SkyscraperCity Forum banner

Materials Innovation Factory | Grove Street | The University of Liverpool/Unilever | Research Hub | Comp.

31K views 64 replies 22 participants last post by  openlyJane 
#1 ·
Unilever to build science village on Grove Street



University teams up with soap giant in new multi-million pound venture

A MULTI-million pound materials innovations factory that will see academic scientists and researchers working alongside a team from soaps to food giant Unilever is to be built in Liverpool.

Planning officers yesterday recommended approval of the ambitious scheme to Liverpool City Council’s planning committee.

The proposal involves the demolition of the existing two-storey Muspratt lecture theatre at the front of the University of Liverpool’s 1960s Donnan Building, in Grove Street, and its replacement with a new striking five-storey Materials Innovation Factory spanning more than 100,000 square feet.

The new block will create a physical extension to the existing Donnan Building, with four floors of research, office and laboratory space with associated plant equipment on the fifth floor.

It will be home to a new, state of the art laboratory facility for a joint venture between the university and Unilever, potentially housing 140 university researchers and up to 100 Unilever researchers.

It will give academics and Unilever professionals shared use of cutting-edge robotics and automation technology.

The university says the Materials Innovation Factory will provide an unparalleled suite of open access, state-of-the-art equipment and internationally-leading academic expertise when it opens in 2016.

At the heart of the Materials Innovation Factory will be a set of shared laboratory facilities housing £10m worth of measurement and testing instrumentation, ranging from standard testing and measurement equipment, high-throughput techniques, high-end analytical techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spec and electron microscopy and a range of other unique and bespoke capabilities that will accelerate the research and development process by a factor of 200 and greatly reduce new product discovery times.

Knowledge base

Said a university spokesman: “Due to open in 2016, the purpose-built facility will be at the centre of an exciting network of educational and research institutes, incubators and science parks, creating a vibrant ‘innovation village’ where multiple industry and academic partners can work and innovate together within a shared, bespoke environment.”

In a report to planning committee members, city council planners said the proposed new Materials Innovation Factory will help to bring an enhanced specialist knowledge base to the university and to Liverpool, attracting inward investment from related industries.

“It builds on the university’s pre-existing, leading capabilities in molecular biosciences and its Centre for Materials Discovery (CMD). As well as integrating and extending research facilities.

“The application site is at the heart of the University of Liverpool campus,and will provide exceptional educational and research facilities and help to bring an enhanced specialist knowledge base to the city, in turn attracting inward investment from related industries.”
 
See less See more
1
#37 ·
Materials Innovation Factory ‘tops out’

The University of Liverpool’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Janet Beer and Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson have performed the traditional topping out ceremony for the £68 million Materials Innovation Factory.

The facility, a partnership between the University and Unilever, aims to accelerate research and reduce new product development times relevant to a range of sectors including Unilever’s Home Care and Personal Care Categories.

It will provide equipment at the cutting-edge of chemistry research to facilitate the discovery of new materials which have the potential to save energy and natural resources, improve health or transform a variety of manufacturing processes.

Continues at: https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2016/02/03/materials-innovation-factory-tops-out/
 
#45 ·
name dropping

I'd forgotten this is being part funded by Unilever - Im playing golf next week with the global head of R&D for Unilever - I may buy him a pint ( and get him drunk enough to fund some more:cheers:)

Hes the brother of a mate and a very nice fella - all three of us went to Salford Uni - makes you realise you dont have to go to oxbridge to become very successful (him not me)
 
#46 ·
Update - so despite the sights and distractions of Las Vegas I did spend a few days with him and a group of lads golfing. Over a pint (or two) he did tell me that Unilever were really excited about this and that with Ellesmere Port it will be a major global hub for the R&D for many years. He said the north west in general is getting a very good reputation in materials research (very much more so than down south) and that is likely to attract others . He said that its not a Manc vs Liverpool thing and that from the global perspective its a focused area (30 miles is nothing on that scale) . Thats about it really - we then went back to gambling (well losing money) and drinking but thought Id share those couple of snippets
 
#52 · (Edited)
we then went back to gambling (well losing money) and drinking
You were saving on at least one item, the booze. In Vegas the booze is free when you're gambling. However, it could be a lose-lose situation if you wake up with a hangover to accompany you empty wallet.

Remember, what happens in Vegas stay in Vegas. Except your credit card bill.:)

PS: A regular visitor to Las Vegas (between October and April) but never in the summer. How did you manage to play 18 holes in that heat? Even with the cart, 100°+ is still very hot.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top