Newcastle and Durham universities have been joined by regional peers Northumbria and Sunderland in a commercialisation drive backed by government funding.
Northern Accelerator, a UK-based regional commercialisation pact between Durham and Newcastle universities, is to expand with £4.9m ($6.9m) in government funding to include peers Northumbria and Sunderland.
Northern Accelerator will receive the capital from the UK government’s $125.5m Connecting Capability Fund. The EU-owned European Regional Development Fund is due to contribute funding separately, though further confirmation has not been provided.
The enlarged program concentrates on four industries significant to the northeast of England – digital, advanced manufacturing, chemicals and processes, and life sciences and healthcare. It is scheduled to run until March 2021 with the aim of enhancing the performance of local spinouts and the regional economy.
Roy Sandbach, chairman of Northern Accelerator’s strategic advisory board, said: “Our northeast universities do world-class research not just for knowledge creation but to deliver national and regional economic prosperity and employment.
“This award supports a leading-edge approach to the engagement of academia with business expertise, providing startup advice, development and long-term funding.”
Northern Accelerator launched in April 2017, targeting the launch of 15 local technology spinouts within three years. Each participating spinout was expected to receive up to $32,000 in seed capital, in addition to sweat equity including expertise, networking contacts or administrative assistance.
Businesses to have received support from Northern Accelerator so far include UK-based Atelerix, a Newcastle University spinout which is developing seaweed-based hydrogel storage for human stem cells.
