Commons Select Committee recommends Fraunhofer-style UK laboratories

The Fraunhofer Institutes in Germany have been suggested as the blueprint for a network of six to eight UK laboratories.

Like the Fraunhofer Institutes, the new laboratories should be funded equally by government, public-private funding from the UK and EU, and private contracts, the Science and Technology Committee recommends.

While the report on Technology and Innovation Centres (TICs) calls for a "sensible" six to eight facilities to be opened initially, this figure could rise in line with their levels of achieved success.

Meanwhile, the committee also recognises existing operators who are achieving the aims for which the TICs are intended, adding that the new centres would complement rather than replace this activity.

"Innovation is a key driver of growth," minister for universities and science David Willetts said in response to the publication of the report.

"Our plan for a network of elite TICs will target those areas that will have the greatest impact on growth."