In October, Phillip Hammond delivered his third budget as Chancellor.  Here is a summary of the key announcements that are relevant to our activity here at the University of Northampton and where we could potentially collaborate with businesses and partners to develop projects.

• Up to £315m investment in the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund to support businesses with high energy use to transition to a low carbon future and to cut their bills through increased energy efficiency.
• Allocation of £20m for Plastics and to boost recycling. This includes £10m more funding for Plastics R&D.
• Up to £121 million for Made Smarter to support the transformation of cross-sector manufacturing with digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things and immersive technologies. Construction, Food and Drink, Pharma and Aerospace are four industries studied to have an estimated £185bn value at stake.
• A new £50m per year fund designed to address the most pressing challenges in areas such as public health and cyber security. The fund will focus on joint programmes between government and industry, and will begin in 2021-22.
• £78million for the Stephenson Challenge to support innovation in electric motor technology, making vehicles lighter and more efficient.
• £25m to boost business productivity through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships – email Charlotte Patrick, Key Sector and Knowledge Transfer Manager, if you have a business relationship or an idea that could be delivered by a KTP
• Government will launch a consultation on how to encourage greater innovation in the utilities sectors.
• £235m additional funding to further develop the quantum technology programme. This includes £35m for the National Quantum Computing Centre and guarantees £70m for quantum from the ISCF fund.

Further information on these areas will follow in due course, but keep an eye on GRANTfinder and if you have initial thoughts on projects that could fit into these areas please email the RIFS team.  You can read the budget in full here