Incubator Throws Lifeline to Science Start-Ups

An innovation centre for scientific enterprise which opened in conjunction with British Science Week can provide entrepreneurs with flexible laboratory space and individual lab benches for new start-ups, along with business support needed to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

UnitDX, a 15,000 sq ft repurposed facility in central Bristol takes inspiration from Silicon Valley by providing science and tech start-up companies on-site access to instrumentation, technicians and a network of business and technical support, including a partnership with the University of Bristol's SETsquared Centre.

The inspiration came from a problem experienced by University of Bristol PhD graduate and Unit DX founder Dr Harry Destecroix. Whilst launching his first start-up, Ziylo, based on research conducted during his doctorate at the University, he found a remarkable lack of appropriate laboratory space in the area to house his new company. Further investigations showed that it was a common complaint from scientific entrepreneurs, and Unit DX was created to overcome this.

Dr Destecroix said: "Scientific companies need spaces built specifically for them. They need laboratory space to conduct research and access to state-of-the-art instrumentation. Unit DX is designed around the needs of scientists and will lower the time and cost required to take a great idea and turn it into real world working technology.

"I'm especially excited about what’s going to be achieved when great scientific minds from across different disciplines such as synthetic biology and quantum technologies come together under one roof, in one of the UK’s most entrepreneurial cities."

Professor Hugh Brady, Vice-Chancellor & President of the University of Bristol, said: "We actively support and encourage our graduates to think outside the box. It’s been a revelation to witness the journey of Unit DX since first meeting Harry a year ago. Innovation and entrepreneurship is at the heart of the University of Bristol’s new strategy and we look forward to working with Unit DX to inspire our science graduates."