced lab infrastructure to support research work, with the capacity for up to 70% wet or dry laboratories on every floor.

It is the next stage in a programme of development work that has seen the recent completion of The Iversen Building and the building of The Ellison Institute of Technology’s Oxford Campus, designed by Lord Norman Foster, which is due to be completed in 2027.

The Daubeny Project is named after Charles Daubeny, a groundbreaking Oxford scientist, Demy of Magdalen College –majority owner of The Oxford Science Park – physician, Oxford Professor of Chemistry and later Chair of Botany.

Sharing your success, best practice, and lessons learned

The 450,000 sq ft Daubeny Project is by far the largest development on The Oxford Science Park in its history. Chief Executive, Rory Maw, reveals to Simon Penfold how it will cater for the growth in life sciences work on the site.

His original laboratory space in the Daubeny Building at Magdalen College houses his library, bequeathed to the college in 1867, while the university’s herbarium also bears his name.

Naming the latest project after Charles Daubeny underlines its role in expanding facilities for life sciences on the park.

l I f E SCIENCES

Rory May, chief executive of The Oxford Science Park (below), said: “The Daubeny is our flagship project. Iversen is now finished and Leggett will be built once we’ve completed the relocation of a Thames Water pumping station – which has delayed matters somewhat. And then we have one more building that we are hoping to secure planning consent for in October.”

“We are on on target to have the first Daubeny building

completed by Easter 2026, the second building that summer and the third, we’re hoping in December 2026.

“The project is targeted at life sciences. We put the infrastructure into the design for life science. It could be used for tech, but it's probably a bit over-specified on the air handling side for that.

“We have a design team who have done a lot of science buildings. On Daubeny, the architects are Scott Brownrigg, who have done several buildings in Cambridge, and our M&E engineers Hoare Lea are probably the best in the business at science buildings.

“It's massively important to get the right team and we we've been lucky by and large. It is very collaborative work, very focused on delivering something which can be commercially successful.”

And it is already proving that the demand for its space is strong. “We are

already having conversations with people who are on the Park and people who are not yet on the Park about taking space in Daubeny.

“Across The Oxford Science Park, we've had consistently very high levels of occupancy. Pretty much every tenant we've lost over the last five years has been because we couldn't provide them with suitable space at the time they needed it. There haven't been many, but the ones who have gone have generally been for that reason.

“For us, this is certainly the biggest commercial life science project in Oxfordshire, if not the biggest commercial project of any type. It's 450,000 square feet gross, 380,000 square feet NIA, so there isn't anything else of that scale.

“It will provide the combination of purpose-built life science space, with all of the services and capabilities that requires, as well as the ability to co-locate staff rather than having them distributed across a number of buildings and sites.”

SUSTAINABI l ITY

The Daubeny Project is designed to offer abundant natural light, spacious receptions and ground-level lifestyle space with

generous atriums, colonnades and landscaping. Air source heat pumps, cutting-edge ventilation, and a state-of-the-art façade design will help ensure the buildings are energy efficient, support carbon reduction and utilise 100% renewable energy sources. The development includes generous undercroft parking with provision for 25% EV charging, as well as 537 cycle spaces.

Mace was awarded the £184 million contract to deliver the Daubeny Project. In collaboration with The Oxford Science Park and the design team, Mace says it has been working to ensure that sustainability translates into the build, using innovative ground engineering solutions that will save around 3,000 tonnes of embodied carbon. The facades will also be the largest use of recycled aluminium for a stick curtain wall project in the UK, saving over 500 tonnes of embodied carbon.

Robert Lemming, managing director for public sector and life sciences at Mace Construct said: “The Oxford Science Park is home to some of the most forward thinking and innovative companies, and these new cutting-edge facilities will help unlock ground-breaking research that people will rely on for decades to come.

“As our population grows and ages, more sites like these will be needed to meet the pressing demand for high-quality laboratory space, and at The Oxford Science Park we are setting new standards for efficiency and sustainability.”

The new buildings will feature biodiverse landscaping, extensive photo-voltaic energy generation and optimised building orientation for natural light and energy efficiency.

The project has gone from plan to spades in the ground in rapid order. Rory May said: “We appointed the design team in March 2022. We put in for planning 1st of September 2022, so that was a real hard charge from forming the team to getting the planning application in.

“We probably won’t actually see people in the buildings until 2027 because we are building them to shell and core and then there will be the fit-out by the tenants.”

Daubeny is very much being built to fill a demand: “We knew that there was that lack of supply in the market and we wanted to address that,” said Rory.

“I think it's fair to say that Oxford has upped its game very dramatically in the last 20 years in terms of life sciences.

“It's been the number one medical science university in the world for the last 12 years, I think, and has really transformed its competitive position over the last two decades. And that is now reflected in the rate of spin-out generation.

“Most of the companies who are based here are spin-outs of one form or another. They're not all from Oxford - some are from other universities - but we have a very high number of spin-out companies. In fact, Oxford is still a bit light in terms of representation from major international biotech and pharma companies.

“I think that is starting to change and we hope Daubeny will help with that. The increased interest is a combination of a couple of things; it's major pharma and biotech companies acquiring spin-outs and thereby establishing a presence in Oxford which they then want to grow. And it's also others looking at Oxford, looking at the science here, looking at the ecosystem and saying we want to be part of that.”

Rory May has been chief executive at The Oxford Science Park since April 2021. He was

previously the investment bursar at Magdalen College, which is the majority owner of the park.

“In that role I still had oversight of the science park as it was the major asset in our endowment and I could see the immense opportunity here. I decided to come up here and run it full-time rather than that oversight role.

“I’m from a finance background; an economics degree from Cambridge and then 30 years in the City. I took the role at Magdalen in 2014 so I’ve been pretty closely involved in the development of the science park for more than a decade.

EXPECTATIONS EXCEEDED

“Looking back, I think the growth in Oxford as a life science centre has exceeded even the expectations that here we had then. When I arrived at Magdalen, the Science Park it was a 50:50 joint venture with M&G Real Estate and one of the first things I did was buy them out.

“That was because we could see there was a lot of potential that was not yet being realised. We wanted to own that realisation. If I look back at the papers I put to the

governing body in 2014 and 2015, what we expected in terms of growth and rising rents has happened, but it has happened even faster and at greater scale.”

But the Park is now coming to a watershed in terms of expansion and development. “The planning consent we're going forward with in October is the last plot. So then we will be looking at redevelopment.

“I think we’ve got a lot of potential to increase the density here. If I look across at Cambridge, that's effectively the exercise that the Cambridge Science Park has started to go through, where they had some low-density old building stock that was no longer suitable for modern science activities.

“There is a slight difference, in that they have a fragmented ownership, whereas we wanted to increase our ownership and control. But the principle is the same.

“We’ve got buildings that are 35 or 40 years old and it will be very hard to meet modern environmental standards in those buildings. They don’t meet the needs of a modern science research-based company.

For instance you need adequate floor to ceiling heights for air handling and data cabling, or just simple things like the amount of power available in a building. It is a question of keeping the infrastructure up-to-date, providing modern buildings that meet both the sustainability targets and the functionality requirements that are needed.

“But in the meantime, Daubeny will be the project that really establishes Oxford’s position in life sciences” ■

More information about The Daubeny Project can be found at: www.daubenyoxfordsp.com

gPE Scientific provide specialist laboratory equipment in the Chemistry and Life Science sectors, with a growing portfolio of sustainable solutions in both practices, our own custom scientific glassblowing capabilities, and a dedicated specialism in complete laboratory solutions for new lab builds.

We pride ourselves on maintaining a team of highly trained applications specialists who work with laboratory managers, sustainability managers, procurement managers and end users to ensure that your labs have the optimal equipment and support to make their research as simple and effective as possible. Here’s how we do it:

We work from the science backwardsour team of highly trained applications specialists are on hand to help you maximise your scientific processes. Our hands-on consultative approach to laboratory supplies enables us to achieve an unparalleled understanding of each stakeholder’s requirements.

We’re not just a catalogue vendorwe pride ourselves in our pre and post-purchase support to guarantee that your equipment works perfectly.

The best of the bestAchieving scientific excellence requires excellent kit for your laboratory. We partner with world-leading brands, often exclusively, to offer the highest quality equipment across the UK.

Complete Laboratory Solutions –Our technical focus enables us to provide a wide scale of solutions anywhere from single benchtop items to entire laboratory kit-outs. We have a range of experience working with construction, engineering & architecture affiliates on large projects, both from a consultative and complete project management standpoint, whilst fighting the scientists’ corner every step of the way to guarantee that the laboratories we work on are optimised for their intended research.

Sustainability – Our wide range of sustainable solutions, headed up by specialists who have worked on a significant number of sustainability projects, enable us to optimise your laboratories’ running costs and lessen their impact on the environment. ■

For more information, please visit: www.gpescientific.co.uk

Clean a ir’s disrU p Tive

T eC hn O lOgy

C reaT es safer f U me CU pb Oards

Will Perrott , managing director at Clean Air, explains how Computational Fluid Dynamics is enabling the company to design safer, more sustainable, fume cupboards.

will Perrott is passionate about lab safety. He has been the managing director at Bolton-based Clean Air Ltd since 2012, building one of the most client-focused fume cupboard manufacturers in the industry.

Will admits that he remains, at heart, a scientist. “We know every person operating in a lab wants to feel safe,” he says. And this principle is a big part of his drive to make innovation a major strength for Clean Air.

Most recently that has seen the company make a major investment in developing the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to design, optimise and type-test its fume cupboards.

“Our team still gets a buzz from the applications our fume cupboards serve,” says Will. “The nanotechnology red dots in virtually every TV screen in the UK are researched in a facility with our fume cupboards; identifying cancers in blood cells; advances in treatments for kidney, liver, and lung fibrosis; breakthroughs in graphene scale up and new uses

– you’ll find our units at the heart of all this and much more.

“We love hearing about our clients’ projects and helping them with new ideas to make their fume cupboards safer and easier to use. Working with these labs - large, small, and everywhere in between - keeps us excited about what we do. It drives us to keep innovating, to stay relevant to the UK science community.

designed. To be truly sustainable, Clean Air had to find a way to eliminate the use of sulphur hexafluoride - SF6 - in its operations.

“There are two areas our clients tell us are important to them: containment – the safe removal of fumes; and sustainability – the science community gets the need for change. We pride ourselves on listening to lab users, so we set out to innovate and to lead the fume cupboard industry in sustainability.”

It’s not simply the products that are innovative, but how they are

Below: the air velocity around a 1.2m wide APeX

Series fume cupboard during cFd testing

He explained: “The traditional way of testing fume cupboards uses SF6 which has the highest global warming potential of any gas known to man, so there’s a clear need to stop using it.”

Until now SF6 has been vital. “It’s an incredibly heavy gas and when you release it inside a fume cupboard you can measure what escapes to ten parts per billion. But it remains in the atmosphere for over 1000 years.

“Other industries have found much less harmful alternatives but there isn’t one that works as well for testing fume cupboards. So, we applied some lateral thinking – we couldn’t replace the gas, so we found another way of designing and testing: CFD.

“If it’s proven for designing aeroplane wings at Boeing or Airbus, it’s going to work for us.”

Above: clean Air managing director Will Perrott

For Clean Air, the new design technology is a game changer. “We’re a comparatively small company on the world stage, but we’re the global leader in using CFD to optimise and type-test fume cupboards.

“We’re using powerful computers and smart software to simulate airflow through a fume cupboard. Then we can digitally modify our designs as we learn more about how the units are purging fumes. We can design quickly and cost-effectively, improving and increasing the amount of R&D we do.

Not only is this work directly benefiting lab users through safer cabinets, but at the same time, using CFD for design and testing has the added benefit of making Clean Air a much more sustainable business.

“As an example of the success of CFD modelling, at the Lab Innovations Show in October, we’ll be debuting our new acid-resistant polypropylene fume cupboard, the PPX. Our customers told us they want a plastic option - they’re typically used for strong acids - and we haven’t used a single molecule of SF6 in the PPX’s development.

“Just as importantly, the CFD modelling has enabled us to improve the fume containment by 70%!

“This is an incredible achievement when you’re working with such toxic chemicals. We’re disrupting the industry to give scientists a safer fume cupboard, more quickly, without destroying the planet with greenhouse gases!

Above: bespoke fume cupboard solution for a leading life Sciences company

“Our work to develop CFD testing was supported by Innovate UK, the national innovation agency. We worked with Manchester Metropolitan University on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with a professor and two academics. We also took on a team member with a PhD in computational fluid dynamics, and it’s taken us three years to get to the point where we can test our fume cupboards digitally without using this global warming gas.

Below: ten substantial, extra-large walk-in fume cupboards were installed at the University of Manchester’s state-of-theart graphene engineering and innovation centre (geic)

“While we’ve stopped using SF6 internally some of our customers still request its use in testing. And all the international standards committees still use SF6. But we’re working with them, and they can see there’s an alternative.”

“I firmly believe that our efforts have made us the market leader in our industry in terms of sustainability and innovation.

And we’ve achieved this by listening to what our clients need.

“Listening is definitely a particular strength. We have a reputation for being willing to listen and open to adapting and creating bespoke designs.

“We keep safety at the forefront of every fume cupboard we supply, and we love a challenge and solving problems. We’re geared up for itwe have the right culture and a fantastic design team capable of accommodating robotics or high-heat loads, or with specific attributes to meet a very particular application. The CFD is the icing on the cake - you get the answers as a beautiful visual representation of how well the cupboard contains.”

Will describes a scenario where a listening culture delivered a win-win outcome for the client and Clean Air.

“Liverpool University came to us; none of the fume cupboards on the market suited their needs and they wanted input into a new design. We thought ‘they’re an incredibly experienced fume cupboard user, so let’s talk’.

“We worked with their academics, technicians, students and operators. They wanted space, light, containment, and ease of relocation. As a result, the APEX series fume cupboard was born. It’s the perfect university fume cupboard and has become one of our best sellers.

“Listening, adapting, doing our very best for the lab community and the planet – it’s part of who we are. We’re market leaders in very specific areas: in safety, sustainability, innovation and client-focused design. In those areas, we’re the best in the industry.” ■

For more information, please visit: www.cleanairltd.co.uk

This summer has seen work start on the £60m Greenheys scheme at Manchester Science Park. Senior development manager for Bruntwood SciTech, Zoe Peace, explains how it fits in with Bruntwood SciTech’s wider plans.

greenheys prOjeCT on tracK for 2026

it is an exceptionally busy time for Bruntwood SciTech, just a year after it announced a £500 million funding boost to support its growth.

At the same time it recruited Greater Manchester Pension Fund to the joint venture between Bruntwood and Legal & General that now claims to be the UK’s largest dedicated property platform working across the knowledge economy.

Bruntwood SciTech’s avowed intention is to create a £5 billion UK-wide portfolio supporting 2,600 high-growth businesses by 2032.

One of its high-profile projects has been the £60 million Greenheys development at Manchester Science Park, where lead contractor Willmott Dixon began work this summer.

Scheduled for completion in summer 2026, Greenheys will span 131,000 sq ft across six

floors, three of which will provide the future headquarters of UK Biobank, the world’s most comprehensive source of health data for research.

Their laboratory space will boast cutting-edge facilities, including the latest-generation robotic freezer capable of storing and retrieving up to 20 million biological samples four times faster than current standards, revolutionising the pace of scientific discovery. The relocation will dramatically increase the speed at which they can supply samples to researchers, allow for the storage of more samples as UK Biobank expands, and be more environmentally efficient.

MASTE r P l AN

Bruntwood SciTech’s senior development manager Zoe Peace is overseeing the Greenheys project. She said: “This is the third phase of our masterplan work at

Manchester Science Park. The first phase was the Bright buildingwhich forms the hub of the Park, then Base – which was completed during lockdown – and Greenheys is the third new-build development on the Park.

“It’s targeting a different customer group to Bright or Base. There is 131,000 sq ft of net lettable space, with UK Biobank taking the ground, first and second floors. We then have three floors of commercial laboratory space which will provide eight suites per floor, of around 2,500 sq ft per suite.

We’re providing a solution to a gap we’re seeing in the Manchester ecosystem for those seeking grow-on space and ready to take that next step out of academic or start up environments.

“We are providing a mix of fully fitted lab space and shell and core to provide flexibility to future customers of the

Below: Zoe Peace, Senior development manager at bruntwood Scitech is overseeing the greenheys project

building who may want to be able to walk in on day one and start work, versus others who wish to control the fit out of their spaces.

Greenheys forms part of Manchester Science Park’s ecosystem, where there are around 150 businesses, a partnership between two universities, NHS trusts, the local councils; it is an established cluster where these new companies can take their next steps.

“And they can do it within the established Manchester ecosystem of the Oxford Road CorridorManchester’s knowledge quarter, which is also home to Europe’s largest clinical academic campus.

Now, with UK Biobank being at the Park too, this will be a huge benefit and attractor to that ecosystem.

“It’s been a really exciting project to work on, balancing highly specified commercial lab

space with UK Biobank’s requirements which, given it forms part of the UK’s critical Life Sciences infrastructure, is vital to ensure resilience. So the logistics around that have been interesting and fun to work through.

“Obviously for us and all our customers on the park, it's a fantastic opportunity.

T w O h A lv ES

So you have this tale of two halves, bringing commercial and very specific UK Biobank requirements into one building, and ensuring its bringing all the lessons learned from our state-of-the-art office space buildings we have. It will be

Above:

a best-in-class lab building but also a fantastic home for scientists to work in.

“At the same time, we are working closely with the local community – there is a huge amount of local history around Greenheys and it is situated next to a residential neighbourhood. Alongside involving the community in a thorough consultation process, we’re opening up the wider Park buildings to the community toofor example Bright Building is used by local school children to do their homework and access our wifi. We hope that by students seeing and experiencing a snippet of the science and tech sector, it may just inspire them. On a more practical level, we’re also ensuring that the building looks great for them too, for example we’ve designed a wrap-around living green wall that’s going to look fantastic.”

Zoe said: “The foundations have been laid and we’ll be looking at topping-out in the spring, with completion next summer.”

one of bruntwood Scitech's high-profile projects is the £60m greenheys development at Manchester Science Park

E v EN BI gg E r

Zoe is also project managing an even bigger scheme, at an earlier stage of development: the £250 million redevelopment of Melbourn Science Park in Cambridgeshire.

“At the moment the park is just short of 200,000 sq ft; an amalgamation of life expired buildings, low density and many are no longer fit for purpose.”

Spanning up to 390,000 sq ft, the masterplan for Melbourn includes six new lab and office buildings, three refurbishments, a new village green for the local community to enjoy, a gastropub, a boutique hotel, and improved transport provision. With workspace to support up to 75 life science and tech businesses, the plans are geared towards increasing capacity and jobs in the Cambridgeshire knowledge economy.

The proposals, led by architects Sheppard Robson, will offer co-working, leased and managed lab and office space to accommodate

the region’s thriving life science, tech and innovation sector, from startups through to international R&D centres of excellence.

Creating a publicly accessible campus will open up Melbourn Science Park to the local communities of Melbourn, Meldreth and Royston villages.

Proposals also include new walking routes through the park’s landscaping and wetlands, and biodiversity increased by up to 30% with an additional 275 trees planted, and natural habitats nurtured with bird and bat boxes, and large planting areas created that promote pollinators, foraging and overall habitat diversity.

All new buildings within the Park’s masterplan are targeted to be net zero carbon in construction and operation, Three retained buildings will be upgraded to maximise energy efficiency, and as much of their existing fabric will be kept where possible. Carbon emissions will be reduced through an energy efficient heating network that links heating and cooling

between buildings and is connected to all-electric air source heat pumps.

The masterplan transforms the Park into being 100% electric and includes 600 sq metres of solar panels. Blue-green roofs will also be installed on five of the new buildings to ensure water drainage is sustainable, supporting the campus’ biodiversity.

“We are still seeing a response to the spotlight that Covid shone on the life sciences sector. With the UK’s academic strengths, IP, knowledge and talent base, as well as macro factors such as an ageing population and evolution of new scientific discoveries, the life sciences industry is fundamental to our economy and the everyday health of the population.

“Alongside this however, the property market dynamics have changed, with costs going up. It makes for a challenging environment, but we’re really excited to be leading the way in this and to be delivering best-inclass stock and products to meet the market demand.” ■

For more information about the Greenheys and Melbourn projects, go to: bruntwood.co.uk/scitech/

Above: Melbourn Science Park in cambridgeshire is undergoing a significant redevelopment

cambridge Business Park is the premier office development in Cambridge, comprising 12 modern office/technology buildings, amounting to 325,000 sq ft. The Park has unrestricted business use.

Home to Qualcomm, Redgate, Price Bailey, Cadence and the BBC, amongst others, the Park is located in the popular north Cambridge cluster, adjacent to the A14.

The Park has great transport links, being within easy walking distance of

the University of Strathclyde is a leading international technological university based in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Inspired by our founding principle as ‘a place of useful learning’, our mission is to make a positive difference to the lives of our students, to society and to the world.

We are a research-intensive university, committed to creating new knowledge and understanding to tackle the challenges of our times. Through our ground-breaking research, we are contributing to a better world.

In the recent Research Excellence Framework 2021, the UK Government's system for assessing research quality, almost 90% of Strathclyde's research was assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.

We have also redefined how we collaborate and work with industry, government and the third sector to ensure innovation and knowledge exchange are fundamental activities that deliver tangible impact.

Our Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) embodies our collaborative approach and transforms the way

Cambridge North Train Station and the Guided Busway.

Owned by The Crown Estate, Cambridge Business Park is in a strategic location central to the emerging North East Cambridge Area Action Plan, as well as close to one of the world’s leading science and research universities. This presents a major opportunity to transform the area into a leading

academics, business, industry and the public sector work in partnership and is home to a variety of organisations including the UK’s only Fraunhofer. We're working together to find solutions to challenges that matter in areas of economic importance.

Located adjacent to TIC is the University’s Inovo building created to encourage collaboration between businesses, key partners, and the University. Inovo is home to a plethora of innovative organisations including three UK catapults including Offshore Renewables, High-Value Manufacturing, and Connected Places. It is also home to four Scottish Innovation centres namely CENSIS, Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, IBioIC, and The Data Lab.

Innovation District that contributes to local and national economic renewal. The Government has ambitions for the UK to become a science and technology superpower by 2030. To do this, it must compete with its more productive international rivals in providing high-quality commercial space, funding cutting-edge research, and attracting world-class talent. By using The Crown Estate's unique position to bridge the gap between the public and private sectors, they believe they can galvanise the right partners around their vision for Cambridge Business Park. They have been working with existing customers, adjacent landowners, local community groups and the local council to determine how they can all align to make the most of this opportunity for north-east Cambridge. ■

For more information, please visit: www.cambridgebusinesspark.co.uk

The University of Strathclyde is a founding partner of two of Scotland’s leading Innovation District’s - Glasgow City Innovation District (GCID) and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland. The University is located within GCID’s Innovation Ecosystem which is internationally acclaimed for driving innovation to industry.

Strathclyde was named Scottish University of the Year 2024 in the inaugural Daily Mail University Guide, Sunday Times Good University Guide Scottish University of the Year 2020, Times Higher Education UK University of the Year 2019, and was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for its excellence in energy innovation in 2019, excellence in advanced manufacturing in 2021 and excellence, innovation and entrepreneurship in photonics in 2023. ■

For more information, please visit: www.strath.ac.uk

Impact

Taking care of your people, places and public perception

A career built where science and business meet

Caroline Gray OBE

(right),

recently retired Director of

the OpTIC Technology Center and Professor of Enterprise, Engagement and Knowledge Transfer at Wrexham University, tells Simon Penfold about her 40 year career in Optics and Photonics.

Science Parks operate at the intersection of business and scientific research. Caroline Gray has spent her entire career at that intersection.

She has just retired after 12 years as the director of Wrexham University’s OpTIC Technology Centre, the culmination of a 40year career in the optical industry.

The OpTIC Technology centre is a business and technology centre based in St Asaph, in North Wales linking R&D, industry and academia.

OpTIC is the base for Wrexham University’s own commercial manufacturing company Glyndwr Innovations Ltd, which was formed in 2015 following a project with the European Southern Observatory’s to produce mirrors suitable for the ESO E-ELT telescope. They currently manufacture optical mirrors up to 2m in size plus the complete design and fabrication services for complex systems including optical telescopes and instrumentation. The OpTIC Center team also, led Wales’ Centre for Photonics Expertise, a £7.2M 4 Welsh University partnership, ERDF/WEFO funded project developing academic and industrial

collaboration. This project supported businesses across Wales to access facilities and expertise specifically directed at helping their businesses and capabilities grow.

Most recently she had been heading up the team who successfully secured the contract to produce the M5 integration mirror for the ESO E-ELT telescope for the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy, operating three sites in the Atacama Desert region of Chile.

Not bad for someone who left school with just five ‘O’ levels.

Caroline Gray did not follow a conventional route in the world of academia and photonics research. Starting work after leaving school in 1981, there were a couple of jobs before she joined Pilkingtons, the UK glass giant, at St Asaph in North Wales in 1986.

“They had a new project, to develop bifocal contact lens, and the brand-new process they were using for that was single-point diamond turning,” Caroline recalls. “To make the diffractive lens it had to be a special method of manufacture and I was lucky

enough to get in on that project right at the beginning.”

She went on to work at Pilkington’s Space Technology arm.

“My background and passion is for precision machining and fabrication of optical surfaces together with the measurement of those surfaces, which is absolutely key . And that has really been at the core of my career ever since, in various guises.”

Caroline started a physics degree at Liverpool John Moores, studying part time for two years while working at an optical design consultancy Optics and Vision. She then went full time to complete the course, graduating in 1992.

D IAMOND TU r NIN g

She went on to become MD and technical director at Phoenix Optical Technologies, an independent optical manufacturer.

“I joined in 2000 from a consultancy role developing test methods and optical designing, particularly around diffractive surfaces. At the time the new wave of technology was thermal imaging and the fabrication of those materials – not glass, but infra-red materials –meant diamond turning was the best process, because it could machine optical surfaces directly.

“I joined Phoenix to introduce that process and develop the diamond turning. We did that very successfully, having grown into the largest independent diamond turning facility in Europe. This company is still one of the leading diamond turning companies in Europe today.

“I finished at Phoenix and created my own consultancy in 2009 called Optics Know-How Ltd. I closed that company in 2016 because I joined Wrexham University.

“The lead up to that was the ESO project, the telescope mirrors. As a consultant to the optics centre, they were struggling with the process to produce the very large mirrors for the ELT –Extremely Large Telescope. They had reached a point where they couldn’t really move it forward, so I came in to help with that. We broke through that logjam and a process was developed that is still being used now.

“When I finished, what we had developed there was something really special; a capability that was unique in the UK, producing mirrors up to two metres in size, of a very high complexity and accuracy.

“There were a number of large telescope projects active at the time so there was demand for these kinds of lenses, especially with the E-ELT in Chile.

“So we span that out as a company within the university, and that was Glyndwr Innovations Ltd (GIL). Today that company has a massive blue chip customer base including BAE Systems, Qinetiq and Trioptics.

“Getting that balance of academia and business right was key with GIL and with the work of the OpTIC Centre, which sits within a cluster of optics businesses. Then came the Centre for Photonics Expertise (CPE), a three-year ERDF funded project involving four Welsh universities –Bangor, Wrexham, Aberystwyth and the University of South Wales.

“I was the project lead. Each university had a distinct photonics capability, all brought together under one umbrella. It was extremely successful. Eventually it was a £7.2m project over four years, created seven full research jobs over that period to support businesses, all at that cusp between business and academia – that was what it was there to develop.

“We ended up doing 90 projects supporting 68 businesses. Most of those businesses had never had any links with academia before. All the universities were very disappointed when the funding was pulled. I feel it was a real missed opportunity.

“It provided a model that worked, of uniting business and academia. It still has a very strong legacy.”

There were clear lessons; “We try to put things in silos: that’s blue-sky research, that’s applied research, that’s a company. Building a bridge between them it means understanding the different way they approach things.

“To become an accountant for a moment, the way money comes into academia, whether it is research or running a university, you start with your pot of money, your grant or student fees, and you manage that pot of money down to zero, or sometimes a surplus, throughout the year.

“With a business you start with nothing and build up your pot of money to a profit position. Plot those two axes and you have a deep valley, often termed the valley of death. What happens in the middle? How do you turn that curve?

D E v E l OPIN g

r E l ATIONS h IPS

“CPE showed it could be done, with people on the ground talking to businesses and listening. The biggest skill you can have in developing relationships is to listen and not to speak.

“When we started CPE we had two business development managers and I told them: ‘Do not go in there and start telling people what photonics is and what amazing things we can do for them. Just let them talk about their business. What are the itches they can’t scratch, what would help their businesses?’

“We would take their challenges away from the company back to 14 strong the academic team and business development personnel from accross the 4 universities and brainstorm . Then feed back to the company. We then assigned the best solution that came out of that brainstorming to the university team that could best deal with it, and they took ownership and worked together with the industry partner to establish a working solution.

“The academic team want to do this work, see their research being applied and develop the next generation of projects.

“It is about applied research, the need to bring together industry experience and knowledge with the rigor of the academic approach and scrutiny from a professional researcher; that is where the magic happens and when the economy grows.

“It also means understanding the urgency on the business side. They need a solution now. They have a problem, and the academic side needs to react.

Universities

typicallyhave the academics with the skills, waiting to come up with a solution, but the process generally takes too long. Then the opportunity is lost.”

In 2022 Caroline was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Jubilee Honours, for her contribution to the optics industry and businesses in Wales.

“That was amazing,” said Caroline, “a real bolt from the blue. I’m typically British, so there was that mixture of pride and embarrassment, but the recognition was wonderful.”

Why retirement? “I started work at 16 and I always promised myself that I would retire at 60 and I always try to keep a promise… also I am continuing to work as a consultant within the Optics Industry, which enables me to pick and choose the projects that interest me.

“I also run a fitness gym. Exercise has always been a way of switching off for me, and that passion became a business about four years ago.”

Then there is the indoor rowing.

“I used to take part in triathlons. I’m quite a fair-weather person so I started indoor rowing to winter train but it sort of took over.”

Caroline went on to hold three European and one world championship medals in her age category as well as achieving five world records in group distance rowing.

Ph OTONICS

“I enjoy keeping track of the statistics and the numbers – it takes your mind off the pain!

“But applied research, commercial R&D, that is where my passion lies. When I joined Pilkingtons I didn’t know anything about photonics; I needed a job. However, it caught my interest in a way that nothing else ever had; it is the level of precision required.

“Photonics is a massive umbrella of technologies, but my area is in optical systems, testing, and fabrication. Making really complex and highly accurate surfaces, things down at fractions of a wavelength, a 20th of a wave, especially at the latter end of my career.

“With the sizes of optics up to one and a half metres, making something that is less than 7.5nm RMS is just a phenomenal challenge, getting that balance between the quality of the surface, the accuracy of the surface, and the functionality. It just fires my interest for some reason.

“Just as I finished at Wrexham GIL won a 1.7m euro contact to produce the M5 integration mirror for the Extremely Large Telescope, their biggest challenge to date. I worked on the bid and that was signed just before I left. It was a fantastic way to finish.” ■

To connect with Caroline, please visit: www.linkedin.com/in/ caroline-gray-obe-b824b73/

greenlight Computers has been working with clients in Science Parks around the UK for many years. We have joined UKSPA to expand our network and hopefully add value to more UKSPA locations by providing IT services & solutions to clients on campus.

Greenlight Computers specialises in the Life Science & Healthcare sector and in support of this we have invested in a strong set of accreditations including ISO9001, ISO27001, Cyber Essentials Plus & GxP enabling us to support technology in the Lab environment. Our account management team are qualified scientists with real life experience in the lab environment and this will continue to be our recruitment strategy. We have processes in place to work with regulated and unregulated clients across all disciplines.

We have been providing IT support services to clients in this sector for almost 2 decades. Many clients have

been with us throughout.

We also see clients who through the nature of the funding model sometimes demise and re-appear in a new guise. Those clients return to Greenlight when their new business emerges. We are most delighted where clients get acquired, terminate our services but the new owners then return to us with a bigger contract for the wider group.

By positioning technical staff on UKSPA campuses we provide exceptionally responsive front-line services backed by a depth and variety of technical expertise in our Manchester HQ. We provide our clients with a “single point of service” approach working on their behalf with other technical 3rd parties where required.

We are looking to talk to clients on UKSPA campuses across the UK to help them protect their science and data in the digital world with cyber security solutions approved by big pharma and major insurance companies.

We believe we have a strong campus infrastructure offering from the provision of large-scale resilient

management and BMS systems support so we are comfortable working with Science Park FM teams on infrastructure projects.

The most important service we offer is the IT Managed Services for UKSPA tenant companies from start-up to mature SME. Putting in the correct IT and cyber security from day 1 enables our clients to go from start-up to scale-up without risk and become showcase tenants for UKSPA campuses. We regularly present on topics such as Cyber Security, Data Segregation & IT Strategy on UKSPA campuses and in University settings to try and add value to business incubation. We also spend significant consultancy time completing big pharma IT governance questionnaires to assist Life Science businesses to secure and retain regulated contracts.

We wish to continue growing our client base by supporting early-stage Life Science. We would like to expand our Science Park presence in the next few years and building relationships within this community is a key part of that long term strategy. ■

Please contact our CEO Gary Dodson if you feel there is a need for a fresh look at IT services on your campus. Can we be a differentiator for you?

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REAC h KE y DECISION MAKERS with b REAKTh ROUG h

You can reach key decision makers in the science, innovation, research and technology sectors with Breakthrough magazine. Advertising opportunities are available to book now for upcoming issues to be published in 2025. For more details or to book your space, call Krishan on 07539 321 345 or email krishan@breakthroughdigital.co.uk

Carbon-neutral science parks have plenty to offer investors and occupiers, especially in a field like agri-tech that’s driving more sustainable land use. We just have to spell out their benefits, and think laterally to bring everyone on board, says Liz Sparrow (right) Partner at Ridge

sCienCe par K s

how to sell sustainability to investors and occupiers

The UK’s thriving science scene is one of the most exciting sectors to work in right now. We’re seeing a new generation of projects that are designed not only to facilitate the transition to a more sustainable world, but to embody it.

Agri-tech is a particularly promising area, and an inspiring one: innovations in fields such as robotics, AI-optimised crop management and biotechnology will transform the way we farm, and be essential to our future food security, and ultimately to the survival of the human race.

At Ridge, we are helping to deliver several agri-tech research parks, including Norwich Research Park and the new Innovation Village at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU), where we are providing Planning Consultancy and Project Management. The RAU’s vision is to create a community of entrepreneurs, policymakers, practitioners and researchers committed to

transforming global agriculture, on a carbon-neutral campus in the heart of the Cotswolds. At the Innovation Village, regenerative land use will be central to the development, not just the science taking place within it. The site itself is at the heart of the proposals, and it will become a test bed for research but also for enhancing biodiversity and health and wellbeing. The masterplan was submitted for outline planning consent earlier this year, and the next, crucial step is to bring investors and potential tenants on board who share the RAU’s long-term goals

This is a challenge for any trailblazing scheme that seeks to offer something different and to push the market forward, and it’s one that Ridge is used to helping developers meet, in the science sector and beyond. We know that attracting investors and occupiers is not always straightforward – but we also know that there are many opportunities to increase a site’s appeal, by taking time to

understand their underlying business needs and to communicate how being part of a sustainable community can support them to achieve their goals.

Here are just five ideas from our extensive portfolio, which could help the UK’s emerging agri-tech sector to reach its full potential:

1lINK YOU r v ISION TO T h EI r l ON g- TE r M SUCCESS Developers can attract occupiers by underlining how the overall aims of the site can support them to attract both talent and investors. Like the RAU Innovation Village, Ecotricity’s Eco Park green tech campus in Stroud is also intended to be an exemplar of low-carbon development, not only in the buildings and infrastructure, but by prioritising pedestrian and cycle access over car travel. Our multidisciplinary team is helping to create the kind of healthy, active environment that tomorrow’s low-tech-carbon pioneers are seeking, and which investors will want to buy into.

Above: ecotricity's eco Park in Stroud is intended to be an exemplar of low-carbon development

specialised facilities and communities around Big Data at Harwell, automotive innovation at Bicester Motion, and fusion energy at the UK Atomic Energy Authority campus. In all of these cases, we’ve been able to spell out the symbiotic, multiplier effects that result from buying into that vision – so occupiers are not just renting office or lab space, they’re becoming part of an ecosystem.

Demand for sustainable developments is being driven from the top, by investors seeking to green their portfolios, but also at a grassroots level, by employees’ changing expectations. Organisations seeking to recruit and retain the brightest Gen Z minds are facing tough questions about their environmental impacts. Both of these factors will become increasingly compelling selling points for sustainable science locations.

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E MP h ASISE wh AT T h E COMMUNITY CAN O ff E r

T h EM The strongest science developers tailor their vision and their buildings to specific subsectors, so that they can offer facilities that are laser-focused on tenants’ needs, but also provide an environment where they will be rubbing shoulders with like-minded, complementary organisations. We have been involved in creating

The Innovation Village at the RAU aims to become a global research destination for the agri-tech sub-sector, with spaces tailored to major corporates, start-ups and everything in between, as well as a conference centre, restaurant, farm shop, cafe and live-work units. Its regenerative approach to land use will only add to its appeal, and enhance the community that grows up around it.

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S MOOT h OUT h I gh E r COSTS O f ENT r Y

Rents in a sustainability-led development, with better quality, more energy-efficient buildings, may be higher per square metre than a standard shed – but these will be recouped over the life of the tenancy, as a result of lower energy and water bills. For start-ups or SMEs that are scaling up, and living from grant to grant, this frontloaded cost profile may present a challenge, so developers may need to offer wider community amenities to bridge the gap.

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S UPPO r T OCCUPIE r S w IT h gr EENE r f IT OUTS

A developer’s responsibility may stop at the occupier fit-out, but they will want to ensure it matches the ethos of the wider

campus, either by imposing landlord requirements or using mechanisms like green leases, where both sides are committed to reducing the environmental impact of a property. A good tenancy agreement would articulate the potential solutions too, presenting a menu of options rather than a list of constraints. Developers could also retain a fit-out team to help occupiers navigate an unfamiliar process, and achieve an outcome that works for both.

When Ridge designed the BREEAM Excellent Command Works for the Bicester Motion future mobility estate, our team also designed sample-fit-outs. These demonstrated how the needs of future tenants could be met, in balance with commercial viability and the sustainability and planning requirements of this sensitive heritage site.

5

Sh A r E ES g r ESPONSIBI l ITIES

Some aspects of sustainability are easier to fulfil at scale. On our sustainable master plan for a Formula One campus, a multidisciplinary Ridge team is exploring how organisations might share their ESG responsibilities, for example on waste reduction. One solution for science parks might be to adopt a whole-site recycling strategy, which could be tailored to the occupants – in agri-tech, an anaerobic digester could process agricultural waste to produce energy.

With any first-of-its-kind development, persuading investors and tenants to embrace a new way of doing things can be difficult, but it is essential. The success of a community is down to its members, and even the most sustainable building will fail to live up to its design ideals if it is not operated efficiently. So we need to think differently and be prepared to take new approaches – to demonstrate that when it comes to realising our ambitions, the property sector can be just as innovative as the scientists. ■

To read more about sustainability at Ridge, please visit: ridge.co.uk/ expertise/sustainability-and-esg/

geOThermal energy A vital resource in achieving low carbon climate control at science parks

Laboratory and science centres face a unique challenge in maintaining the constant specific temperatures that are vital for the work they conduct. In the drive to achieve low carbon solutions, harnessing the potential of geothermal energy as a resource for climate control in buildings may prove indispensable.

Carbon Zero Consulting Director

John Findlay explores how the energy stored in groundwater and the earth below these buildings can be used for both heating and cooling at scale.

Science parks and laboratories face a unique heating and cooling challenge. These buildings must be maintained at specific temperatures to conduct work year-round.

Without this, the ability to carry out specialist research will be impacted – too high or too low temperatures can compromise samples, spoil materials and lead to contamination. It is vital to maintain a regular temperature of around 20°C, but doing so across multiple buildings on a campus requires a lot of energy.

In the context of decarbonisation, delivering the needed climate control inside laboratories and research spaces

right: John Findlay is a director at carbon Zero consulting, an rSK g company, and has 25 years of expertise in the provision of delivering ground source heat pump systems to a wide variety of applications, including science parks and universities.

he has been a member of the council of the ground Source heat Pump Association for 10 years and is a former chairman of the association.

has its challenges in terms of energy consumption.

Campuses like these are typically designed using district heating networks powered by a central boiler, traditionally run on gas.

Where these complex networks are already in place, there are options to retrofit low carbon, renewable systems that deliver the control and flexibility needed for maintaining constant temperatures year-round. It is the energy stored in the earth below the building that offers such an opportunity.

Harnessing geothermal energy presents a renewable, low carbon energy source for

large-scale heating and cooling. Geothermal systems use the higher temperatures present at depth, generally in excess of 500 metres, for the provision of heat. Alternative ‘ground source’ systems use the heat energy in the ground from depths of as little as one metre via trenches to around 100–400 metres using boreholes.

gr OUND SOU r CE OPPO r TUNITY

Ground source systems are much more widespread, as they are easier and cheaper to construct and can be designed to provide heating, cooling or both. The ground, or the groundwater contained within it, is not at a temperature to provide heating directly, so heat pumps are used to boost the temperature obtained from the ground to that required for heating a building. In the UK, the temperature of the ground at a depth of 100 metres is constantly at 10–13°C. The efficiency of a ground source heat

pump system providing heating only is typically around 350% (known as a coefficient of performance (COP) of 3.5). This means that the heat pump can provide 3.5 units of heat and/or cool for every unit of power consumed.

This ground temperature can be used for direct ‘passive’ cooling or, with the use of a heat pump, to provide chilling. Ground source systems provide the very highest degree of efficiency when they are designed to provide heating and cooling in approximately equal measure. Such systems provide a long-term coefficient of performance of 5.0 or more. In the context of the science park, this is particularly beneficial because the ground and groundwater remain unaffected by short-term and seasonal weather patterns.

rET r O f ITTIN g SYSTEMS

Depending on the unique needs of the building, there are different options available to integrate geothermal systems. Every ground source heat pump system is designed to suit the site-specific details of the building and underlying geology. There are many variants of the technology that can be employed to meet these requirements, including ‘closed loop’ boreholes and trenches using plastic pipework to

exchange heat with the ground and ‘open loop’ boreholes that exchange heat directly with a flow of groundwater obtained from boreholes or rivers and other surface water sources.

Both open and closed loop systems have benefits and constraints depending on the geology and the layout of the site. For instance, a small inner city site will require a different approach to a large rural location. Importantly, both closed and open loop technologies can provide heating and/or cooling to new buildings and have retrofit applications.

Ground source heat pump systems are becoming an important choice for district networks to provide heating and/or cooling. As outlined above, there are several options, but the most flexible is the ‘ambient loop’ system. Here, a loop of pipework delivers a continuous flow of water to buildings that are each equipped with their own heat pumps. These take heat from this water flow or ‘dump’ heat when in cooling mode. A further beneficial option is storage of heat or cool energy within the ground. Closed or open loop borehole systems can be designed to accumulate a large volume of warmed rock (or groundwater) when the heat pumps are providing cooling and cooled rock or groundwater when providing heating. These warmed or cooled zones can then be accessed at a later date to provide even greater efficiency for the following heating or cooling season.

In the face of a growing need to place carbon reduction at the centre of operations across large working buildings such as science parks and laboratory spaces, the importance of the ground as a resource for heating and cooling has the potential to be transformational. The geothermal energy stored below ground offers a low carbon, renewable resource that can be harnessed in different ways to fit specific needs and requirements. Making the most of this as a resource offers significant potential. ■

For further information on Carbon Zero Consulting, please visit: https://carbonzeroco.co.uk

left and above: installation of a borehole by carbonZero

Trends q uantitative and qualitative analysis of the innovation ecosystem

i nn OvaTiO n is K ey fO r UK grOw Th

These are exciting times, says Professor Julia Sutcliffe, chief scientific adviser to the Department of Business & Trade. And, she tells Simon Penfold, science parks will play a vital role in the UK’s plans for economic growth.

In the run-up to winning an overwhelming Parliamentary majority this summer, the Labour Party pledged to drive innovation and scientific and technological growth in the UK with a new industrial strategy and planning reforms that would make it easier to build laboratories, digital infrastructure and gigafactories.

Below: Julia previously spent over 25 years at bAe Systems, holding a range of different positions including chief technologist for the Air Sector

Among the civil servants with the job of turning that vision into a reality is the team of scientific advisers across every government department.

At the Department of Business & Trade the chief scientific advisor is Professor Julia Sutcliffe. Her role is to provide both advice and challenge to ministers and senior officials, as well as forge links between cutting-edge science & technology, business and trade.

Appointed in February 2023, her background would suggest her political masters have struck lucky – she was previously chief technologist at BAE System after a 26-year career at the forefront of research and development of autonomous systems in the defence sector.

Her enthusiasm for her role is apparent: “I've really enjoyed working with brilliant colleagues that are so dedicated and committed to what they are doing.

“There is an understanding that science and technology are going to underpin the economic growth we want.”

Professor Sutcliffe continues: “When I took up this role, I could see strong signalling from government that science, technology and engineering was going to be critical to our future success. With the new government we've got a clear way in which to connect that to our national challenges and opportunities.

ANC h O r POINTS

“So the missions around growth, clean energy, Safer Streets, the NHS, Opportunity For All, and of course the industrial strategy, they provide really clear anchor points now for the science and technology community to drive innovation, to support those national challenges.

“That's been really galvanising and it's a brilliant opportunity to build on that fantastic world-class academic base that we've got, to address the things that are super important to us nationally and and to all members of our community.

“There is an opportunity now to combine our science and technology strengths with that political appetite and ambition to address these national challengesand the opportunities that they bring - and really drive growth. That requires the ecosystem to align, by which I mean government, business, academia; we've all got to be pointing in the same direction and working together to do this both centrally and regionally.

“And the science parks play a crucial role in providing some of that connective tissue, if you will; the access to digital and physical infrastructure that is so important.

“About 70,000 people work in science parks across the country and they're at the heart of many of our innovation clusters.

"They provide the means to bring that ecosystem of innovators and developers together to share ideas. And they provide access to capabilities and ideas across science and business parks, big science campuses, knowledge quarters and innovation districts.”

She highlights the work going on at Daresbury at present, such as the five-year partnership between IBM and UK Research and Innovation's Science and Technology Facilities Council to develop quantum computing and AI capabilities.

“So novel materials combined with big data and computation allow new designs for some space applications, for instance, and that's what the science parks are able to offer. They play to regional strengths, which is important, but they allow that convergence. That is a really attractive prospect for investors and innovators.”

COMMUNITY

“Recently I had the opportunity to fulfil one of my lifetime ambitions to visit CERN, as a former physicist. As we know, CERN is the international centre for particle physics, home to important discoveries and developments, such as the Higgs Boson and of course the world wide web. But what isn’t obvious until you’re there is that the majority of the CERN workforce are engineers, computer scientists and technicians, not particle physicists.

“It builds on the skill base at Daresbury as well as attracting both innovators and investors. And the businesses that are utilising Daresbury had on average 20% annual growth between 2017 and 2020 and a business survival rate of 95%.

“And we are seeing multidisciplinary clusters across health, space, energy, quantum, for example at Harwell, which has an ecosystem of 7000 innovators, 220 organisations and is a real attractor for businesses and investors, such as Moderna, who chose to locate in the UK to take advantage of this access.

“As well as providing that opportunity to bring the ecosystem together, science parks allow investors to invest in something that might be higher-risk but in a lowrisk environment, because of the body of multi-disciplinary technical and innovation expertise co-located in a single vibrant community.

" As such science parks often form a key part of our inward investment story with many featuring as part of DBT High Potential Opportunities e.g. Bristol and Bath Science Park being home to the National Composites Centre and one of the centres for our work on ‘Jet Zero’.

“It is creating a low-risk environment in which to experiment, developing technologies that are critical to applications - battery chemistries, carbon capture, quantum navigation.

“Technology is critical to process manufacture, robotics, automation, virtual reality, new materials, and the convergence of those technologies is where you're seeing real acceleration.

“Quite incredible that a huge community of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians design, develop and operate these incredible facilities, such as the Large Hadron Collider that are allowing us to peer into the innermost secrets of the universe.

“We probably underplay the amazing career opportunities for engineers and scientists to work in a really collaborative, cutting edge environments that large national and international facilities and science parks such offer.

“Across the UK we have first class academic science and technology. We are an academic centre of strength, but we also have fantastic infrastructure and capabilities: science parks, catapults, national laboratories. And public sector research establishments.

“The more we can do to bring that to light, connect it and make that accessible; that will keep bringing more innovation. That infrastructure is an important part of our ecosystem and we need to highlight that offer to both innovators and investors. Then those infrastructure facilities will act as a force multiplier, accelerating innovation, creating great success stories because they allow people and investors to take risks in that low-risk environment.

“It's about bringing together communities that benefit through working together -scientists, innovators, businesses and investorscreating challenge spaces that allow the pullthrough of ideas into commercial opportunities.

“Businesses understanding they can connect with that innovation community brings inward investment and an acceleration effect that benefits UK businesses. It allows start-ups and scale-ups to happen but also solves genuine business challenges.

“There is such a vast wave of technologies that are converging, creating disruptive opportunities. We've seen huge advances in, the fields of healthcare, for example. There is so much opportunity for innovation.

“That is part of our role at the DBT, to work with businesses to understand the challenges that they have and to draw that insight back into government to support the policy-making environment and ensure that the policy outcomes actually do the things that businesses need.

“So again, it's that close collaboration of working with businesses, working with academia, and how we bring those brilliant facets of our national capability together to accelerate and utilise the technology that is being developed at pace.”

“I think we're on the right track with the government's ambition around growth and around the missions that they're articulating. I think there is an anchor point there for doing this.

“These are really exciting times. We have huge opportunity across the UK. We've got some brilliant work in the catapults, science parks and universities, our innovation districts.

“I think if we can connect the assets that we've got - really make them accessible and coherent - I think we're in a strong position. It's certainly been clear in government that our science and technology is increasingly internationally competitive. Innovation will underpin our growth agenda. It's important that we line up across the ecosystem and recognise what different regions can offer. It's all to play for.”

TEC h NO l O g IES

For Julia Sutcliffe, her latest role builds on her decades of experience at BAE Systems. “I'd always been at the forefront of trying to pull technologies through into products, into tradeable, competitive advantage in a global environment.

“In order to be successful in creating products and services, you've got to align so many things that might be outside of your immediate control but are somewhere within the control of that ecosystem of industry, business, government, academia and regulators.

“So you need the technology to be ready. And you're going to need the right skills - not just tech skills but programme managers, regulators, and you need investors to understand the tech. Then you need supply chains to be ready, able to make quality components at the right time. You need infrastructure

to have access to test environments, to laboratories, specialist kit and equipment. You need a regulatory environment that is conducive; that allows businesses to take risk so that you can push technology forward.

“And you need public acceptance advocacy. It's no point having a brilliant idea if the public doesn't like it. So you need the right level of risk appetite, finance and market access.

“I could see the appetite within government, within academia, within industry, to do large-scale work joining this up. There are big systems challenges to line up all these things and you could see with talk about the structures and framework of the previous government and now this government talking industrial strategy that it felt like the conditions were right.

“So it felt like a good opportunity to jump to the other side of the street, and see if I could utilise my industrial background and experience to support our ambition and address our national challenges. It felt like a great time to add value in a different way.”

“Being in the heart of government that complex systems challenge really does come to the fore, that alignment of different policies and the timing around all of those things. It's going to require lots of systems thinking. I think the scientific method is really important as part of that as well. We've got some huge challenges – and huge opportunities. It's a really exciting time to be a scientist or an engineer in government at the moment.” ■

For more information, go to: www.gov.uk/government/people/ professor-julia-sutcliffe or www.gov.uk/government/groups/ chief-scientific-advisers

Above: thumbs up for the first ever UK Pavilion held at Semicon taiwan, September 2023

Below: Making discoveries at MWc (Mobile World live) in barcelona, February 2023

SRA Architects is an awardwinning architecture practice with over 30 years’ experience delivering research & development and laboratory projects across the UK.

As part of our service-focused approach, we value long-term collaboration with our partners. One such example being with MEPC at Milton Park. At their ‘thriving science and technology park in Oxfordshire’ we have enjoyed a collaborative working relationship stretching over four decades.

Our experience ranges from masterplanning, new build, refurbishment and fit out projects for a range of institutional and private sector clients. We have a detailed knowledge of the technical aspects of laboratory and

currie & Brown are delighted to have joined the UKSPA. We are a leading provider of cost management, project management and advisory services, covering the full range of public and private sectors.

Our purpose is to add value that makes building a better future possible. We help clients navigate volatility and unpredictability, providing the certainty that enables better, more sustainable built environments for all. Our services reflect the complexity of physical assets’ uses and integrated lifecycles, addressing every aspect, from concept, design and construction to the assessment of best-value options for ongoing use, maintenance, operation and eventually deconstruction.

With principal offices in London, Dubai, Riyadh, Hong Kong, Mumbai, New York and Shanghai, we operate across 70 offices throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, India and the Middle East. And 18 offices across the UK.

R&D building design. We have also amassed a significant appreciation of the challenges facing science-based businesses, understanding how to create inspiring, supportive and adaptable environments that nurture innovation, promote collaboration and growth.

Our recent work includes:

• Norwich Research Park - The first two buildings as part of the exciting development plans which aims to consolidate the ecosystem of visionary research into food, genomics and health.

• Grove Business Park - The development of a site wide masterplan at Grove Business Park in Oxfordshire to provide 380,000 sq ft of premium space for technology / R&D / life sciences and light industrial businesses.

• Milton Park - The design of a new 55,000 sq ft flexible science incubator building and ‘Nebula’ an 80,000 sq ft development specifically designed to provide flexible space for technology, life science and engineering companies.

• Old Road Campus of University of Oxford - The Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine (IDRM) a new £30m global research institute for 220+ worldleading researchers with cardiovascular, neuroscience and immunological expertise. The building was the first laboratory for the University design using Passivhaus principles.

With our ‘Listen – Challenge – Refine –Enjoy’ approach and diverse track record we are well placed to find the best possible solutions to complex problems. ■

For more information, find us at: sra-architects.co.uk

The Pharmaceutical sector forms the lifeblood of our economies. it's a major source of innovation and development, leading to new drugs and medical technologies that save lives and improve health outcome. Our in-depth knowledge across the sector, from laboratories, manufacturing and packaging facilities, offices and warehousing, plant and utility upgrades, site redevelopment and site remediation, ensures projects are delivered and maintained to meet the evolving needs of public health and medical advancements.

Our Global lead, Martin Ray is based in London. Our clients in the UK include research, manufacturing and educational environments for MSD, BioMed Realty, Astra Zeneca, GSK, Accord UK, The Wellcome Trust, Randox, Citylabs, BioAberdeen, Intervet, Alba Bioscience, Promega UK, Sanofi, Centre for Process Innovation, Medical Research Council, Forensic Science Northern Ireland,

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Pirbright Innovations, Defra, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Rothamsted Institute, Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, University of Strathclyde. ■

For more information, please visit: www.curriebrown.com

Nebula is a development of seven properties across three buildings providing high tech research and development (r&d) workspace with offices at Milton Park

interior of the transformation at the bee house on Milton Park

Vital role for science parks in accelerating the circular economy

Ed Willmott was a keynote speaker at UKSPA’s Summer Conference in Birmingham in June, addressing the opportunities presented by the circular economy and how it can be harnessed to drive commercial opportunity.

In simple terms, the circular economy is an industrial system where materials never become waste. Products are designed and optimised to be kept in circulation, maintaining their maximum value.

It is a topic he is well versed in from his work at Prova, a leading communications

Ed

Willmott, managing director at communications consultancy

Prova, explains to Simon Penfold why science parks have a key role to play in creating the UK’s circular economy.

consultancy, where many of the organisations the company represents operate at the forefront of the circular economy.

Last year, after nine years with the company, he was promoted from his role as director of communications to managing director, overseeing a client

portfolio that includes renewable energy brands, leading global private equity funds and automotive OEMs.

And the company practices what it preaches in terms of the circular economy, basing itself in a onetime bakery in Warwick, a four-storey townhouse dating to the 1600s just a stone’s throw from the castle.

“What better way to demonstrate the circular economy than a headquarters that has already been here for hundreds of years,” said Ed.

Taking up his topic, he continued: “The circular economy is one of these phrases that is bandied about quite a lot, but not a lot of people really understand it.

“The definitions are quite varied but it affects all businesses. It goes hand in hand with sustainability, being environmentally friendly, all the buzzwords that we have been using for a little while now.

AN ANTIDOTE

“It has become apparent to me that the businesses of tomorrow won’t survive without being more circular. There simply isn’t enough virgin resource in the world to support consumerisation and the internationalism of business. The circular economy provides somewhat of an antidote.

“There is an environmental imperative, increasing legislative pressure, sustainable development goals, stringent decarbonisation and net zero targets. At the same time the Environment Act is holding every business to account, while the European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) will drive widespread change.

“In the face of that, I believe pioneering science parks will need to embrace the circular economy in construction techniques, material use and resource management. More importantly they will act as enablers through incubation and acceleration, business advice and consultancy.

“Science parks, I think, have two very interesting ways of looking at the circular economy.

“Obviously there is legislation coming around the corner that will make circularity for businesses important, so science parks obviously must embrace the circular economy through what they are doing.

“But the thing I think is really interesting is actually the circular economy leaders of tomorrow are most likely going to be incubated within science parks.

“It is an opportunity for science parks to see themselves as enablers to the circular economy. These are the businesses that they are going to be inspiring, helping to grow, consulting with, supporting on their growth journey.

“The exciting circular businesses of tomorrow will be born and raised in science parks. And I think that is something that the industry should be pretty excited about.”

It is not all smooth sailing, however. “Cost is always the barrier to anything, to any new idea, any new process.

Sustainability has come at a cost. The circular economy, though, is all about resource efficiency. Being more circular won’t cost you anything; actually it is the other way around. If you can use materials more efficiently your costs will reduce considerably.

“A great example is an organisation called Cocogreen. These guys have created an alternative to peat-based compost, which is very heavily used in agriculture, horticulture and by consumers. It’s really damaging to the environment - what is called a carbon sink; every time you dig up peat from the ground it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. More and more authorities are banning the use of peat-based compost.

SUSTAINABI

l ITY

“Cocogreen has developed an alternative which uses the outer husks of coconut shells as an alternative growing medium. Performance-wise it is better for water drainage, it’s better for growth, it’s better for nutrients, and it is being used more and more by salad and soft fruit growers all over the world. But the best thing is that it is a waste product. If you weren’t turning it into a growing medium you would simply burn coconut husks or landfill them. They are turning this waste stream into a resource. They are generating money from it and keeping resources in the value chain at the same time.

“So rather than costing us more money, the circular economy can help businesses reduce their input costs and be more sustainable at the same time.

“As a case study it may be a little bit niche but if you think about a more widely adopted material, like aluminium, that is the perfect example of a circular economy.

“People are complaining about plastic waste right now, with plastic bottles littering the ocean. Plastic is an absolutely linear economy: take, make, dispose. You create a plastic bottle, you use it and then you throw it away.

“Compare that to aluminium; it is relatively carbon intensive to manufacture in the first place but 75 per cent of all aluminium ever manufactured worldwide is still in circulation today. And when you have used your aluminium can you recycle it and turn it into a new product. That could be a new aluminium can, a bicycle, a mobile phone, whatever, but the material keeps in circulation.

“It is infinitely circular. But over the past 20 years people have switched towards plastic because it seems much cheaper and far more convenient. Materials like aluminium can be used in science parks, for windows for example, and can reduce your environmental impact.”

And then there are the marketing benefits. “After I addressed the Summer Conference there were a lot of people speaking to me about how they could embrace the circular economy in their business model. And a lot of people wanted to know how to leverage it in their external communications moving forward, to present themselves as a business that embraces the circular economy.

“That is a lot of the work we do here at Prova; we help businesses to put that circular economy messaging at the forefront of what they are doing, to utilise it as a way of generating further growth.

“Any business that can position themselves as circular is going to do better. That is only going to increase over the next few years. Brands are very quickly transitioning from supplying products and services to trying to do well and do good at the same time.

“It's not just about positioning yourself as an ethical supplier either; the two growing areas in private equity right now are pharmaceuticals and the circular economy. People are pumping money in to organisations that can demonstrate that they are helping to increase resource efficiency, eliminate waste from the supply chain and decouple themselves from raw material costs to achieve growth. There are some really positive drivers out there.

“We have seen an absolute boom in demand for our work ever since companies started to focus more on SCOPE 1, 2 and 3 emissions, decarbonisation and accelerating progress towards net zero. The reality is that your supply chain in the future has to be as low carbon as it possibly can be.

A lTE r NATI v ES

“There are really obvious and easy ways for science parks to encourage this all, such as adopting circular methods in their building processes. There were lots of interesting presentations at the Summer Conference from construction firms that are using circular building materials.

“It is as simple as using materials from organisations that have already embraced the circular economy and have found low carbon alternatives to traditional industrial processes.

“And then, of course, it is all about recycling, resource efficiency and minimising waste on site and all of the stuff that, to be honest, science parks are already doing.

“But it’s a case of shouting about the good work that is being delivered.

“I think that the real opportunity is to foster the next generation of circular economy businesses and shout about the success that we in the UK are driving. We are a leader in the circular economy, in sustainability and green technology, and much of this innovation is born in science parks.

“I think that makes it a real USP for us as an industry to celebrate, to invest in and to see as an opportunity for us moving forward.

“We have a unique opportunity in the UK because we have this network that I haven’t seen elsewhere. And it is throwing up ideas like we’ve never seen before. Some of the ideas, the technologies and the capabilities that are coming out of science parks are frankly phenomenal.

“And then there is the speed at which they can commercialise. That is because of the networks, because of the input and support that they get, enabling us to bring technologies to market faster than many other places.” ■

For more information about Ed Wilmott and the work of Prova, please visit https://provapr.co.uk

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