Building the Britain of the Future Expo
£10 MILLION COMPETITION FOR COMPANIES TO MAKE BUILDINGS GREENER
Prime Minister to announce low carbon challenge at Expo showcasing industries building the Britain of the future.
A competition for companies to improve the green credentials of buildings across the UK will be announced later today at an Expo underlining the vital role of science and innovation to the economy.
The Prime Minister will announce the national challenge "Retrofit for the Future" in a speech to business leaders and young entrepreneurs at the event.
Run by the Technology Strategy Board, the competition will encourage companies to bid for a share of £10m in government funding to develop innovative solutions to improve the environmental sustainability of existing buildings, dramatically increase performance and reduce costs.
The competition will consider what works and could be used effectively to "retrofit" buildings including homes to create a minimum of 50 new prototype technologies. Those that are successful could then be adopted by the Government through public procurement to help meet climate change goals.
The Prime Minister will join Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills John Denham and Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson at this evening's Expo Building the Britain of the Future which will showcase the science and innovations behind industries that will be key to the UK's future economic success and creating the jobs of the future.
It will focus on six key strategic sectors - clean technology; advanced manufacturing; healthcare and biotech; high value-added services including Information and Communication Technologies (ICT); creative industries; and education.
Lord Drayson said:
"Low carbon technology is just one of the areas in which Britain will need to succeed if we are to emerge from the downturn stronger, build a new economy and create the jobs of the future.
"Today's challenge to companies across the UK underlines the opportunities that exist in responding to global challenges like climate change. And by showcasing the key industries that will build a greener, healthier Britain for the digital age, we underline just how important science and innovation are to the economy and future job creation."
This evening's Expo builds on the launch of the Science [So What? So Everything!] campaign today which aims to promote the role of science in people's everyday lives including its vital role in the economy and the creation of new jobs.
The Expo will include a speech by the Prime Minister before a panel discussion with John Denham and Lord Drayson, entrepreneurs Jon Hilton of Flybrid Systems and Richard Woods of DIY Kyoto, and young scientist Holly Batchelor.
Secretary of State John Denham said:
"Our ability as a nation to innovate and build links between good science and business will help ensure we will emerge stronger when the upturn comes.
"We need to seize the opportunities that future discoveries will inevitably bring by working together to continue our investment in talent, research and innovation.
"Driving up the number of people who have the skills in science, technology, engineering and maths required by emerging and growth industries will help ensure the UK remains strong in an increasingly competitive global economy and win the jobs of tomorrow.”
Notes to editors
- To attend this evening's Expo or request an interview with John Denham or Lord Drayson, call Matt Barker in the DIUS press office on 0203 300 8126.
- The Science [So What? So Everything!] campaign was launched today. For more details see the press notice at www.dius.gov.uk or visit www.sciencesowhat.direct.gov.uk/
- For further information on the Technology Strategy Board and the "retrofit for the future" competition please visit www.innovateuk.org. The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led executive non-departmental public body, established by the government. Its role is to promote and support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve the quality of life. It is sponsored by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). The Technology Strategy Board is working with a number of the companies at today's expo event.
- Housing in the UK accounts for 27 per cent of carbon emissions and so to meet the target of an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 we must dramatically improve the performance of existing housing stock.
- Companies attending the Expo are:
- Flybrid Systems has developed an entirely mechanical high-speed flywheel based energy storage and recovery system which meets the 2009 Formula One regulations but which is also suitable for other racing formulae and for road vehicles.
- Williams Hybrid Power Ltd has developed a novel, patented technology aimed at providing a cost effective, environmentally friendly, solution for mobile energy recovery and storage.
- ACAL Energy Ltd is the world's leading developer of low cost Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells, powered by platinum-free cathode technology (FlowCath®).
- PML Flightlink have developed a compact, energy-efficient electric wheelmotor that produces unrivalled levels of smooth torque at low controlled speeds. Applications include electric vehicles.
- Marine Current Turbines Ltd is the world leader in the development of new technology for exploiting tidal currents for large-scale power generation. They have developed SeaGen, the world's first commercial scale tidal stream turbine.
- Oxsensis design high temperature optical and opto-mechanical structures in materials such as sapphire and silicon, including membranes, waveguides and fluorescence structures, using technology developed at the Central Microstructure Facility of the UK's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
- Wirth Research is an innovative engineering group specialising in research, development, design and manufacture for the motor racing industry and other high technology sectors.
- Smart Holograms has pioneered a unique form of sensor technology. Invented by Professor Chris Lowe's Department at the Institute of Biotechnology, Cambridge University, the sensor is, in fact, a responsive holographic image.
- eMove has been at the forefront of developments in the motion capture arena since the early 90's and owns a host of patents, both issued and pending. They launched the world's first inertial gyroscopic motion capture system in 2004 - their aim is to simplify mocap technology.
- Tissue Regenix has developed a patented dCELL™ process & products which will provide surgeons and patients with 'off-the-shelf' replacements for diseased body parts.
- Body Sensor Network technology enables continuous measurements of the physical and physiological parameters of the users without any activity restriction. The ultimate aim of the BSN is to provide a truly personalised monitoring platform that is pervasive, intelligent, context-aware, and invisible to the subject, thereby avoiding activity restriction or behaviour modification. It has applications for athletes' training and in healthcare.
- Glysure continuous blood sugar monitoring technology.
- Clicks and Links use virtual worlds technology to model low carbon systems, improving our understanding of how, for example, a city would need to change to meet emissions targets.
- Kizoom is a leading provider of systems to transform transport data into intelligent travel information.
- Icera has developed the world's first market proven, high performance soft modem technology for mobile broadband phone and data devices. These include mobile broadband datacards and USB sticks, cellular modules for laptops and mobile internet devices (MIDs).
- DIY Kyoto creates products to help people understand and control their personal impact on the environment. The systems looks at the energy a home is using, shows usage in graphs and charts (including showing in watts or in cost how much electricity a home is using at any moment) and helps figure out ways to save electricity.
- Blitz Games are a family company begun in the 1980s. They produce video gaming technology used for training applications.
- Hypertag are a pioneer and leading provider of proximity services which enable consumers around the world to download location relevant information and content direct to their mobile phone or PDA.
- Framestore is the largest visual effects and computer animation studio in Europe, using animators with strong physics backgrounds.
- 3P Learning is the world’s most used maths website where students can challenge each other in real-time maths competitions.
- RM plc's fuse creator enables the creation of engaging interactive content, which can be used on school or personal computers, websites and VLEs.