Southampton to Lead £10 Million National Manufacturing Hub

Southampton University is to lead one of two £10 million research centres focused on improving UK manufacturing efficiency.

Announced by Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) National Hub in High Value Photonic Manufacturing, which brings together the expertise of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) and the ESPRC National III-V Centre at the University of Sheffield, will provide national leadership in manufacturing for the next-generation of photonics technologies. With more than 40 companies providing guidance and resources, the Future Photonics Hub, which is funded for seven years, will help accelerate growth of the UK’s £10 billion photonics industry and support the £600 billion of UK manufacturing output that depends on photonics.

Hub lead Professor Sir David Payne, Director of the ORC, said: “The ORC has been at the forefront of photonics for over 40 years. We know from experience the astonishing range of innovative ideas that emerge when scientists and engineers think about manufacturing. The key is to work with industry to understand the opportunity not only to improve existing manufacturing methods but to develop entirely new ways of making things.”

 The primary economic impact of the Hub will be to aid rapid commercialisation of emerging technologies. Supporting companies across the UK have so far promised a total of £12.5 million in markets that include defence and security, communications, space, semiconductor manufacturing and healthcare.

The investment in the Future Photonics Hub by EPSRC will be further enhanced by £3 million from the two universities.

The second Hub in Future Liquid Metal Engineering is based at Brunel University in London.