The government’s enterprise agency, Innovate UK, has announced a £72m competition to establish a core innovation hub. The funding is part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
The innovation hub will support collaboration between industry and academia to help transform the construction sector.
In a statement, Innovate UK says the funding is for UK-based research and technology organisations that already have substantive existing facilities and expertise to work with others in the construction sector, including businesses and public sector organisations.
The hub should focus on how to:
- create better-performing built assets;
- increase the industry-wide adoption of emerging digital and manufacturing technologies;
- design new processes to improve productivity in construction.
To be successful in their application, the research and technology organisation will need to demonstrate there is a commitment from the private sector to invest and use the hub once it is complete.
The transforming construction challenge aims to support the construction industry in adopting the latest digital manufacturing technologies to produce safe, healthy, efficient buildings.
This will help buildings to be constructed 50% faster, 33% cheaper and with half the lifetime carbon emissions.
The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund brings together world-leading research with businesses to take on the major societal and economic challenges of our time.
The deadline for applications is midday on 23 May 2018.
Projects must be led by a research and technology organisation working in collaboration with other businesses, the research base or public sector. Total eligible project costs should be £72m or less and projects should start in August 2018 and last up to four years.
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